A closer look

Booking a peaceful homestay with the Uros people means sleeping on a massive, squishy sponge made entirely of totora reeds. To evade the aggressive Inca empire centuries ago, this indigenous group simply built their own buoyant real estate from scratch. Because the bottom rots away continuously in the freezing Andean water, locals must perpetually lay fresh reeds on top, making their living room floors a never-ending DIY project.