Huánuco | Places in Peru | Articles

Places in Peru

Huánuco

huanuco The Department of Huanuco 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.

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

Founded in 1539, the city of Huanuco 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.

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 las Lechuzas (Owl’s Cave) is home to nocturnal birds while in the Cueva de las Pavas (Turkey’s Cave) you can find pools of crystalline water and abundant vegetation.

Huanuco and surroundings

Main Square, Huanuco
Located downtown Huanuco, it has a central fountain sculpted by the Italian architect Julio Seretti in 1845. Its base is a four-meter high (13 feet) solid piece of granite that had been an object of worship for the ancient pre-Hispanic dwellers.

Cathedral of Huanuco
Jiron Damaso Beraun 701. Visiting hours: Mon. – Sun 8:00 A.M. – 8:00 P.M.
Built in 1966, it contains a collection of paintings from the CuscoSchool and a Baroque wood carving of the Señor de Burgos, King and Patron saint of Huanuco, sculpted by Jeronimo de Scorcetto. Other distinctive features are its almost two meters tall Baroque silver candelabras (6 feet).

San Francisco Church
Jiron Damaso Beraun, block 4. Visiting hours: Mon. – Sun 6:00 A M. – 10:00 A.M. and 5:00 P.M. – 8:00 P.M.

It was initially built in 1560 and remodeled many years later in the Neo classical style. The gilded altars still maintain the Colonial and Mixed Baroque features. Among its Colonial Period paintings, the most important are the works by the Spanish priest Lorenzo Valentino.

Cristo Rey Church (Christ the King)
Jiron Dos de Mayo 899, Plaza Santo Domingo. Visiting hours: Mon. – Sun. 6:00 A M. – 10:00 A.M. and 5:00 P.M. – 8:00 P.M.
The most eye-catching part of this church, rebuilt in 1824, is its main altar covered in gold leaf.

La Merced Church
Jiron Hermilio Valdizan, block 4. Visiting hours: Mon. – Sun. 6:00 A M. – 10:00 A.M. and 5:00 P.M. – 8:00 P.M.

The Royal Ensign Don Pedro Rodriguez and his wife Maria Gonzales founded this Romanesque church in 1600. The Neo classical upper altar displays a representation of the Virgin of Mercies as well as a silver tabernacle that dates back to the Colonial Period.

The church also features two paintings by anonymous painters from the CuscoSchool, two images of the Virgen Purisima and the Corazon de Jesus, gifts from King Phillip II, a gilded shrine, and a Renaissance canvas from the FlamencoSchool of the face of Christ painted on a sheet of copper. In the parish archives, you find the baptism certificates of Leoncio Prado, hero of Huanuco, the musician Daniel Alomia Robles, and Jose Gabriel Aguilar Nalvarte, forerunner of the insurgent movement for the independence of Peru, which started in Cusco.

San CristóbalChurch
Intersection of Jiron San Cristobal and Jiron Damaso Beraun, Plaza San Cristobal. Visiting hours: Mass times
It was the first church built by the Spanish in the city of Huanuco in 1542. Very old woodcarvings with representations of the Assumption Mary, the Sorrowful Virgin, and Saint Agustin are preserved there.

Museum of Natural Sciences
Jiron General Prado 499. Visiting hours: Mon. – Sat. 8:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M. and 3:00 P.M. – 7:00 P.M.
This museum contains more than 10.000 pieces, such as samples of pottery from different pre-Hispanic cultures and mummies from Huanuco and Paracas.

Kotosh or Temple of the Crossed Hands
5 km / 3 miles west of Huanuco (5 minutes by car)

This archeological site is more than 4000 years old. There are three temples built on top of one another: Nichitos, Blanco, and the Manos Cruzadas. The latter features five niches – to the sides of the upper niche, you see two sculptures of crossed hands. One of them shows the right hand resting on the left, and the other, the left hand resting on the right hand. It is thought that they refer to a notion of duality present in the cosmology of these ancient people.

Yarowilca

Garu Archeological Complex
73 km / 45 miles from Huanuco (2 hours and 30 minutes by car)

It is one of the most important archeological sites in the UpperMarañonRiver. It could possibly be a Yaros or Yarowilcas political administrative center and is considered one of the best-organized and densely populated pre-Inca settlements. It features living quarters as well as administrative and religious centers and defensive.

Ambo

Andabamba
8 km / 5 miles from Huanuco (10 minutes by car)
This building is a former Colonial plantation house, which used to be inhabited by Franciscan priests.

Tomayquichua
18 km / 11 miles south of Huanuco (25 minutes by car)
This village has narrow streets and wonderful landscapes and still preserves the old, typical houses with wide patios. Micaela Villegas, known as La Perricholi, the mistress of Viceroy Amat, lived here.

Dos de Mayo

Archeological Complex of Huánuco Pampa
144 km / 89 miles west of Huanuco (5 hours by car)
Known also by the names of Huanuco Marka or Huanuco Viejo, this place was an Inca administrative center and an important production site, especially for high quality textiles. Its construction probably began in 1460 and was interrupted in 1539 by the arrival of the Spanish. The main features are the Inca Wasi, the “Bath of the Inca”, the Palace of the Three Doors, and the UnfinishedTemple.

Conoc Hot Springs
2 km / 1 mile northwest of La Union, on the banks of the VizcarraRiver
People recommend these hot springs for the treatment of rheumatic conditions. The site offers basic facilities and is surrounded by beautiful landscapes.

Humalíes

Archeological Centers of Tantamayo
158 km / 98 miles northwest of Huanuco
This five story tall pre-Inca group of archeological constructions features housing quarters, administration, religion, and defense buildings.

Lauricocha and the Cordillera Huayhuash

Huayhuash Cordillera
This mountain chain is approximately 30 kilometers long (19 miles) and stands along the borders of the Departments of Huanuco, Ancash, and Lima. Six of the mountains exceed 6000 meters (19.680 feet). Many people go there to climb the snow covered tops. The most important and difficult summits are: Yerupaja (6634 masl / 21.759 fasl), Siula (6344 masl / 20.808 fasl), Sarapo (6127 masl / 20.097 fasl), and Rondoy (5879 masl / 19.283 fasl).

Mount Yerupaja
The second tallest glacier in Peru (6634 masl / 21.759 fasl) is a real challenge for climbers for its steep walls of ice. The base of the glacier is found at approximately 4300 masl (14.104 fasl) and occupies an area of 2.1 km2 (1 miles2).

Lake Lauricocha
The lake is located at the feet of the Raura Cordillera (4000 masl / 13.120 fasl). Totora reeds abound along its shores, and trout is the predominant fish living in its waters. A great variety of mammals such as tarucas, vizcachas, foxes and skunks as well as a number of bird species like ducks, huachas, whooping cranes, puffins, partridges, ibises, plovers and hawks also inhabit the area.

Baños Hot Springs
116 km / 72 miles southwest of Huanuco, district of Baños
This place is known as the “Baths of the Inca” and consists of two pools with stairs and canals for hot and cold water. It is said that the Inca and his nobles used to bathe here when traveling to Cusco, Huanuco Marka, Cajamarca, and Quito.

Tingo María, Provincia de Leoncio Prado

Tingo Maria.120 km / 76 miles northeast of Huanuco (2 hours and 30 minutes by car). This city is located at 652 masl (2139 fasl) on the banks of the HuallagaRiver. It is considered one of the entrances to the Peruvian jungle.

Tingo Maria National Park
1 km / 0,6 mile southeast of Tingo Maria
It is made of a mountain chain known as La Bella Durmiente (Sleeping Beauty) since its tops form the profile of a sleeping woman. You can find a wide variety of wildlife in the park with over 104 species of animals like fish, frogs, reptiles, birds, and mammals. There are different attractions to be visited like the Cave of Las Lechuzas (barn owl), the Cave of Las Pavas (guans), and the Jacintillo sulfurous waters.

Cave of the Lechuzas
Located in the foothills of La Bella Durmiente, it is the main entrance to a subterranean cave system found inside the mountains. The cave is home to an important colony of birds called guachanos or santanas (similar to barn owls) as well as parrots, swallows, and bats.

Cave of the Pavas
It is located at the end of a deep and narrow gorge where a tiny stream forms beaches and wells surrounded by plants. In one of the pools, you can make out a natural formation that looks like the body of a woman, which is locally known as “The Goddess of the Water”.

Kotosh: the Temple of the Crossed Arms
Part of the magic of exploring Peru is the astounding number of discoveries and archaeological ruins located near many of the country's main cities. This is the case of the Temple of the Crossed Arms of 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.

Useful Information

Altitude
Capital: Huanuco (1894 masl / 6212 fasl)
Altitud: Lowest point: 167 masl / 548 fasl (Honoria)
Highest point: 4100 masl / 13.448 fasl (Yarumayo)

Climate
The city of Huanuco has a temperate and warm climate and a rainy season between December and April. The annual average maximum temperature is 24ºC (75ºF) and the minimum is 18ºC (64ºF).

Access Routes
By land: Lima – La Oroya – Huanuco: 410 km / 255 miles (8 hours by bus / 5 hours by car)

By air: Daily flights to Huanuco from Lima (45 minutes)

Distances From The City Of Huánuco
Ambo (Province of Ambo) 24 km (15 miles) / 25 minutes
La Unión(Province of Dos de Mayo) 137 km (85 miles) / 5 hours
Huacaybamba (Province of Huacaybamba) 293 km (182 miles)
Llata (Province of Huamalies) 172 km (107 miles) / 5 hours
Tingo Maria (Province of Leoncio Prado) 120 km (76 miles) / 2 hours and 30 minutes
Huacrachuco (Province of Marañon) 358 km (222 miles)
Panao (Province of Pachitea) 63 km (39 miles) / 2 hours
Puerto Inca (Province of Puerto Inca) 362 km (225 miles) / 12 hours
Jesus (Province of Lauricocha) 81 km (50 miles) / 3 hours
Chavinillo (Province of Yarowilca) 72 km (45 miles) / 3 hours