Half the oxygen, no running water: inside the world’s highest town where 50,000 people still live (Image Credit European Union, Copernicus Sentinel-2 imagery)

High in the eastern Andes, close to the limits of human tolerance, sits La Rinconada, a gold mining town unlike any other. At roughly 5,000 metres above sea level, it is recognised as the highest permanent settlement in the world. Around 50,000 people live here without basic services such as running water, sewage systems, or organised waste disposal. The town exists almost entirely because of gold. It clings to the slopes of Mount Ananea in southeastern Peru, beneath a retreating glacier. Life here is shaped by altitude, cold, and extraction. What began as a temporary camp has hardened into a permanent settlement, raising questions about health, labour, and how far people will go for economic survival in extreme environments.

La Rinconada is the world’s highest permanent human settlement

La Rinconada lies roughly 650 kilometres from the Bolivian border, on a steep mountainside beneath the glacier known locally as La Bella Durmiente. The thin air at this height contains about half the oxygen found at sea level. Even short walks can leave newcomers breathless. Temperatures often drop below freezing, and the ground is a mix of rock, ice, and mining waste. Despite this, homes, shops, and informal streets have spread steadily across the slope.

The town grew without basic infrastructure

The settlement was never planned as a city. It began more than forty years ago as a mining outpost, and essential services were never installed. There is no formal sewage network, and clean water must be carried in. Garbage is commonly burnt or buried outside the town. Electricity only arrived in the early 2000s, long after the population had begun to rise.

Gold mining shapes work and daily life

Mining in La Rinconada follows an informal system known locally as cachorreo. Miners work for weeks without pay, often up to thirty days at a time. At the end of this period, they are allowed to take as much ore as they can carry. Any gold extracted from that ore is theirs. This system attracts workers willing to endure dangerous conditions for the chance of a rare but significant reward.

Rising gold prices drove rapid population growth

When global gold prices climbed in the early 2000s, La Rinconada expanded quickly. Between 2000 and 2009, its population reportedly grew by more than 200 percent. New arrivals came from across Peru, drawn by stories of opportunity. The growth outpaced any effort to improve housing or public services, leaving much of the town in a state of permanent improvisation.

Thin air creates serious health risks

Living at such altitudes is really hard for the body. Many people who live there develop chronic mountain sickness, a disease that is basically caused by oxygen deprivation over a long period of time. The signs are headaches, dizziness, and heart problems. The scientists roughly guess that one out of four locals of the town can be the victims of the disease. There is a scarcity of health facilities, and for the most severe cases, the patients have to be taken down for treatment in the valley.

A town that persists despite its conditions

La Rinconada continues to exist in tension with its environment. Gold keeps people here, even as the glacier above retreats and health risks remain unresolved. There is no clear plan for its future. For now, life goes on, thin air and all.