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Living near water has always come natural to humans, whether it's for irrigation, fishing, drinking water, commerce, or transport—the scenic, glittering pools have always caught our attention. But what about those communities who took things one step further and ditched land completely?

Click through to see the truly magnificent floating villages that thousands of people call home.

▲This vast lake near Kashmir is known for its stunning reflections of floating wooden homes and the snow-capped peaks of the Pir Panjal mountains.

▲The elaborate Victorian-style balconies, in combination with the fresh natural beauty and the vibrant culture and cuisine in the floating markets, make for a very unique experience.

▲Shikaras (gondola-like taxi boats) are the common mode of transportation, taking goods to market, children to school, and tourists to charming houseboats.

▲On the world’s highest lakes—Lake Titicaca, which is also the second largest in South America—a collection of 120 islands made from totora reeds host nearly 1,200 people.

▲Totora is a special kind of reed available only in this region, and it has stood the test of time, with islands and homes dating back many generations.

▲The Uros community is believed to have originated long before the Incas ruled these areas, and it's said that they were forced to build lives on the water when the Incas expanded onto their land.

▲The world's largest floating village, located in Bandar Seri Begaway, is quite unlike others in Southeast Asia as it’s more of a sprawling mini-metropolis than a village.

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An impressive 38 km (23.6 mi) of wooden and concrete boardwalks connect about 40 villages, with speedboats to carry passengers, the police force, and the fire brigade along the canals.

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Timber houses on stilts sit next to mosques, schools, and restaurants, and everyone has access to electricity, running water, and television. There's even Wi-Fi available throughout!

▲Bajau Sea Nomads reportedly built houses above the Brunei River more than 1,000 years ago. Over the centuries, this floating community expanded into a series of villages and neighborhoods, home to both wealthy nobles and peasants.

▲In the backwaters of Kerala is a tranquil village floating on the 97-kilometer-long (60 mile) Vembanad Lake.

▲This particular village is famed for its many and varied houseboats, which you can view while weaving through the waterways.

▲The paradisaical community is also a haven for stunning and rare birds.

▲Africa’s largest lake village is situated on Lake Nokoué, and is estimated to be home to a whopping 20,000 people.

▲The picturesque village was reportedly built in the 16th or 17th century by the Tofinu tribe, who were escaping the slave trade. They took refuge on Lake Nokoué and used its climate to create sophisticated networks for farming fish, which still exist today.

▲The floating village now features schools, hospitals, floating shops, and even a hotel for tourists.

▲Once a thriving hub of floating activity, Aberdeen has seen a drastic decrease, though it continues to enchant tourists from around the world.

▲Established in the 17th century, when the area was gaining a major foothold as an important harbor, a stark contrast has since blossomed between the local fishermen's floating homes and the towering skyscrapers behind them.

▲You can take a boat ride and enjoy the stunning views, and stop in at a huge floating restaurant for a taste of the local seafood.

▲Amid hundreds of limestone rock formations in the Andaman Sea lies a rural village in Phang Nga Bay, reportedly made up of descendants of two Muslim families who fled Indonesia some 200 years ago.

▲In the shade of one vertical limestone cliff, Koh Panyi is said to consist of 360 families with a total population of over 1,500.

▲The floating village has a school, market, mosque, and even a soccer field built using old scraps of wood and fishing rafts.

▲There are few lakes more peaceful than Myanmar's Inle, surrounded by wispy sugar cane in the Shan Hills plateau.

▲Houses are perched on top of the lake by way of stilts, and kayaks are used for transportation, boasting a serene silence hard to find in any other village.

▲The Intha people—which translates to “sons of the lake”—tend their vegetables in floating gardens from long, narrow boats. They then do business in floating markets that move between the various villages.

▲Chong Khneas is situated on Tonlé Sap, Asia’s largest freshwater body. The lake dramatically swells and shrinks with the seasons, but all year round it hosts more than 150 villages on stilts.

▲This floating village features restaurants, shops, school rooms, a temple, and a church.

▲Chong Khneas in particular features vibrant buoyant homes, and depends not only on stilts but also on empty gas drums.

▲Among the breathtaking landscape of limestone karsts in turquoise water, Ha Long Bay’s floating settlement comprises four villages, made up of about 1,600 people.

▲It originated as a place for fishermen to sell their catch, and later evolved into completely self-sufficient societies thriving on fishing and marine aquaculture.

▲The people's lives are intrinsically tied to the water, and the boats and floating homes they have built provide their shelter, transportation, culture, and livelihood. UNESCO has designated the area as a World Heritage site.

▲Also located on Cambodia's Tonlé Sap lake, Kampong Phluk is situated within the floodplain about 16 km (10 miles) southeast of Siem Reap.

▲The community is made up of a cluster of three villages of stilted houses, home to over 3,000 people.

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The villagers enjoy a vibrant and colorful daily life, making their living largely from fishing, particularly from shrimp harvesting.

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