Puno Attractions

Almost all visitors that reach Puno bear in mind nothing but Lake Titicaca and its islands, by far the greatest attraction in the area. The city and the whereabouts, though, do have some interesting spots to pay a visit.

In most provincial Peruvian cities the Plaza de Armas, or main square, is the epicentre of social and cultural live, the one point where most attractions tend to converge. Puno is no exception. At one side of the Plaza, at the end of pedestrian Lima street, you can find the Cathedral, built in the 17th century in Spanish-baroque style (but some Andean elements are recognisable). The façade, for sure more appealing than an austere interior, was sculpted by Peruvian architect Simon de Asto. La Casa del Corregidor, also on the Plaza de Armas (Jirón Deustua 576), is both a nice café and an art gallery that occupies a historic 17th century colonial mansion. Not far away, on the intersection of Deustua and Conde de Lemos streets, you find the Conde de Lemos Balcony. Built also in the 17th century, it now houses Puno's offices of the National Culture Institute. And the local Museum, exhibiting a nice selection of pre-Inca ceramics, textiles, and mummies, stands in the same Conde de Lemos street, at civic number 289.

On the outskirts of town, after a 10-minute or so walk from downtown, you arrive to the Kuntur Wasi Lookout. It offers great views of Puno and Lake Titicaca.

Further out, roughly 35 kilometres north of Puno, on the shores of Lake Umayo, stands the Sillustani Archeological Complex. It is renowned for its chullpas, tall circular fortified stone buildings, some up to 12 meters high (39 feet), where leaders and noblemen from the local Colla people were buried. This cylindrical tombs, thinner at the base and wider at the top, are remarkable for the stone-masonry, which some archaeologists find even more elaborated than that of the Incas. The most convenient way to visit Sillustani is by taking a guided tour. It costs around 25 soles (aprox. $7) per person for a tour from Puno, including transportation and the entrance fee.

South of Puno, less than 20km away and topping a gentle hill, you find a small Aymara town named Chucuito. Known also as the Royal Treasury City because it was the tax collection centre during the Colony, Chucuito is remarkable for its pretty main square and its Renaissance churches, Santo Domingo and Nuestra Señora de La Asunción, built in the 16th and 17th centuries respectively.

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