Chucuito

Colonial village south of Puno, with two early churches and an Inca fertility temple

A small colonial village about 15 kilometres south of Puno along the lake road, easy to combine with a half-day on the Aymara side of the lake. Chucuito's main square is one of the prettiest on this stretch of the lake, with two early colonial churches — Santo Domingo (16th century) and the more elaborate La Asunción (17th century).

The village's better-known curiosity is the Inca Uyo, a small walled compound just off the square containing a few dozen carved stone phalluses set upright in the ground, traditionally interpreted as an Inca fertility temple. Whatever its true origins, it makes for a striking and unusual stop, especially in combination with the Aymara villages of Acora and Juli further south along the lake.

things to do sight day trip
A story
The village is famous in Peru for the Inca Uyo, an enclosed yard filled with carved stone phalluses — long claimed as an Inca fertility temple, though some archaeologists now suspect the entire arrangement may have been assembled by 20th-century guides. The site is delightful regardless.