Sillustani

Sillustani sits on a peninsula jutting into Lake Umayo on the altiplano near Puno, Peru, at an altitude of around 3,890 metres. The site is dominated by chullpas — cylindrical funerary towers built primarily by the Qulla (Colla) people, who dominated the region before being absorbed into the Inca Empire in the 15th century, with construction continuing into the Inca period. The tallest tower, the Lizard Tower (Pukara Uyo), stands roughly 12 metres high and is built from precisely cut stone blocks that narrow toward the base and widen toward the top — the inverse of most masonry construction, a technique that has prompted debate over the engineering knowledge required given that the towers nonetheless remained structurally stable for centuries.

Each chullpa served as a collective tomb for an extended noble family, interred along with grave goods, food, and possessions for use in the afterlife, with a single small opening facing east toward the sunrise — aligned, according to some researchers, with the rising of the sun on the winter solstice, though as with many Andean astronomical claims this remains debated. Many of the towers show evidence of having been deliberately damaged, likely by Spanish treasure hunters seeking the gold and silver objects believed to have been buried with the dead; some chullpas also show holes attributed by local guides to lightning strikes, which the Qulla regarded as a sign that the deceased within had been chosen by the gods.