TRAVEL AND TOURS

At the edge of Lake Titicaca, at an altitude of 3,860 meters above sea level (m.a.s.l.) lies Puno, an appealing, charming city. The city has a peculiar magnetism that seems to emanate from the surrounding mountains, its lake that looks more like an ocean, and its people, descendants of the Aymara, a strong people who once ruled the high plateaus.

Before the expansion of the Inca Empire, what we now know as Puno, in the southernmost part of Peru, was home to the Tiahunaco culture, whose influence spread through all the Andean area, as shown by archeological remains.

Puno, according to legend, was also the cradle of Inca civilization, as Manco Capac and Mama Ocllo, the first Inca and his wife, rose from the waters of Lake Titicaca, and following the orders of their father, the Sun God, went to Cuzco to found the Inca Empire. Lake Titicaca, at 3,815 m.a.s.l., is notable for being the world's highest navigable lake and, with an area of 8,400 square kilometers, the second largest in South America.

On November 4, 1688, Viceroy Conde de Lemos founded Puno as a Spanish city, naming it after San Carlos de Austria. From that moment, the Indian town began to change, as the Spanish priests, in their eagerness to convert the natives, built the beautiful churches which still stand today.

This region of Peru is famous for its varied and colorful lore; it has some of the most dazzling and richest folk ceremonies to be seen in this part of the continent. The most amazing of all, without doubt, is the feast of the Virgen de la Candelaria, held in February.

Today, Puno, capital of the department of the same name, is an important agricultural and livestock region; chiefly of South American camelids (alpacas and llamas) which graze on its immense plateaus and plains.