Turism News/april,2009
From Wiki Sumaq Peru
New tourist route promoted in Puno
Puno, Mar. 08 (ANDINA).- Peruvian and foreign tourists visiting the Andean department of Puno have now the opportunity to take a new tourist route called "Men and Stone", which includes visits to stone monuments and craft workshops/fairs in different towns around the provinces of Lampa and Melgar.
Gestur NGO representative Hernan Cornejo Rosello said that with the launch of the new tour hundreds of local poor communities will benefit from increased tourist flows.
The tour includes a visit to the traditional pottery village of Pucara and its Stone Museum showcasing a collection of sculptures such as monoliths, steles and zoomorphic pieces, as well as ceramics and other objects.
Pucara is a town located in the Lampa province 107 km northeast of Puno and 62 km northwest of Juliaca, home to the famous Toritos de Pucara (Little Bulls from Pucara) traditional little sculpture clay works native of the nearby community of Santiago de Pupuja (15 km) whose reason to be is related to the magical and religious spirit of the farmers.
The “Men and Stone” tour will also take tourists to the Melgar province at 3,907 m.a.s.l. (12,820 ft). One of its highlights are the towns of Tarukani and Tinajani, famous for their large number of Puyas Raimondi (endemic species of the high Andean zones of Bolivia and Peru) and spectacular rock formations, respectively.
(END) LBH/EEP/LVT
