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Puno

Known as the "capital folklórica del Perú", Puno is famous for its frequent and colorful cultural outpourings, celebrating hundreds of fiestas and traditional dances each year.
     
 

 

  
   
Puno was founded under unusual circumstances.  In 1668, the Spanish viceroy, Fernández de Castro, Conde de Lemos, suppressed a revolt by the owners of the nearby silver mine at Laykakota.
   
After executing the ringleaders, the viceroy relocated the population of the mining community to the new town of San Juan Bautista de Puno, the new capital of the province.
 

 

  
Nowadays, Puno is the largest port on Lake Titicaca, and the most popular jumping-off point for boat trips to the islands, or across the lake to Bolivia.
     

Practical Information

We stayed in Puno for two nights in October 2007.

  • Hotel: The Plaza Mayor is a comfortable 3-star hotel conveniently located just off the main square
  • Restaurants: We enjoyed our meals at Ukuku's & La Casona, along Jirón Lima
  • Transportation: We traveled to Puno from Cuzco by bus aboard the Inka Express; the boat cruise on Lake Titicaca was arranged through the hotel
  • Miscellaneous: Even after we'd been in Peru for over a week, the elevation in Puno — at 3,860 m (12,661 ft), even higher than Cuzco — still took its toll; we suffered headaches, nosebleeds, and shortness of breath during our stay, and the temperatures were noticeably cooler

Puno Region

While most of the indigenous population of Peru speaks Quechua, the inhabitants of the altiplano (high plain) around Lake Titicaca are predominantly of Aymara descent.  Puno is an important agricultural region, and Peru's largest producer of sheep, alpacas and llamas.  Puno was recently declared a special economic zone, to encourage investment and trade in the region.

Abra La Raya
   At about 4,320 m (14,170 ft) above sea level, Abra la Raya is the highest point on the route between Cuzco and Puno, and marks the border between these two regions.  

Pucará

Famous as a production center for ceramics — particularly the toritos which bring luck from rooftops throughout southern Peru — Pucará is named for a pre-Incan culture which once dominated the region.
 

 

  

Juliaca
 

 

  
The largest city in the Puno region, Juliaca is a bustling but charmless industrial conurbation. It is a transportation hub, impossible to avoid for tourists on their way to or from Lake Titicaca.

This page was first published 14 February 2008, and last updated 17 August 2008.