Sillustani

Apart from visiting the islands, the main excursion in the Lake Titicaca area is to the ruins of Sillustani, 30 minutes from Puno. These are chullpas, or funerary towers, and the earliest at the site date from the Colla civilisation around 600AD, although many of the towers are from the Inca period. There are over 60 towers at Sillustani, and the style of the chullpa varies according to the person who was being buried. The tall towers were built in the Inca period and have very fine stonework and were used for the burials of rulers. The smaller towers were used for less important people, and there are also common tombs which are completely subterranean. Sillustani is wonderfully located on the shores of Lake Ayumara, and the chullpas are very beautiful against the skies of the altiplano.