Peru - Lonely Planet Publications [152]
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PUNO
051 / pop 120,200 / elev 3830m
Bustling, merrily claustrophobic Puno is known to most as a convenient stop between Cuzco and La Paz and a jumping-off point for Lake Titicaca expeditions, but it may just capture your heart with its own rackety charm.
Crammed together in congested, canyonlike calles (streets), cars, trucks, buses, mototaxis and triciclos (three-wheeled cycles) scream by in jangling waves while pedestrians cower on microscopically narrow pavements. Puno’s people are cheerful, cheeky, and ready to drop everything if there’s a good time to be had.
A modern city that’s a trade nexus between Peru, Bolivia and the two coasts of South America, Puno is overwhelmingly commercial and forward-looking, but a few old buildings, and the many young cadets in the streets, give a sense of its colonial and naval history.
Puno is known as Peru’s capital folklõrica (folkloric capital)– its Virgen de la Candelaria parades are televised across the nation – and the associated drinking is the stuff of legend (Click here). The good times aren’t restricted to religious festivals, though – some of Peru’s most convivial bars, as well as some of its most innovative restaurants, are in Puno.
Orientation
Puno is handily compact. If you’ve got energy to spare, you can walk into the center from the port or the bus terminals, otherwise hop into a mototaxi. Everything in the town center is within easy walking distance.
Find yourself a coffee and a window seat on Jirón Lima, the main pedestrian street. Abandoned and forlorn in the afternoon, in the early evening it comes alive with puneños (inhabitants of Puno) out to promenade. Banks, centros de llamadas (call centers) and internet cafes abound on this street.
Information
EMERGENCY
Policía de Turismo (Tourist Police; 35-3988; Deustua 558; 24hr) There is also a policeman on duty in the terminal terrestre (24 hours) – ask around if you need him.
IMMIGRATION
Bolivian Consulate (35-1251; Arequipa 136, 2nd fl; 8am-2pm Mon-Fri)
Oficina de Migraciónes (Immigration Office; 35-7103; Ayacucho 270-280; 8am-1pm & 2pm-4:15pm Mon-Fri) May help with student and business visas; doesn’t give tourist-card extensions.
MEDICAL SERVICES
Botica Fasa (36-6862; Arequipa 314; 24hr) A well-stocked pharmacy that’s attended 24 hours, though you may have to pound on the door late at night.
Medicentro Tourist’s Health Clinic (36-5909, 951-62-0937; Moquegua 191; 24hr) English and French spoken; will also come to your hotel.
MONEY
Bolivianos can be exchanged in Puno or at the border. You’ll find an ATM inside the terminal terrestre that accepts most bank cards and dispenses US dollars and soles. BCP (Jirón Lima 444), Interbank (Lima at Libertad) and Banco Continental (Lima at Grau) all have branches and ATMs on Jirón Lima; there’s another Banco Continental at Libertad. There’s a Moneygram branch on Jirón Puno, just down from the Plaza.
POST
Serpost (Moquegua 267; 8am-8pm Mon-Sat)
TOURIST INFORMATION
iPerú (36-5088; Plaza de Armas, cnr Lima & Deustua; 8:30am-7:30pm) Puno’s helpful and well-informed tourist office; also runs Indecopi, the tourist-protection agency, which registers complaints about travel agencies and hotels.
Dangers & Annoyances
Puno’s high altitude gives it extreme weather conditions. Nights get especially cold, particularly during the winter months of June to August (which are also the tourist high season), when temperatures can drop well below freezing. Meanwhile, days are very hot and sunburn is a common problem.
The elevation also means that travelers arriving directly from the coast run a real risk of getting soroche (altitude sickness; Click here). Plan on spending some time in Arequipa (2350m) or Cuzco (3326m) first to acclimatize, or take it very easy after arriving in Puno.
Robberies have been reported at the Mirador del Condor and Cerro Huajsapata. Go in the morning and preferably not alone. In addition, serious attacks on travelers have been