From Puno
To Moquegua
Trip Friday 29 March

Puno to Moquegua

03/29/2024


Information about the city Puno

Puno is a city in southeastern Peru, located on the shore of Lake Titicaca. It is the capital city of the Puno Region and the Puno Province with a population of approximately 149,064 (2014 estimate). The city was established in 1668 by viceroy Pedro Antonio Fernández de Castro as capital of the province of Paucarcolla with the name San Juan Bautista de Puno. The name was later changed to San Carlos de Puno, in honor of king Charles II of Spain. Puno has several churches dating back from the colonial period; they were built to service the Spanish population and evangelize the natives.

Puno is an important agricultural and livestock region; important livestock are llamas and alpacas, which graze on its immense plateaus and plains. Much of the city economy relies on the black market, fueled by cheap goods smuggled in from Bolivia. Puno is served by the Inca Manco Capac International Airport in nearby Juliaca.

Puno is situated between the shores of Lake Titicaca and the mountains surrounding the city. There is less than two miles of flat land between the shores and the foothills, which has caused the growing city to continue to expand upwards onto the hillsides. As a result, the town's less developed and poorest areas, which are high on the hillsides, often have very steep streets, which are generally unpaved and cannot be accessed by automobile.

Up one of these streets is the Kuntur Wasi viewpoint, which has a large metal sculpture of a condor. There are some 700 steps to climb to reach the sculpture, but the view across the city and Lake Titicaca beyond is breathtaking.

During the celebrations of the Feast of the "Virgen de la Candelaria" and the Regional Competition of Autochthonous Dances. Puno's access to Lake Titicaca is surrounded by 41 floating islands. To this day, the Uros people maintain and live on these man-made islands, depending on the lake for their survival, and are a large tourist destination. Dragon Boat racing, an old tradition in Puno, is a very popular activity amongst tourists.

Puno is the first major hub in the constant migration of indigenous peoples of the Andes to the larger cities of Peru. It is the largest city in the Southern Altiplano and is the recipient of new residents from surrounding smaller agricultural communities of people seeking better opportunities for education and employment. As such, Puno is served by several small Institutes of Technology, Education and other technical or junior college-type facilities. Additionally it is home to what is commonly referred to as the "UNA" or the Universidad Nacional del Altiplano, which was founded in 1856.

Puno features a subtropical highland climate (Cwc).

As Puno is located at such a high elevation, it experiences more extreme weather conditions than would be expected for its tropical latitude. The average annual temperature is about 8.4 °C,[2] and the weather never gets overly warm. During the winter months from June to August, night-time temperatures usually drop well below 0 °C. At this high altitude, the rays of the sun are very strong. Most of the annual precipitation falls during the southern hemisphere summer, with the winter months being very dry.


Information about the city Moquegua

Moquegua, founded by the Spanish colonists as Villa de Santa Catalina de Guadalcázar del Valle de Moquegua) is a city in southern Peru, located in the Moquegua Region, of which it is the capital. It is also capital of Mariscal Nieto Province and Moquegua District. It is located 1144 kilometers south of the capital city of Lima.

This region was occupied for thousands of years by successive cultures of indigenous peoples. The Wari culture built numerous monuments, and developed terraced fields to support crop cultivation on hillsides hundreds of years before the Inca conquered them and expanded their territory into this area. Cerro Baúl is the remains of a Wari monumental site, on top of a hill outside of Moquegua.

According to Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, the Inca Emperor Mayta Cápac organized the military expedition that extended the Inca domains to the shore of the Pacific. They overcame other indigenous peoples in the 15th century; in the next century, they were conquered by the Spanish.

There is no definite information about the year of the city's founding by the Spanish. Tradition holds that the colonial city was founded on November 25, 1541, by Pedro Cansino and his wife Josefina de Bilbao.

Moquegua's economy is largely based on mining. Resources include copper, silver, gold and molybdenum. Cuajone and part of Toquepala Mine are located in the Mcal. Nieto Province. A copper smelter and refinery to treat copper concentrates from those mines is located in Ilo province.

Images of Puno

Vídeo de Puno

Images of Moquegua

Vídeo de Moquegua