Peru Travel & Booking

Huanuco - Peru

The Department of Huanuco was founded by SpanishconquistadorGómez de Alvarado in 1539, in the Inca town of Yarowilca. In 1541, the city was moved to its current location in the Pillco Valley.Features two very distinct geographies: highland and upper jungle. The Andean zone is marked by the presence of the Huayhuash Cordillera, and the upper jungle spreads out throughout the western side of the Andes.This was the site of an important cultural movement during the Colonial Period and the characteristic buildings of that movement are the Cathedral and the churches of San Francisco, San Cristóbal, and La Merced.

The city of Huanuco, capital of the department of the same name, lies on the banks of the Huallaga River, and the area is known for its fruit, coffee, and cacao production. The oldest evidence of human habitation in Peru was found in this territory: the Lauricocha man and the Temple of the Crossed Hands located in the outskirts of the city in Kotosh, just 4 km from the picturesque highland town of Huánuco.

Nearly 5,000 years old, Kotosh is one of the earliest signs of civilization in the Americas. The site features a series of pyramid-shaped mounds including a chamber decorated with a mud sculpture of two pairs of crossed arms, one of the oldest examples of sculptures in the Andes.

Because of the age of the ruins, experts have had difficulty studying the decoration of the temple. Some believe the crossed arms inside the complex symbolize alleged sacrifices carried out by the high priests as offerings to their deities. Others, however, see the crossed arms as a symbol of protection against their enemies and even a representation of ritual communion.

In any case, the absence of ruins of housing in the area point to the fact Kotosh did not house many people, but rather was a sacred spot, a pilgrimage center. Part of the landscape of Huánuco and Peru, Kotosh is a living symbol of the ancient treasures Peru guards in every nook and cranny of its territory.

In Huanuco Pampa, there are also interesting constructions from the time of the Incas.

In Tingo Maria, some 120 kilometers from Huanuco, the thunderous Huallaga River runs. The Tingo Maria National Park (4,777 hectares) is located in that area and contains a great variety of flora (orchids, cat's claw, and dragon's blood) and fauna (little spotted cats, jaguars, reptiles, sachavacas, oilbirds, Andean cock of the rock, and the howler monkey). It is also the place where the Pumaringri mountain chain is found, also known as the Sleeping Beauty due to its striking similarity to a woman lying down.

The Cueva de lasLechuzas (Owl's Cave) is home to nocturnal birds while in the Cueva de lasPavas (Turkey's Cave) you can find pools of crystalline water and abundant vegetation.

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