PUNO, A CITY IN THE CLOUDS.

Puno is the capital and the largest city of the Puno Region and Province in South Eastern Peru, with a population of approximately 150,000 inhabitants (2014).
Puno is located on the shore of Lake Titicaca, the World's highest commercial navigable Lake at 3,830m/12,556 ft above sea level, on the Peruvian Altiplano.
Puno city was established in 1668. In 1665, Jose and Gaspar Salcedo, mine owners brothers from the Province of Paucar Colla (now part of Puno Region), revolted against the colonial government. The brothers reached the site of the very rich Laykakota silver mines in 1657, and by its exploitation they became the richest men in Latin America. They were born in Andalusia and have Andean Peruvians as in-laws. They promoted equal-opportunity employment, however they were seen as more favorables to their fellow Andalusians, to Castilians, Creoles and Andean Peruvians than to Catalans, Galicians, and Basques, and the latter group of workers formed a rival faction which battled the mainstream faction led by the Salcedo brothers. A truce was reached by which the Salcedos effectively became the undisputed authority in the Town.
When Pedro Antonio Fernandez de Castro, the new Viceroy, who was from Galicia, arrived in Peru at the port of Callao on November 9, 1667, this fight had reached greater proportions that, out of personal greed, he felt he needed to resolve it personally. He arrived at Paucar-Colla on June 7, 1668 and suppressed the fight by establishing a court to try the rebels and sentenced Jose Salcedo and 41 others to death. These sentences were carried out. Gaspar Salcedo was banished for 6 years and fined 12,000 francs and costs. The Viceroy also ordered the population (approximately 10,000 people) of San Luis Alva, the settlement that had grown up around the mines, the principal target of the Viceroy's interest, was removed a short distance to the Town of Puno, which he made the capital of the Province. He then burned San Luis Alva. The Viceroy died in Lima after a short illness on December 6, 1672. The sentences were appealed to Spain, where they were reversed. Gaspar Salcedo was freed and the fines were refunded. A natural son of Jose, also named Jose Salcedo, was made Marques de Villa-Rica by King Philip V in 1703.
The pre-Incan Silustani Chullpas are located on the top of a windy hilltop which overlooks Lake Umayo. The chullpas are stone burial towers, up to 12 meters height, where mummies were housed to await rebirth. The bodies of the deceased were swathed in fabric and tied into mummy bundles to be buried with a plethora of items that the deceased was suppose to use while waiting in there. They always placed them into a fetal position, so they would be ready to be born again. The opening of the towers face East, where it was believed that the person was reborn by the mother earth each day. The dry climate and the closed tom had the unintended effect of mummifying many of these bodies.
They are recognizable by their uncommon shape, which is narrower at the base and wider at the top. Each of the towers held a family unit. Unfortunately, many of the tombs have suffered damage by grave robbers, who used dynamite to open them up.
A short distance from the tombs is the museum, which shows pieces unearthed at the site. These date back to the Colla culture, the Tiahuanco Kingdom, and the Inca Empire. The Incas absorved, expanded and continued to use the pre-existing site after conquering the area.
Puno is an important agricultural and livestock region of Peru, particularly of llamas and alpacas which graze on its immense plateaus and plains.
As Puno is located at high elevation, which means it is fairly cold, especially at night. It experiences more extreme weather conditions than would be expected for its tropical latitude.