"The tallest tower at Sillustani, where Inca stonework housed the dead in a posture of continued presence"
Chullpa Lagarto
Sillustani, Puno, Peru
The Chullpa del Lagarto rises above the other funerary towers at Sillustani with the authority its builders intended. Constructed during the Inca period using the perfectly fitted stonework that characterises their finest architecture, this is the tallest chullpa in the complex — a tower for the dead that reaches toward the sky rather than descending into the earth. Its small east-facing doorway was sealed after burial, ensuring that each sunrise entered the tower before anything else.
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Quick Facts
Location
Sillustani, Puno, Peru
Tradition
Site Type
Coordinates
-15.7290, -70.1560
Last Updated
Mar 9, 2026
The tallest chullpa at Sillustani, built during the Inca period with their finest stonework on a site originally established by the Colla as their most sacred burial ground.
Origin Story
The Colla people established Sillustani as their principal cemetery in the thirteenth century, building above-ground towers for their elite dead. When the Inca conquered the Colla in the fifteenth century, they adopted the chullpa tradition and added towers of their own — including the Lagarto, the tallest and most finely constructed, whose stonework rivals their most celebrated architectural achievements elsewhere.
Spiritual Lineage
Colla funerary tradition (13th century), Inca refinement (15th century), colonial looting, present-day archaeological monument.
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