Puno

Puno doesn't win any beauty pageants—brown unfinished cement homes, old paved roads, and a dusty desert has been the landscape for years. It's a sharp contrast to Puno's immediate neighbor, Lake Titicaca. Some people arrive in town, and scram to find a trip on the lake. Don't let the dreary look of Puno stop you from exploring its shores; it's considered Peru's folklore capital.

Puno retains traits of the Aymará, Quechua, and Spanish cultures that settled on the northwestern shores of the lake. Their influence is in the art, music, dance, and dress of today's inhabitants, who call themselves "Children of the Sacred Lake." Much of the city's character comes from the continuation of ancient traditions—-at least once a month a parade or a festival celebrates some recent or historic event.

Safety

At 3,827 meters (12,553 feet) above sea level Puno challenges your system, so eat lightly, skip the alcohol (trust us!), forgo your morning jog, and take it easy your first two or three days.

Walking around the port after dark is not smart. When the sun goes down, the port gets desolate and unsuspecting tourists become targets for crime. So if you're at the handicraft market or are getting back from an outing on the lake, and suddenly it's dusk, catch a cab.

Getting Around

Restaurants, shops, Internet services, banks, and drug stores line the four-block pedestrian-only street Jirón Lima, between Pino Park (sometimes called Parque San Juan after the San Juan Bautista Church nearby) and the Plaza de Armas.

Puno has tricycle taxis, which resemble Asian tuk-tuks, and are driven by bicycle peddlers with a supped-up carriage and costs only S/1 to go nearly anywhere in the city. However, if you're heading to a mirador high up on the hill, and you don't want the peddler to keel over, take an auto taxi, which costs S/3.

The bus Terminal Terreste is at 1 de Mayo 703 and Bolivar and many companies also have offices here.