La Rinconada

La Rinconada is a small city in Altiplano, Peru. It is known for being the highest permanent city of the world at a height of 5,100 m (16,700 ft). La Rinconada has about 50,000 inhabitants, an increase of over 200% since 2000. It is near a gold mine that most of the locals work at.

From Puno it's a six-hour bus ride on unpaved roads to La Rinconada.

Walking is the only way of getting around within the town. Roads are not paved and are generally very muddy, so make sure you have proper boots.

The town suffers from mercury and cyanide poisoning due to the mining activities and there is no sewerage system. The drinking water is known to be contaminated by mercury. There is only one small clinic.

Hypoxia and altitude sickness are also major concerns: it is, after all, the highest permanent settlement on Earth.

The town is notorious for its high crime rate (including murder) to the point where it is sometimes called la ciudad sin ley del Perú (the lawless city of Peru).