Puno City

 

Puno city is the capital of the department of Puno. It was founded with the name of "Villa Rica de San Carlos de Puno" in 1668, by the Viceroy Count of Lemos, to end with the problems of possession of the silver mines of Laicacota of the brothers Gaspar and José Salcedo.

 

The beauty and charm of the city, are a mixture of their typical constructions of Andean architecture in the sides of the hills until the bank of the Lake Titicaca, and that of their people, humble, poor and kind.

 

Puno has been denominated the "Capital folklórica del Peru" (folkloric capital of Peru) by the wealth of its artistic and cultural expressions.

 

The Cathedral

Located in front of the Main Square, finished in 1756. Temple of a single nave with the shape of a Latin cross. Its main facade is carved in granite with rich ornamentation, with great influence of indigenous builders, outstanding San Marcos's and San Mateo sculptures. Visiting hours: Mon. – Fri. and Sun. 7:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M. and 3:00 P.M. – 6:00 P.M. Sat. 7:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M. and 3:00 P.M. – 7:00 P.M

 

"El Balcón del Conde de Lemos"

Intersection of streets Deustua and Conde de Lemos. Visiting hours: Mon. – Fri. 8:30 A.M. – 4:00 P.M. Beautiful colonial balcony on the house of the Count of Lemos. Today, it is the cultural complex of the National Culture Institute of the Department of Puno and it contains an art gallery.

 

La Casa del Corregidor (Chief Magistrate's House)

Jiron Deustua N° 576. Visiting hours: Wed. – Fri. 10:00 A.M. – 10:00 P.M. Sat. 10:00 A.M. – 2:30 P.M. and 5:00 P.M. – 10:00 P.M. It is a seventeenth century colonial mansion where Puno art exhibitions take place. There is a coffee bar, a library, and an Internet and video club. Cultural activities are organized and information on rural tourism is also available there.

 

San Juan Bautista Church

Is located in Puno downtown, in front of Parque Pino. Was a chapel 200 years ago and rebuilt as church in 1876. Is the sanctuary of Virgin of Candelaria (Virgen de la Candelaria) patron of Puno city.

 

"Museo Municipal Dreyer" (Municipal Museum Dreyer)

Exhibition of collections of pre-Inca pieces, Incan and Colonial. Located in Conde de Lemos Street No. 289.

 

"Museo de Arte Popular de Puno" (Museum of Popular Art of Puno)

Exhibition of collections of popular art pieces of the region. Located in Deza Street No. 257.

 

"Arco Deustua"

Jirón Independencia, block 2. Built in homage to the Peruvian patriots combatants of the Junin and Ayacucho battles, made in figured stone and with arbors and amphitheater.

 

"El Mirador del Cerro Huajsapata" (Huajsapata Lookout)

Huajsapata means "witness of my love". Located in the west area of the city on a high and natural place of privileged panoramic view of the city of Puno and the Lake Titicaca. At the top, there is a monument to Manco Capac, founder of the Inca Empire.

 

"Mirador del Cóndor" (Kuntur Wasi Lookout)

2 Km (1 mile) from downtown Puno (10 minutes by car). Kuntur Wasi means "house of the condor" and offers an unsurpassed view of Puno and Lake Titicaca. You must climb a large flight of steps to get there.

 

Yavari Ship Museum

Avenida Sesquicentenario N° 610, Sector Huaje (Hotel Sonesta Posada del Inca Pier). Telephone: (051) 36-9329. Visiting hours: Mon. – Sun. 8:00 A.M. – 5:15 P.M.- Free admission. It is an iron ship built in Great Britain in the 1860's that was transported from the Pacific coast to the High Plateau in pieces – 2766 in total. Inside, different accessories of the ship compartments are exhibited as well as documents, archives, historical maps, and models of that time.

 

Folk and Art in Puno

Puno has been denominated the "Capital folklórica del Peru" (folkloric capital of Peru) by the wealth of its artistic and cultural expressions. Especially through the dance; there are registered more than 300 from the 1,500 existing in the national environment, autochthonous dances that reach their biggest manifestation in the celebrations of the Feast of the "Virgen de la Candelaria" and the Regional Contest of Autochthonous Dances. Calendar of Feasts.

 

Virgen de la Candelaria Feast

The Feast in honor of Our Lady of Candlemas, patron of the city of Puno, is made in the first fortnight of February each year, and represents the largest and most important cultural event, musical and dancing by Peru, and one of the three most significant in South America along with Carnival in Rio de Janeiro and the Carnaval de Oruro, in the amount of symbols and artistic and cultural manifestations of the cultures themselves Quechua, Aymara and mixed by Highlands Andean and the volume of people directly and indirectly involved in its realization.

 

 

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