Chucuito

Chucuito (in Aymará Choque-Huito, Mountain of Gold) is the first of several small towns that dot the lake as you travel from Puno into Bolivia. If you aren't interested in architecture, colonial churches, or don't care to see another undeveloped Peruvian town, then chances are you won't enjoy these little towns. Having said that, Chucuito, surrounded by hillsides crisscrossed with agricultural terraces, has one novelty you won't find elsewhere—its Temple of Fertility, or Templo de Inca Uyu.

The temple is the most interesting thing to see in Chucuito. Almost a ghost town, the main plaza has a large stone Inca sundial as its centerpiece. There are two Renaissance-style 16th-century churches, La Ascunción alongside the plaza and the Santo Domingo on the east side of town. Neither one has been maintained, but both are open for services.