Board the Lady of the Lake: Yaraví Ship Museum on Lake Titicaca

Among the modern motorboats that ferry travelers to Amantani, Taquile, and the Floating Islands of Uros and the pre-Columbian reed boats, there is the beautifully restored Victorian Yaraví, peacefully docked on the shores of Lake Titicaca.

Entrance to this immaculate and beloved ship, and a half-hour tour, are free, although donations are encouraged to support the boats further renovation. Not all curators/crewmates may speak English, but there is information displayed in both Spanish and English and the enthusiasm of everyone involved in the restoration project is contagious. You can learn all about the ship’s fascinating history, as well as that of the other 5 ships in the fleet.

There are many interesting original features to catch your interest, from the brass portholes to the copper engine parts to the ship’s bell, its furnishings, and the capstan. It also boasts beautiful views of the lake.

It’s actually docked behind a private hotel, so if you go by taxi, it will drop you off there. Just enter the hotel grounds and walk by the hotel to reach the boat behind it. (You can also go through the lobby if you prefer to enter.) You need to cross a long, wobbly bridge floating on oil drums to board. You can visit from 7 am to 5 pm, and with prior notice, enthusiasts may request to see the engine- the last of its kind- fired up.

After construction in Birmingham in the mid-1880s, the Yaraví and its sister ship the Yapura were dismantled and sent in parts by steamship to Arica, modern-day Chile, along with seven English engineers. From there it was sent by train to Tacna, crossing the Atacama, the world’s driest desert. At Tacna, mules and manpower carried it through the jungle and across the Andes to Lake Titicaca– a journey that took over 6 years to complete thanks to the exceedingly difficult terrain rising over 15,000ft, reluctant muleteers and natives conscripted for the job, an earthquake, a revolt, and the threat of a new Spanish invasion of Peru.

There, it was assembled by the surviving engineers, and on Christmas day 1870 it began to patrol the lake’s waters along with its sister ship, to patrol the border with Bolivia. It originally ran on llama dung but now has a magnificent old diesel engine. Originally a steam vessel, it was fueled with llama dung due to a shortage of coal, though in 1914 it was converted to diesel with the addition of a unique Bolinder four-cylinder engine.

The Yaraví provided more than a hundred years of service on Lake Titicaca. After years of neglect following the ship’s decommissioning, a Peruvian-English woman rescued the Yaraví in the 1980s, purchasing it for 5,000 dollars and beginning the restoration project. Now, it operates as a floating museum and has been recognized as the world’s oldest iron-hulled ship that is still functional today.