Puno

Puno

Puno, city, southern Peru. It lies on the western shore of Lake Titicaca at 12,549 feet (3,826 m) above sea level, on the high, cold Collao Plateau. Founded in 1668 as San Carlos de Puno, in honour of Charles (Carlos) II of Spain, the city has retained a colonial flavour, particularly in its churches and cathedral (built 1754). Pre-Columbian funeral towers are nearby. Puno serves as a commercial and communications centre of the southern Peruvian Andes and trades in the wool of llamas and alpacas. Steamers regularly ply Titicaca, the world’s highest navigable lake, between Puno and Guaqui, Bolivia (which is linked by road to La Paz). Puno is also the terminus of rail lines from Cuzco and Arequipa, which unite in Juliaca, and it is accessible by road and air. Tourism is an economic asset. The city is the seat of the National Technical University of the Altiplano (1885). Pop. (2005) 118,008.