Peru - Lonely Planet Publications [159]
Trains depart from Puno’s train station (36-9179; www.perurail.com; Av La Torre 224; 7am-12pm & 3pm-6pm Mon-Fri, 7am-3pm Sat) at 8am, arriving at Cuzco around 6pm. Services run on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday from November to March, with an extra departure on Friday from April to October. Tickets can be purchased online.
Getting Around
A short taxi ride anywhere in town (and as far as the transport terminals) costs S3. Mototaxis are a bit cheaper at S2, and triciclos cheapest of all at S1.50 – but it’s an uphill ride, so you may find yourself wanting to tip the driver more than the cost of the fare!
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AROUND PUNO
Sillustani
Sitting on rolling hills on the Lake Umayo peninsula, the funerary towers of Sillustani (admission S6.50; 8am-5pm) stand out for miles against the desolate altiplano landscape.
The ancient Colla people who once dominated the Lake Titicaca area were a warlike, Aymara-speaking tribe, who later became the southeastern group of the Incas. They buried their nobility in chullpas (funerary towers), which can be seen scattered widely around the hilltops of the region.
The most impressive of these towers are at Sillustani, where the tallest reaches a height of 12m. The cylindrical structures housed the remains of complete family groups, along with plenty of food and belongings for their journey into the next world. Their only opening was a small hole facing east, just large enough for a person to crawl through, which would be sealed immediately after a burial. Nowadays, nothing remains of the burials, but the chullpas are well preserved. The afternoon light is the best for photography, though the site can get busy at this time.
The walls of the towers are made from massive coursed blocks reminiscent of Inca stonework, but are considered to be even more complicated. Carved but unplaced blocks and a ramp used to raise them are among the site’s points of interest, and you can also see the makeshift quarry. A few of the blocks are decorated, including a well-known carving of a lizard on one of the chullpas closest to the parking lot.
Sillustani is partially encircled by the sparkling Lago Umayo (3890m), which is home to a wide variety of plants and Andean waterbirds, plus a small island with vicuñas (threatened, wild relatives of llamas). Birders take note: this is one of the best sites in the area.
Tours to Sillustani leave Puno at around 2:30pm daily and cost from S25. The round-trip takes about 3½ hours and allows you about 1½ hours at the ruins. If you’d prefer more time at the site, hire a private taxi for S60 with waiting time. To save money, catch any bus to Juliaca and ask to be let off where the road splits (S5, 25 minutes). From there, occasional combis run to the village of Atun Colla, a 4km walk from the ruins. During high season, combis will occasionally continue to the ruins, but don’t bank on this.
For longer stays, Atun Colla (951-90-5006, 951-50-2390; www.turismovivencialatuncolla.com) offers turismo vivencia (homestays). You can help your host family with farming, hike to lookouts and lesser-known archaeological sites, visit the tiny museum and eat dirt – this area is known for its edible arcilla (clay). Served up as a sauce on boiled potato, it goes down surprisingly well.
Cutimbo
Just over 20km from Puno, this dramatic site (admission S3; 8am-5pm) has an extraordinary position atop a table-topped volcanic hill surrounded by a fertile plain. Its modest number of well-preserved chullpas, built by the Colla, Lupaca and Inca cultures, come in both square and cylindrical shapes. You can still see the ramps used to build them. Look closely and you’ll find several monkeys, pumas and snakes carved into the structures.
This remote place receives few visitors, which makes it both enticing and potentially dangerous for independent travelers, especially women. Go in a group and keep an eye out for those who wait to mug tourists.