Peru Travel & Booking

Junin - Peru

The Junin Region includes highlands as well as Amazonian jungle. To the west, at the border with the Department of Lima, the mountains are steep and snowy. Towards the east, he landscape is made of glacial valleys and high altitude plateaus. At the rim of the jungle, deep narrow gorges and mist forests abound.

The plains of Junin region were known as the Pampus, until the arrival of the Incas was inhabited by a semi-wild, rowdy group of people whose rivals were the Tarumas. Meanwhile, the Mantaro Valley was inhabited by the Huancas. Inca Pachacuti won all these races in 1460, which later became part of the Inca Empire. Huancayo became the region's main highway rest stop on the Inca Trail.

The city of Huancayo is located in the Mantaro River valley, one of the most fertile valleys in the central Andes. Its inhabitants make a living from agriculture, cattle raising, trade, and tourism. Long ago, the area was the realm of the Huancas, a tribal enemy of the Incas who according to legend were finally subjugated by Pachacútec after ferocious resistance.

Half an hour away from the city of Huancayo, in the province of La Concepción, you come across the Convent of Santa Rosa of Ocopa. Franciscan missionaries built it in 1725 for the purpose of establishing a base for evangelizing the jungle peoples. There are still preserved old, Colonial cloisters and an impressive library with more than 25,000 volumes.

From the city of Jauja, the first capital of the Peruvian Vice-royalty, you can visit the lovely Paca Lake. The city of Tarma, the city of flowers, is celebrated for its attractive countryside and excellent climate. However, the department is not only mountainous. It also contains jungle valleys with splendid countryside and typically tropical climate like Satipo and Chanchamayo, where the cities of San Ramon and La Merced are located.

Close to La Merced we can find El Perezoso Botanical Gardens, 15 km / 9 miles from La Merced along the San Luis de Shuaro Highway (35 minutes by car).

It was created in order to preserve and exhibition of over 10.000 plant species. Among the most representative are the pico de loro, the torch ginger, the split leaf philodendron, the costilla de Eva, the lotus, the royal palm tree, the Mauritia palm trees and the coconut palm. The tour lastsabouttwohours.

In La Merced, we can find the QuimiriBridge,It is the oldest hanging bridge in the province. From here, you can practice whitewater rafting on the Chanchamayo River. There are also lots of treks around La Merced where we can find Tirol Falls, Tunquimayo Falls and Sanchirio Palomar Waterfalls.

The department is also home to the Chacamarca Historic Sanctuary and the Junin National Reserve, which protects the second largest lake in Peru where the Junin grebe lives, a bird nearing extinction.

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