the Tmbs of Sillustani
by nicoleken
When you go to Puno near lake Titicaca, you must visit this Tombs of Sillustani.
The tombs are built above the ground and they are shaped.
The ancient people in Peru believed in a mother earth that created and regulated life. When a person died, they were mummified in the fetal position, just like they cam into the world. The doors of the tombs face east, because it is believed that that is where the sun is born from the mother earth each and everyday. The mysterious burial towers of Sillustani are called chullpas.
Chucuito
by ValbyDK
Chucuito is a small local town, located about 20 kilometres from Puno – a 30 minutes ride by car. We took a taxi from the centre of Puno to Chucuito and paid around 15 USD for the two-way trip.
We started our sightseeing in Chucuito by visiting the 'Inca Uyu Park', which is a walled enclosure filled with Indian sculptures. It does not require much imagination to see what the sculptures are supposed to symbolize, and the many phallus sculptures may have been a part of a ‘Temple of Fertility’. Once the park was visited by many women, who wanted to become pregnant, and they were sitting on top of the sculptures for hours in hopes of increasing their fertility. But the origin of the park and sculptures is actually not known for sure. Another theory of the park is that it was part of a larger complex and was used for ceremonial rituals of political and religious nature. 'Inca Uyu Park' was not overrun with tourists and we were the only ones visiting the park! Entrance: 5 s/.
Before heading back to Puno, we visited the town’s main square - but even here, we met no people! It is decorated with a beautiful stone mosaic. The old ‘Santo Domingo Church’ is located at the square, but it was closed for visitors. So was the museum, ‘Museo Wawa Marka’, we spotted from the church.
Chucuito is a small town with a sleepy town atmosphere!
Getting there and around
by darthmilmo
There are several buses that ply the routes to and from Puno. The cost is around $1 USD per hour. For those who prefer train travel, there is a slightly more expensive train ride available between Puno and Cusco. Now in days, however, the bus seem to follow the same route.
Los Uros
by K-nalla
Eventhough is not a natural habitat anymore (if you visit them you will see why nobody will want to live there) is extremely interesting to see how people develop that way of living. Nowadays, people are subsidized by the goverment to inhabit the islands.
Get here by getting early to the docks and catch a boat there yourself (is the same price as taking the tour, is the same boat, is more work for you but this way you are paying the boat owners and not the bigger tour companies) Charge is about 15 soles with an entrance fee of 5 soles to the islands themselves. Pls dont smoke on the islands ;-)
Chullpas de Sillustani
by ValbyDK
We booked a guided tour through ‘Panorama Peru’ to 'Chullpas the Sillustani', which is located about 35 kilometre north of Puno - a 45 minutes ride by car.
'Chullpas the Sillustani' is an old burial ground for important spiritual and political people from the K'olla culture, and later also used by the Incas. Around the area are numerous burial towers ('chullpas'), some up to 12 meters high. The towers are hollow inside and in the cavity, mummified corpses were placed in fetal position to prepare for a rebirth. Unfortunately many of the circular stone towers are in a bad condition, some of them due to grave robbers, who once ravaged the area.
The funeral towers are built on a hilltop with breathtaking views over Lake Umayo. A very impressive scenery. However, the wind from the lake was quite cold, so bring warm clothes when you are visiting 'Chullpas the Sillustani'.
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Roots form the island base
Local farm
Arco Deustua
Floating Islands
