PUNO
puno peru
The region of puno is located in southeastern Peru. It is bordered by Bolivia on the east, the Madre de Dios region on the north, the Cusco and Arequipa regions on the west, the Moquegua region on the southwest, and the Tacna region on the south. Its capital is the city of Puno, which is located on the Lake Titicaca in the geographical region known as the Altiplano or high sierra. Its elevation ( lowest town 820m. Lanlacuni ) ( highest town 4725m. San Antonio de Esquilache ). Its population 1,290.052 ( last census 2005 ) this year 2007 is around 1,300.00. Puno region is divided into 13 provinces , which are composed of 107 districts. The provinces and their capitals are as fallows: 1.- Azángaro ( Azángaro ). ATTRACTIONS Lake Titicaca is the highest navigable lake in the world, with a surface of 8,560 km² (3,305 sq ml) and a maximum depth of 227 mt (744 ft). It also stands out for the transparency of its waters. There are 36 isles, the most important being, Taquile and Amantani. It houses a great variety of birds (flamingos, huallatas, keles, and tiquis), and fishes (trouts, carachis, pejerreyes, suches and ispis), among others. The Floating Islands of the Uros. A group of 40 floating islands formed by totora reeds, where the people are part of one of the oldest cultures in the continent. They live the way of their ancestors, strictly keeping their customs and idiosyncrasy. Isla Esteves, another isle with a very good hotel and a most spectacular view. Isla Taquile. The local people are farmers and have developed an original form of communal tourism. They receive visitors and share their food, housing, customs and traditions. Isla Amantani houses archeological ruins located in the top of the hills. These were sites for religious rites and adoration. Chullpas de Sillustani. An archeological area 34 km (21 ml) from the city of Puno. It is one the most important necropolis in the world. It stands at 4,000 m.a.s.l. (13,123 ft) in an esplanade surrounded by the beautiful Umayo lake. Built by the Collas, the chullpas are gigantic funerary monuments. They are quadrangular and circular edifications of over 12 mt (39 ft) high. The Cathedral. Finished in the seventeenth century, it stands out for the quality of its structure and the engravings in stone. Arco Deustua. This arched gateway built in memorial to the heroes of the independence Battles of Junín and Ayacucho, it is also the gathering site for the end of the Fiesta de la Candelaria. Juliaca, an important commercial city. Santa Catalina, a church from Viceroyal times, is one of its main attractions. Lampa is a city with an untouched Colonial influence. The Viceroyal church of Santiago Apóstol stands out. It has a replica of the Pietà by Michelangelo. Visitors can also go and see the house of the famous deceased Peruvian painter, Víctor Humareda, a chinchilla breeding ground, and the Lensora rupestrian paintings. Desaguadero is a frontier city and a crossing point to Bolivia. Close to Desaguadero are found the 10,000 years old Pizacoma rupestrian paintings. Chucuito is rich in archeological vestiges, such as the phallic temple of Inca Ullo, a place for fertility rites. Many of the Chucuito houses and churches maintain their Viceroyal past. Pucará. Village where the Gran Templo de Pucará is located. The local people are wonderful artisans and potters, famous for their toritos de Pucará (Pucará bulls). Yunguyo. This is a frontier town that limits with Copacabana in Bolivia. This is a location where several folkloric and religious festivals take place. LAKE TITICACA Lake Titicaca is a lake located on the border of Bolivia and Peru. It sits 3,812 m (12,507 ft) above sea level making it the highest commercially navigable lake in the world. By volume of water it is also the largest lake in South America. The lake is located at the northern end of the endorheic Altiplano basin high in the Andes on the border of Peru and Bolivia. The western part of the lake lies within the Puno Region of Peru, and the eastern side is located in the Bolivian La Paz Department. The lake is composed of two nearly separate sub-basins that are connected by the Strait of Tiquina which is 800 m (2,620 ft) across at the narrowest point. The larger sub-basin, Lago Grande (also called Lago Chucuito) has a mean depth of 135 m (443 ft) and a maximum depth of 284 m (932 ft). The smaller sub-basin, Lago Huiñaimarca (also called Lago Pequeño) has a mean depth of 9 m (30 ft) and a maximum depth of 40 m (131 ft). The overall average depth of the lake is 107 m (351 ft). The Lake Titicaca is fed by rainfall and meltwater from glaciers on the sierras that abut the Altiplano. Five major river systems feed into Lake Titicaca in order of their relative flow volumes these are: Ramis, Coata, Ilave, Huancané, and Suchez. More than 20 other smaller rivers empty into Titicaca, and the lake has 41 islands, some of which are densely populated. Having only a single season of free circulation, the lake is monomictic and water passes through Lago Huiñaimarca and flows out the single outlet at the Rio Desaguadero, which then flows south through Bolivia to Lake Poopó. This only accounts for about 10% of the lake's water balance. Evapotranspiration, caused by strong winds and intense sunlight at altitude, balances the remaining 90% of the water input. It is nearly a closed lake. Titicaca is notable for a population of people who live on the Uros, a group of about 41 artificial islands made of floating reeds. These islands have become a major tourist attraction for Peru, drawing excursions from the lakeside city of Puno. Their original purpose was defensive, and they could be moved if a threat arose. Many of the islands contain watchtowers largely constructed of reeds. Amantaní is another small island on Lake Titicaca populated by Quechua speakers. About 800 families live in six villages on the basically circular 15 square kilometres (6 sq mi) island. There are two mountain peaks, called Pachatata (Father Earth) and Pachamama (Mother Earth), and ancient ruins on the top of both peaks. The hillsides that rise up from the lake are terraced and planted with wheat, potatoes, and vegetables. Most of the small fields are worked by hand. Long stone fences divide the fields, and cattle, sheep, and alpacas graze on the hillsides. There are no cars on the island, and no hotels. A few small stores sell basic goods, and there is a health clinic and school. Electricity was produced by a generator and provided limited to a couple of hours each day, but with the rising price of the petrolium, they no longer use the generator. Most families use candles or flash lights powered by batteries or hand-cranks. The families on Amantaní open their homes to tourists for overnight stays and provide cooked meals, arranged through tour guides. The families who do so are required to have a special room set aside for the tourists and must fit a code by the tour companies that help them. Guests typically take food staples (cooking oil, rice, sugar) as a gift or school supplies for the children on the island. They hold nightly traditional dance shows for the tourists where they offer to dress them up in their traditional clothes and participate.
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