Pucará

Two things bring people to Pucará. The first is the Torito de Pucará, the ceramic bull placed in pairs on the ridge of house roofs across the southern Andes, usually with a cross and a ladder between them, as protection and a blessing on the household - a form that came out of colonial-era adaptation of Andean cattle-marking ritual and is now made in workshops throughout the town. The second is the archaeology: Pucará was the centre of a culture that flourished from roughly 200 BC to 200 AD, before Tiwanaku, and the Kalasaya complex on the hill above has terraced platforms, a sunken court and carved stone stelae with feline and human figures. The Lithic Museum in the town holds the best of the sculpture. It is on the main Puno to Cusco road, which is why the tourist buses stop, though usually only briefly.

What you actually see

• The toritos - the ceramic roof bulls made in workshops throughout the town.
• Kalasaya - terraced platforms and a sunken court from around 200 BC to 200 AD.
• The stelae - carved stone figures, the best of them in the town museum.
• The road stop - a standard halt on the Puno to Cusco tourist route.

When to go

April to November. Two to three hours if you leave the bus; tourist services stop for far less. At 3,900 metres.

Honest expectations

Tourist buses allow only a short stop, usually for shopping rather than the site. The Kalasaya complex is a climb and is lightly presented. Much sold as local ceramic is made elsewhere. Cold and windy at altitude.

Nearby

Lampa is south; the road continues north over La Raya towards Cusco.