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La Rinconada is a town in the Peruvian Andes near a gold mine.[1] At 5,100 m (16,700 ft; 3.2 mi) above sea level, it is the highest permanent settlement in the world.[2] Between 2001 and 2009, the population increased to 30,000 people from just a small gold prospector camp because the price of gold rose 235% over that period.[3]

The town is in the Ananea District, San Antonio de Putina Province. The town lies at a height of 5,100 m (16,700 ft; 3.2 mi) above sea level, on the side of Mount Ananea and at the foot of glacier called Auchita, otherwise known as La Bella Durmiente (The Sleeping Beauty).[4] Some successful miners in La Rinconada have homes in Juliaca, which has municipal services and is only 3,825 m (12,549 ft; 2.377 mi) above sea level.