|
Puno It is a city on the shores of the
Titicaca lake at about 3800 meters above sea
level. The Titicaca is the highest
navigable lake in the world and is shared by
Peru in its western side and Bolivia in the
eastern. The mythical Titicaca is the spot where
according to oral tradition Manko Qhapaq
and his wife, the founders of the Inka
civilization appeared. Puno is located in the
ancient Collasuyo of the Incas, the Altiplano
(high plateau) a broad territory between 3800
and 4200 meters. The inhabitants of the
Collasuyo speak mostly Aymara, the old language
rivaling the Inkas' Quechua. The air is
somewhat rarefied due to the high altitude and
its consequent lack of oxygen so try to take it
easy when staying around here.
The Puno City was founded by the Spaniards in
1668 and was an important point serving the
colonial administration. It has many remains of
colonial architecture and specially churches
like the one of Lampa that contains nice pieces
of art. Today Puno is considered as the Folklore
Capital of Peru due to the diversity of folk
dances and music existing in the region; their
top festivity is during the week of the
Candelaria Virgin by February, a whole week
of dancing, singing and drinking alcohol.
The main attractions in the area are:
The Uros Islands; they are small floating
islands artificially built with totora reeds
(the natural reeds growing in the lake). They
are inhabited by small organized communities;
the Uros people are mainly fishers and hunter of
marine birds; but they even have small farmlands
in those floating lakes for growing different
vegetables.
The Sillustani Chullpas.
Chullpa is a circular shaped tower used as
cemetery. As there were mummies inside those
buildings they were looted in colonial times, so
now it is somewhat difficult to know many
aspects of those stone buildings. The quality of
their walls is excellent having many
characteristics of the Imperial Inkan
architectural type.
The Taquile Island is a beautiful somewhat large
island in the Titicaca Lake. Its
inhabitants speak quechua and they still keep
many aspects of the way of life of their
ancestors, centuries ago. The visit to Taquile
takes the whole day but it is possible to stay
overnight in the island, getting lodge in the
house of one of the local families (they were
arranged for that purpose). The weavings
produced in Taquile are very elaborate, they are
hand made by the male weavers.
|
