The city of Puno is located at the shored of the Titicaca lake, in the Peruvian mountains at 4,000 meters over the sea level, in the second poorest region in Peru. Near to the city there are importanta archaeological sites from important pre-hispanic cultures like Tiahuanaco, Colla and Pucara. It is also an important place regarding Andean mythology, the legend of Manco Ccapa and mama Ocllo about the origin of the Incas Empire, refers to the Titicaca lake as the place where its founders came from.
Puno today attracts a large number of tourists from all over the world, who come to visit the lake. The city itself though, doesn't offer many other options to these visitors, wasting a large economic input and the benefit that this could bring to the community.
The city's appearance is rough, with 70% of the houses in unfinished condition. The people only occupy the finished areas leaving the unfinished empty until they complete them, process that sometimes may take up to several years. There are also a large number of empty lots which have been abandoned some of them with some construction work completed.