Sillustani: Puno Travel Guide (4.7★)

Towers on the Umayo peninsula

The chullpas stand on a bare ridge above Lake Umayo. They are cylindrical burial towers, and many are wider at the top than at the base. The Colla (Qolla) people built them for their elite before the Incas took the Titicaca basin. The Incas then added their own.

You can read that history in the stonework:

• Earlier Colla towers are rough fieldstone held together with mortar. Several are half-collapsed.
• Later Inca-era towers use smooth, tightly fitted blocks. The tallest of these reach about 12 metres.
• The Lagarto chullpa has a lizard carved into one block, a symbol tied to regeneration. Guides always point it out.

Most towers have one small, low doorway facing east, toward the sunrise. Some are unfinished and still have the earthen ramp used to haul stones up. Those ramps show how the towers were built.

Getting out from Puno

The site lies roughly 34 km northwest of Puno, past the turn-off to the village of Atuncolla. The drive takes about 45 minutes.

There are three common ways to get there:

• A half-day group tour from Puno. This is the simplest option and usually includes the entry and a guide.
• A private taxi from Puno, booked for the return and the waiting time too.
• A stop on the way to Juliaca airport, which is also close. This makes good use of a departure day if your luggage is in the car.

Allow 3–4 hours for the round trip from Puno, with about 1.5–2 hours on site. Tickets are sold at the entrance, and the current price is posted there.

Altitude, wind and the climb

The site is at nearly 3,900 metres, a little higher than Puno. A stone path and steps lead from the entrance up to the ridge. It is short, but walk it slowly if you arrived from Cusco or the coast in the last day or two.

There is almost no shelter on the ridge. Wind comes straight off the lake, and the sun is harsh at this altitude even when the air is cold. Bring:

• a windproof layer and a hat
• sunscreen and sunglasses
• water, since there is little for sale beyond the entrance area

Walking the ridge without the tour crowd

Sillustani is well known, and the Puno tour schedule shapes the day. Group tours mostly leave Puno after lunch so they can catch the late light on the towers. Getting there by taxi soon after the 8am opening usually means fewer people at the Lagarto chullpa and on the paths. Hours at archaeological sites change through the year, so check the official schedule for the month you visit.

Stay on the marked paths. Climbing on the towers or the stone circles is not allowed, and wardens will call you back. Some ring-shaped stone arrangements on the ridge are still used for offerings to Pachamama, so walk around them, not through them.

Hire a guide at the entrance if you came without a tour. Without one, it is hard to tell the Colla towers from the Inca ones. Small handicraft stalls near the car park are run by families from nearby communities, and they mostly take cash in soles.

Many tours stop on the way back at a farmstead near Atuncolla. Asking before you photograph people or their animals is expected there.