In 1861, the Peruvian government commissioned two ships - the Yavari and the Yapura - to be built in Britain for use on Lake Titicaca.
They were constructed in London, in 2,766 pieces weighing 210 tons in total, shipped to Arica (which is now part of Chile), hauled over the Andes by mule, and put together in Puno.
View of the Yavari on Lake Titicaca from Puno mainland.
The Yavari was launched on 25th December, 1870, and became the Peruvian Navy’s first steel ship on Lake Titicaca.
Designed to run on coal which was in short supply in the altiplano, she was converted to be powered with llama dung.
In 1914, a Swedish Bolinder 4-cylinder hot bulb semi-diesel engine was fitted, and she continued serving as a passenger and cargo vessel, but by the 1970s she was beached and abandoned.
Yavari’s Bolinder engine.
In 1982, the fantastic story of a jigsaw-puzzle iron ship built in British shipyards, taken over the Andes by mule, powered by llama dung, converted to a unique diesel engine, and then forgotten, was publicised by British Peruphile, Meriel Larkin.
With the support of Britain’s Prince Philip, who had seen the ship on a 1962 visit to Peru, Larkin determined to save the Yavari.
After years of restoration, the ship steamed out of Puno in 1999 under the power of the original diesel engine, which is the oldest and largest of its kind working today.
She berthed at the Sonesta Posada del Inca Hotel dock and served as a living museum, which could be toured daily by donation.
Captain Carlos Saavedra (a retired Peruvian naval captain), or his crew, gave fascinating tours (in English) and were a wealth of detail about the history of this and other ships on the lake. They also took pleasure in firing up the historic engine for visitors.
Capt. Saavedra posing with the emergency tiller of the Yavari.
From 2011, it was possible to spend the night on the Yavari, staying in a cabin on board, for a unique bed and breakfast experience.
The shipyard where the Yavari was built, Thames Ironworks & Shipbuilding Co., is also the birthplace - in 1895 - of West Ham United Football Club.
To commemorate this historic connection, in August 2015 a group of young Londoners, sponsored by the West Ham Utd Foundation, followed the original route of the Yavari. They trekked from the Pacific coast port of Tacna, over the Andes, to Puno - a journey taking two weeks.
Young Hammers on board the Yavari, having trekked to Lake Titicaca.
Once at Lake Titicaca, they participated in a ‘second maiden voyage’, accompanied by the then British Ambassador to Peru, H.E. Anwar Choudhury, who himself has links to the East End of London.
This trip generated a good deal of publicity, and it was hoped that this would mark the beginning of regular overnight trips for tourists, which would offer a unique way to experience the lake and generate much-needed income for the maintenance of the ship.
However, these cruises have not materialised.
In 2016, Capt. Saavedra stepped down as captain of the Yavari; and since 2018 she has been undergoing ‘further refurbishment’ that means she is not open to visits or stays.
PeruNorth’s attempts to contact the Yavari’s administrators for an update have been met with silence. Despite this, it is to be sincerely hoped that there are more chapters to be written in her long and singular history.
A model of the Yavari … on the Yavari!