Give Thanks to Pachamama and Mama Qota this August
Every 1st of August, the highlands pause to give thanks. To Pachamama, who provides food. To Mama Qota—Lake Titicaca—who provides life. We tell you why this ritual remains alive, and how you can experience it yourself this month in Puno. 🌾
“Amakuni, Pachamama, mikhuyta apamuway” — Mother Earth, may we never lack food.
What is celebrated on August 1st?
In Puno and throughout the highlands, August begins with the ch’alla: the offering to Pachamama before the land bears fruit once more. Coca leaves, chicha, sweets, and flowers are offered—buried or burned as a despacho—giving thanks for the past harvest and asking permission for the one to come. 🍃
It is not just a single day, but a full month of small gestures: smudging the home, offering a toast before eating, “sharing” a bit of drink with the earth before drinking oneself. A daily reminder that nothing is taken without giving thanks first.
🌊 MAMA QOTA
The lake that is also a mother
In the highlands, gratitude is not only for the solid earth. Lake Titicaca is Mama Qota, the mother-lake: source of totora reeds, pejerrey fish, ancient trade routes, and entire livelihoods for the Uros, Aymara, and Quechua communities that live on its shores and islands. 🌊
Those who live from the lake, also give thanks to the lake.
That is why, in many lakeside communities, the August thanksgiving extends to the water: small offerings at the shore, stories shared with visitors, and a silent respect for what the Qota gives every day.
🌾 LIVING IT
How to experience the month of Pachamama in Puno
You don’t need to be part of an Andean community to feel this month. You can:
Visit an island on Lake Titicaca and hear first-hand how its inhabitants give thanks to the lake.
Share a ch’alla with a local family, with coca and drink, just as it has been done for generations.
Walk the shore of the Qota at sunrise, when gratitude is felt without the need for words.
Great Trip World recommends
Tours to give thanks with us this August
Uros + Taquile · Full Day
Sail to the floating totora reed islands and learn about the life of the Uros families, daughters of the lake. End the day in Taquile, among textiles recognized as World Heritage.
Speedboat
Amantaní · Experiential Stay
Spend a night with a local family, take part in their customs, and give thanks alongside them, in highland style, under the most starry sky on Lake Titicaca.
Experiential tourism
Uros + Taquile + Sillustani Chullpas
Add to your lake visit the pre-Inca funerary towers of Sillustani, another sacred site of Andean gratitude to the ancestors.
Extended full day
Book with Great Trip World
Give thanks to Pachamama and Mama Qota this August
This is the perfect month to experience Lake Titicaca with those who live it and give thanks every day. Write to us and put together your experience on the lake. 🙏✨
01/08/2026