SILLUSTANI PUNO CITY

Essential Sightseeing in Puno:

Puno city

The Cathedral, on the Plaza de Armas (Main Square), is a beautiful stone building, showing the skill and imagination of the "puneño" builders, who created their own style, mixing their traditional motifs with the Spanish baroque.

The Dreyer Municipal Museum has on display invaluable pre-Inca pottery, textiles and instruments made in gold and silver, all from the Tiahuanaco culture.

Archeological Remains
Sillustani, 34 kms. from Puno, is one of the largest archeological areas in America. The chullpas, impressive burial monuments standing over 12 meters high, were built by the Collas people.

UROS AND TAQUILE ISLANDS

Lake Titicaca - Puno

Titicaca National Reserve, was created in 1978 to preserve 37 thousand hectares of marsh reeds surrounding Lake Titicaca. The reserve has two areas; Ramis, in the provinces of Huancané and Ramis; and Puno, in the province of the same name.

The reserve is home to many native bird species (over 60 species, between resident and migratory birds), fish (4 families) and amphibians (18 native species). Huaca Huacani, Toranipata and Santa Maria are the three islands in the lake.

The Island of the Uros, north of the bay of Puno, is made almost entirely of "totora" (marsh reeds), and thus one of the world's most unique tourist attractions. The floating island is Inhabited by two thousand Uros, who claim to be "kot-suña" (the people of the lake), and so have black blood, cannot drown and never feel the cold. For this reason, they claim to be great fishermen.

The Island of Taquile, 35 kilometers to the east of Puno, with an area of six square kilometers, is the largest of the islands found in lake Titicaca and has a fascinating variety of microclimates. The town of Taquile (3,950 m.a.sl.) has some Inca and Tiahuanaco remains. Furthermore, the Inca moral principles Ama Sua (Don`t steal), Ama Quella (Don't lie), and Ama Lulla (Don't be lazy) are still observed by the inhabitants. Should one of the thousand Uros break these rules, community authorities of the islands may even banish the lawbreaker as punishment.