10 Floating Villages Across the World

Civilisations are known to have developed around water bodies so as to sustain the continuous water requirement. However there are some civilisations that have emerged not near water but on its surface. These civilisations can also be referred to as floating villages or communities.

Detailed below is a list of 10 such floating villages that constitute a unique picture of civilisation:

1. Tonle Sap: The Tonle Sap is actually a lake in Cambodia. The emergence of a floating village in this part arises because of the size of the lake which fluctuates in seasons.

The lake is regarded to be the biggest fresh water body of water. In fact even its name translates to the               same. The lake was included in the United Nations’ Biosphere list in the year 1997.

2. Borneo Gypsies: Living in boats in the waters surrounding South East Asia, these gypsies, referred to as Mogen were first brought to notice after the 2005 tsunami.

They lead a simplistic life spending their lives on boats, following unique customs and traditions and speaking a language completely different to the existing ones around them.

3.  Floating Islands of Uros: The community of Uros resides in the Titicaca Lake in the Latin American country of Peru. The residence of the community is made with a special kind of reed – Totora – that is available only in this water part.

Uros as a community is regarded to have originated much before the Incas ruled these areas. According to their folklore, they were once God’s chosen but later on discarded and banished as inferiors because of avarice and other vices.

4. The Philippine Village:  The Philippine village is a series of houses constructed in the sea.

When looked at from an aerial view, it looks like a unique island in the midst of the water.

5.  Ha-Long Bay: Located in Vietnam, the Ha-Long or Halong Bay’s floating village comprises of four villages where people sustain through fishing and fish cultivation activities.

The name Ha-Long means ‘a dragon which descends’ referring to the native folk-lore of dragons protecting the bay from invasion threats.

6. Stilt Village in Ganvie:  Ganvie is a residential formation comprising of people of Tofinu ethnicity as a protective measure against slave trading.

Ironically, the village was created because the invaders held a belief that no kind of war could be waged either over or under water. The mode of transportation is kayaks while the main occupation is fishing and trading of fruits and vegetables.

7. Yawnghwe: In the lake of Inle lies the floating village of Yawnghwe. Around 70,000 people reside in this floating village – a cluster of 17 hamlets in totality.

The houses are built on stilts and kayaks are used for transportation. Fishing is the main activity while trading of vegetables and fruits is also carried out.

8. Open Air Museum: In the German lake, Constance there has been built a unique museum.

This is a museum for re-created homes built on stilts belonging to the New Stone and Bronze Ages.

9. Kampung: The floating community of Kampung is a tourist spot. Two floating communities form the totality of floating villages of Kampung, namely Kampung Patau-Patau and Beboloh.

Tourists, who come here, can experience a unique connectivity through both villages by way of interlined walks.

10. Aberdeen, Hong Kong:  Once a thriving hub of a floating village, the floating village of Aberdeen in Hong Kong has now drastically gone down.

The floating village was established by a group of people who came to Hong Kong in 600s and 700s when the area was gaining a major foothold as an important harbour.

These floating villages are testimony to the fact that human beings can adapt themselves to any environment and sustain themselves without any problems whatsoever.