Sillustani

The chullpas at Sillustani are burial towers, built by the Colla people of the altiplano and continued under Inca rule, and they stand on a bare peninsula pushing into Lake Umayo at nearly four thousand metres. The finest are cylindrical, made of large dressed blocks fitted without mortar and, oddly, wider at the top than at the base, with a single small opening at ground level facing east. Around them lie unfinished towers, half-dressed blocks and the ramps used to raise them, which together make the construction sequence unusually easy to read. The lake below holds a flat-topped island and the whole plateau is treeless.

Highlights

• The dressed stone chullpas - the tallest towers, wider at the top than the base.
• The unfinished towers - half-built examples that show how the work was done.
• Lake Umayo - the lake and its flat island below the peninsula.
• The lizard carving - a small relief cut into one of the finished towers.

When to go

May to September is dry and clear, though it is also the coldest stretch at night. Afternoon tours from Puno are standard and catch better light on the towers, but the wind is strongest then. Whichever you pick, the sun at this altitude burns fast and there is no shade anywhere on the peninsula.

Practical notes

It is just under four thousand metres and the gentle-looking walk up to the towers leaves people breathing hard, particularly on a first day in Puno. The wind is constant and cold even in bright sun. Several towers stand broken open, and the standard tour allows about an hour, which is honestly enough. Vendors work the car park hard.

Nearby

Puno, Lake Titicaca and the road south towards the Bolivian border.

Key facts