PUNO
Was the territory of the Tiahuanaco culture (800 A.D. – 1200 A.D.) which was the highest cultural expression of the Aymara and Colla people that established themselves in what is today south-eastern Peru and Bolivia. The Incas took over these lands in the fifteenth century, and the Spanish, attracted by the huge deposits of gold and silver, developed an important mining industry and left an important Colonial legacy throughout the entire area. The city of Puno (3,287 masl), on the shores of Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world, is the folklore capital of Peru. In the outskirts, the spectacular Chullpas de Sillustani can be found, a complex of impressive burial towers built by the Collas.