Sillustani Complex
On an altiplano plateau at 3,900 meters above sea level and about 30 kilometers North of the town of Puno, is the site of Sillustani, one of the largest necropolises in the world. Surrounded by a landscape of striking beauty that seems to be summed up in the serene waters of the Umayo lake.
The archaeological complex stands out for its gigantic “chullpas” (species of stone towers), built by Collas and Incas, to bury their dead. Some half-fallen, others standing like chess towers resisting the passage of time. The serene and desolate beauty of the puna surrounds these funeral mummers. Its architects, true masters in the art of erecting stone colossi, chose for its greatest work a spectacular scenery: a summit in front of the lagoon of Umayo. The “chullpas” seem to have taken the high-Andean plateau by assault. They are almost 90 and are scattered in an area of 150 hectares. Many of them exceed 12 meters in height and have a larger diameter in the upper part than in the base. A challenge to the laws of gravity and balance. A detail that makes them unique in the continent.
Uros Floating Islands
The Uru’s islands are located at 3810 meters above sea level, and just five kilometers west from Puno port. A group of artificial islands made of totora reeds, they float on Lake Titicaca. Its inhabitants are the Uros, an ancestral town. At the moment this twon is in the plateau of the Collao, In Peru they only inhabit the floating islands located in the bay of Puno.
The subsistence in the floating islands floating islands in Lake Titicaca is based on a culture linked to the lake and the totora reeds that springs from the bottom of the lake. The construction of these islands is done by weaving the totora in the areas where it grows more tupist, forming a natural layer to which the uros call Khili; on this layer they build their houses, also of a mesh woven of totora to which they denominate mat. Each house is one room and they cook outdoors to avoid fires. The purpose of the island settlements was originally defensive; if a threat arose the floating islands could be moved. The largest island retains a watchtower almost entirely constructed of reeds.
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Inca Manco Capac International Airport, Juliaca, Peru (Google Map)
3 Hours Before Flight Time
Visiting Puno and its imposing Lake Titicaca is a beautiful spectacle, but also a way to get to know more closely the Quechua and Aymara communities that have managed to tear the subsistence of the highlands. In this short trip the following destinations are waiting for you:
Arrival to the city of Puno and transfer to chosen hotel.
PM Exc. Chullpas de Sillustani: monumental pre-Inca funerary buildings, carved in volcanic stone, the tombs, which are built above ground in tower-like structures called chullpas. The entire archaeological complex is located on the shores of Umayo lake, the same underground that communicates with Lake Titicaca, at the indicated time return to Puno and transfer your hotel.
Hotel night in Puno.
Breakfast at the hotel.
Exc. The Uros Floating Islands: At an indicated time transfer to Puno port to sail towards the Uros Islands, after 40 minutes by boat (Lancha), we will make a guided tour to the islands, these Islands are not natural, they have been built by the tribes called Uros, periodically adding pieces of totora, a kind of vegetable fiber that grows in the lake, their houses and boats are also made with this material, their main activity is fishing. Return to Puno.
Hotel night Puno.
Breakfast at the hotel
At an indicated time transfer from the hotel to Juliaca airport.
End of services.
