Puno Tourist Attractions
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Puno is the most convenient base for exploring the Peruvian portion of Lake Titicaca. Boat tours to the nearby Islas Flotantes, and islands of Tequille and Amantani are easily arranged from Puno.Unfortunately the city is not a popular place with most travelers. Although Puno was originally founded in 1668, there are few colonial buildings left. The architecture consists mainly of tightly packed low-rise brick buildings, most of which look like they are still under construction. Rebar sticks out of the rooftops making the downtown area look very run down. The waterfront area is weedy and also generally unappealing.Nonetheless Puno is a good place to book tours and make arrangements for getting out to the nicer areas of the Lake.
Surroundings
There are a number of attractions in the Puno surrounding area which can be visited easily on day trips. Most of the sights run along the south shore. The journey to the north shore by road can take quite some time and is probably better done with overnight stays in local towns.
Sillustani
Sillustani, just outside of Puno, is the site of some of the areas most impressive funerary towers (chullpas). They were built by the Colla people around 600 AD to bury their nobility. Entire families, along with food and personal possessions were buried in these cylinders.The tallest of the several towers at Sillustani is 12 m / 38 ft. Most of these are set along the bank of Lake Umayo. The scenery here is beautiful. Visitors walk up a hill from the parking lot to the plateau above. The towers stand at the far end of the field with the lake in behind. Below the parking lot is a small marshy lake where locals can be seen poling along in their boats, harvesting reeds.
Pomata
The small town of Pomata is located about 100km / 60 mi from Puno, along the south shore of Lake Titicaca. The main attraction in this little village is the Dominican Church on top of a hill. The church was built in 1700 and has carved puma in the façade. Pomata means "place of the Puma". There is not a whole lot to see in this town and there is only very limited accommodation.
