La Rinconada is a town in the Peruvian
Andes
The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...
near a
gold mine
Gold mining is the extraction of gold by mining.
Historically, mining gold from alluvial deposits used manual separation processes, such as gold panning. The expansion of gold mining to ores that are not on the surface has led to more comple ...
. At up to above sea level, it is the
highest permanent settlement in the world.
Between 2001 and 2009, the population was estimated by ''
National Geographic
''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...
'' to have increased to 30,000 people from just a small gold prospector camp because the price of gold rose 235% over that period,
although this number has not been reflected by the 2007 or 2017 censuses.
The town has gained notoriety for its extreme living conditions that include its high rates of
altitude sickness
Altitude sickness, the mildest form being acute mountain sickness (AMS), is a harmful effect of high altitude, caused by rapid exposure to low amounts of oxygen at high elevation. People's bodies can respond to high altitude in different wa ...
,
pollution
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause harm. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the component ...
,
poverty
Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse Biophysical environmen ...
,
murder
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...
, and
sex trafficking
Sex trafficking is human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Perpetrators of the crime are called sex traffickers or pimps—people who manipulate victims to engage in various forms of commercial sex with paying customers. Se ...
, and as a result has sometimes been referred to in Spanish as ''la ciudad sin ley del Perú'', which means "the lawless city of Peru."
Location
La Rinconada is a populated center, within the jurisdiction of
Ananea District, in
San Antonio de Putina Province,
Puno Department,
Peru
Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
. La Rinconada is located in the
Janca region, according to the classification of
Pulgar Vidal. According to the May 2003 issue of ''National Geographic'' magazine, La Rinconada is 5,100 meters above sea level, thus making it the highest-elevated permanent settlement in the world.
Etymology
"La Rinconada" means "The Cornered One" in
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas
**Spanish cuisine
**Spanish history
**Spanish culture
...
.
Geography
Topography
The town is in the
Ananea District,
San Antonio de Putina Province. The town lies at a height of to with the center at above sea level, on the side of Mount Ananea and at the foot of a glacier called Auchita, otherwise known as La Bella Durmiente (The Sleeping Beauty). Some successful miners in La Rinconada have homes in
Juliaca
Juliaca (; Quechua language, Quechua and ) is the capital of San Román Province in the Puno Region of southeastern Peru. It is the region's largest city with a population of 276,110 inhabitants (2017 Peru Census, 2017). On the Altiplano, Juliaca ...
, which has municipal services and is above sea level.
[
]
Climate
High in the Andes
The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...
, La Rinconada has an alpine tundra climate (''ET'', according to the Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
), with no month having mean temperatures even close to the threshold that would permit tree growth and a subtropical highland classification for the city. Far above the tree line
The tree line is the edge of a habitat at which trees are capable of growing and beyond which they are not. It is found at high elevations and high latitudes. Beyond the tree line, trees cannot tolerate the environmental conditions (usually low ...
, La Rinconada is unique in its high elevation and population, with the highest city of comparable population (Nagqu
Nagqu (also Naqu, Nakchu, or Nagchu; ; ) is a prefecture-level city in the north of the Chinese autonomous region of Tibet. On May 7, 2018, the former Nagqu Prefecture was officially declared the sixth prefecture-level city in Tibet after Lhas ...
) being over closer to sea level.
Owing to the extreme elevation of the town, climatic conditions more closely resemble those of the west coast of Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...
than somewhere only 14° from the equator. The town has rainy summers and dry winters with a large diurnal variation seeing cool to cold days and freezing night time temperatures throughout the year, with snowfalls common. The average annual temperature in La Rinconada is and the average annual precipitation is .
Population
According to a report by ''National Geographic'', the 235% increase in the price of gold between 2001 and 2009 swelled the local population, which reached 30,000 inhabitants in 2009. However, these numbers could be overestimated, since the 2007 National Census indicated the population of the Ananea District (which, to a large extent, is found in the La Rinconada settlement) was 20,572 people (16,907 classified as urban), and the 2017 National Census recorded 12,615 people (11,307 classified as urban).[Censos Nacionales 2007](_blank)
/ref> By comparison, the population of the Ananea District in 1981 was 2,707 people.[Censos Nacionales 1981](_blank)
/ref>
Economy
La Rinconada's economy is mainly based on the extraction of gold, both legally and illegally, from nearby gold mines, mainly through artisanal
An artisan (from , ) is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand. These objects may be functional or strictly decorative, for example furniture, decorative art, sculpture, clothing, food ite ...
mining.
After extraction, the gold is refined from small vendors to large companies like Metalor Technologies, which is one of the world's largest suppliers of precious metals. In March 2018, "Metalor accepted more than 40 kilos of gold (worth about $1.7 million) from a company outside La Rinconada that customs officials said in a report later that year that they could not find at the listed address." Metalor came under legal scrutiny by both the Peruvian and U.S. government for its involvement in illegal mining, exploitative labor practices, smuggling of gold, and drug gangs. Metalor supplies gold to major international companies including Apple
An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...
and Samsung
Samsung Group (; stylised as SΛMSUNG) is a South Korean Multinational corporation, multinational manufacturing Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in the Samsung Town office complex in Seoul. The group consists of numerous a ...
.
The only company with a governmental license to mine in La Rinconada is called Corporacion Ananea, thus many miners work at the gold mine owned by Corporación Ananea. Under the ''cachorreo'' system, they work for 30 days without payment and for one day they are allowed to work for themselves. At this day of the month, the miners are allowed to take with them as much ore
Ore is natural rock or sediment that contains one or more valuable minerals, typically including metals, concentrated above background levels, and that is economically viable to mine and process. The grade of ore refers to the concentration ...
as they can carry on their shoulders. However, a miner stated "The problem is, though, that on the crucial day the men are usually sent to areas where there’s nothing to find." Whether the ore contains any gold or not is a matter of luck. Pocketing of nuggets or promising chunks of rich ore is tolerated. This system sometimes ends with miners not being compensated for their work. While women are banned from working directly in the mines, '' pallaqueras'', women who work on the outside of the mines, sift through what has been discarded hoping to find something of value. Due to the extreme working conditions and wageless hours, NGOs
A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...
have described it as "modern day slavery
Contemporary slavery, also sometimes known as modern slavery or neo-slavery, refers to institutional slavery that continues to exist in the 21st century. Estimates of the number of enslaved people range from around 38 million to 49.6 million, d ...
."
In the Puno province, where La Rinconada is located, nearly 68% of the population lives below the poverty line. An article states that in addition to the extreme altitude's climate and oxygen impacts, residents live a "harsh reality marked by the lack of basic services, pollution and crime," citing that the settlement lacks clean water, sewage systems, and proper waste management, and noting that electricity only recently arrived in the 2000s, and that access to it still remains limited.
Inca Manco Cápac International Airport
Inca Manco Cápac International Airport , known as ''Aeropuerto Internacional Inca Manco Cápac'' in Spanish, is an extremely high elevation airport serving in the city of Juliaca in Peru, west of Titicaca Lake. Airport operations are run by ...
is the nearest commercial airport; it is located in Juliaca.
Crime
The town has been an epicenter of many mining conflicts and murders. For this reason, it has sometimes been referred to as in Spanish, as "ciudad sin ley del Perú," which means "lawless city of Peru." The article states that "many women, including minors, are victims of sexual exploitation in the region." Another article states that "in this region, gunshots ..have become a constant occurrence. Although gold reigns here, it is an area plagued by poverty, crime, alcoholism and prostitution. The mortality rate is at alarming levels and life expectancy is low." Reuters
Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world.
The agency ...
reported that in 2019 in La Rinconada, "authorities reported they rescued at least 68 victims of human trafficking from slum nightclubs in the area. In April 2019, seven miners were found in a tunnel beneath the mountain with bullets in their heads." The Peruvian police estimates indicate that there are between 100 and 300 bars that operate as illegal brothels and that around 4,500 Peruvian, Bolivian and Colombian women arrived in La Rinconada under various forms of deception.
In 2024, in response to the high crime rate, the Government of Peru, in coordination with the Trujillo Citizen Security Department, started taking action to adopt preventive measures and operations in an attempt to eradicate robberies and assaults, and improve pedestrian and resident safety. Their measures include adding 18 new surveillance cameras, 15 security booths with permanently stationed personnel, and the opening of a surveillance center to monitor the cameras in the city.
Homicides
A bloody event killing 3 security guards took place on 4 April 2024 in the mining area of the Antahuila community. It is believed the 3 security officers were shot, when a group of hooded men attempted to steal from the mine.
On 27 November, 2024, a hotel worker found the body of Lourdes Mamani Olarte, with clear signs of violence on the body. The case is believed to be a femicide.
At around 4 AM of 19 January, 2025, a violent shooting took place inside a nightclub inside the Puno community of the town. The shooting would kill 3 men, and is believed the shooting was targeted following a previous conflict between the perpetrator and victims.
In the early morning of 21 January, 2025, two men were found dead in a mining waste field. The bodies were not identified, but authorities believe that the two men were murdered elsewhere, and then later dumped into the location found.
Environmental and health issues
The town lacks plumbing
Plumbing is any system that conveys fluids for a wide range of applications. Plumbing uses piping, pipes, valves, piping and plumbing fitting, plumbing fixtures, Storage tank, tanks, and other apparatuses to convey fluids. HVAC, Heating and co ...
and sanitation
Sanitation refers to public health conditions related to clean drinking water and treatment and disposal of human excreta and sewage. Preventing human contact with feces is part of sanitation, as is hand washing with soap. Sanitation systems ...
systems, and pollution from plastics and other types of trash is common due to a lack of government services.
Hypoxia is a significant health problem due to the low air pressure at such high altitude. Researchers estimate that at least 25% of residents have hypoxia.
There is also significant contamination by mercury of the drinking water and nearby glacier due to the mining practices. Local miners refine the ore by grinding and treating it with mercury and pressing the mass through a cloth to filter it. The resulting amalgam is heated to remove the mercury. There is only one small clinic located within the town. Environmentalists local to the region have been testing the rivers surrounding the mine. The area below the river had a very acidic pH of 4.5, whereas the Pataqueña river, upstream from the mine, had a pH of 8 – indicating pure, clean water. Arpita Uchiri, a miner in La Rinconada for more than 10 years, stated that "the rain in La Rinconada is acidic with mercury." A local farmer stated in 2022 that, “The mine settled in 2006 and by 2009 our alpacas were starting to get sick. I used to have 80 alpacas and 56 sheep. Today I am left with 10 alpacas and 10 sheep." River communities downstream from the Coata river that flows from Rinconada to Lake Titicaca
Lake Titicaca (; ; ) is a large freshwater lake in the Andes mountains on the border of Bolivia and Peru. It is often called the highest navigable lake in the world. Titicaca is the largest lake in South America, both in terms of the volume of ...
have been impacted by heavy metals significantly, impacting the river basin which includes the town Carata and Juliaca
Juliaca (; Quechua language, Quechua and ) is the capital of San Román Province in the Puno Region of southeastern Peru. It is the region's largest city with a population of 276,110 inhabitants (2017 Peru Census, 2017). On the Altiplano, Juliaca ...
. The article states "Tests conducted on members of the local Carata community in 2018 by Peru’s ministry of health showed that more than 83.5 percent had traces of heavy metal in their bodies." Another local farmer stated that "15 kilometres of the shore is polluted with trash, dead dogs, dead cows," and that some residents have developed diseases. As a result of heavy metal polluted waters, much of Coata's residents have left, as the soil has become salinated and infertile, making it impossible for crop growth and raising livestock.
The air is also contaminated with particles from mining. Uchiri stated that " inerswould enter the mine with a wet cloth that of course wasn’t a good filter, and many of them in the end died of silicosis. When I used to carry out post mortems around 50–60 percent of the bodies had silicosis
Silicosis is a form of occupational lung disease caused by inhalation of crystalline silica dust. It is marked by inflammation and scarring in the form of Nodule (medicine), nodular lesions in the upper lobes of the lungs. It is a type of pneum ...
," which is a lung disease caused by inhalation of silica dust.
In popular culture
The town has also gained popularity online due to holding the record for being the highest settlement in the world, along with its reputation of extreme living conditions and high crime. For instance, the most viewed YouTube videos documenting the town have gained millions of views.
References
External links
*
*
Documentary film
shown on www.dev.tv
{{Authority control
Mining communities in South America
Populated places in the Department of Puno
Illegal mining in Peru