Moquegua

The department of Moquegua possesses a varied terrain with gorges and valleys, desert and rocky zones, and rich soil perfect for agriculture, especially cultivating wine grapes.

Life moves at a slower pace in cities like Moquegua that is characterized by its traditional houses with slanted roofs, its sunny climate the whole year long, and the production of excellent piscos, fruit, and desserts. The Main Square is decorated with a fountain designed by Gustave Eiffel, and in the Cathedral of Santo Domingo, the inhabitants venerate the bodily remains of Santa Fortunata, a martyr from the first centuries of Christianity.

There are several, small picturesque towns dotting the department of Moquegua such as Torata with its impressive eighteenth century mills that still use stone to grind and its homes with slanted roofs and the fertile valleys like that of Omate, famous for its fruit and river shrimp. The port of Ilo is the main industrial dock for southern Peru, and the beaches down in this part of the coastline are of fine, white sand broken now and again by spectacular cliffs and rock formations.

Province of Mariscal Nieto: Moquegua and Surroundings

Province of Mariscal Nieto

Main Square, City of Moquegua
The square’s fountain was made in Paris, designed by the French engineer Gustavo Eiffel. It was installed in 1877.

Santo Domingo Cathedral
Calle Ayacucho, block 6
Visiting hours: Mon. – Sat. 7:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M. and 4:00 P.M. – 7:00 P.M.
Telephone: (053) 762011
The original main church of Moquegua was Santa Catalina of Alejandria, but the constant earthquakes that strike the zone took their toll. Finally, in August 1868, a terrible earthquake destroyed it beyond repair, which is why the Santo Domingo monastery was changed to the main church. The building is one of the few in the world where the actual corpse of a venerated saint is kept on site, Santa Fortunata, whose remains were exhumed from the Calepodio Catacombs after fifteen centuries and transferred to Moquegua in 1798.

Wall of the Santa Catalina de Alejandria Church
Main Square, Moquegua
On the inner side of the wall, there is an eighteenth century shrine that was designed by indigenous artists between 1782 and 1792. On either end, you can see an Indian-red floral decoration with green and blue colored leaves and little red flowers. In the center of the wall, a huge, black cross is painted. Furthermore, as part of the wall, there are the “marcas de los canteros”, which are signs or symbols that speak of the forms and policies adopted from Spain for the construction of public buildings. The marks confirm the participation of the indigenous communities that, to prove their support, felt forced to differentiate their work and create these types of characters.

Contisuyo Museum
Calle Tacna 294
Telephone: (053) 76-1844
Visiting hours: Mon. – Sun. 9:00 A.M. – 1:00 P.M. and 2:30 P.M. – 5:30 P.M.
Tues. 9:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M. and 4:00 P.M. – 8:00 P.M.
It was built in 1994 inside the ruins of what was the Santa Catalina de Alejandria Church.

The museum exhibits ceramic and textile works, gold and silver pieces, and others that are from the Wari and Tiahuanaco cultures. There are also some from the Chiribaya, Tumilaca, and Estuquiña pre-Incan peoples who settled the Moquegua and Ilo valleys.

Ten Window House
Corner of Calles Ayacucho and Tacna
Visiting hours: Mon. – Fri. 8:00 – 1:00 P.M. and 4:00 P.M. – 7:00 P.M.
It is called this because of the ten windows that look out upon Calle Tacna. They all feature the characteristic metal bars on the outside of thewindow. The design represents an epoch of local architecture, and every house has these ornamental bars outside the windows. The house is two stories, and the second features a wooden balcony running the length of the house with supporting wooden columns. This floor was constructed out of quincha (anti-seismic building material) and part of the floor is cut stone. The main entrance is made of calcareous stone or limestone. Today, it is the Central Post Office for the city.

De La Flor Angulo House, Traditional Moqueguan
Calle Ayacucho, block 5
Visiting hours: Mon. – Sat. 8:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M. and 4:00 P.M. – 7:00 P.M.
Sun. 8:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M.
This mid-eighteenth century house maintains the distinguished Classic style front of the times. It is two stories, and the wooden main entrance has windows protected by metal bars on both sides. The covered balcony running the length of the house still exists on the second floor and has twelve wooden columns supporting it. The first floor patio is made of square tiles of small, natural and black colored stone pebbles that form a chessboard. Beneath the staircase is a large open space, made of stone, and shaped like a relieving arch.

Moquegua Regional Museum (INC) – Former Detention Center
Jiron Ayacucho, block 5
Main Square
Visiting hours: Mon. – Fri. 8:00 A.M. – 4:30 P.M.
There are documents on exhibit that confirm that already in 1762 this place was used as a detention center for rebel Indians or Negroes of the time. It functioned in this way up to 1985, the date that the San Ramon jail in Samegua was built. It is made of calcareous stone, and it is one of the few buildings that keeps a central vaulted arch at the entry or foyer. The rooms have been restored as have the original floors, bricked up windows, doors, metal bars, and traditional colors.

City Library and Art Gallery
Calle Ayacucho, block 5
Visiting hours: Mon. – Fri. 8:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M. and 4:00 P.M. – 8:00 P.M.
This building was first constructed as a detention center as is seen from the bricked up windows and doors that communicate the word jail to us. After the earthquake of 2001, the library was restored, preserving its traditional characteristics such as the mojinete or slanted roof. Today, the Art Gallery, which is next door to the library and where local artists exhibit their works, maintains the same characteristic architecture.

Chocano – Delgado Podesta House
Calle Ancash, block 4
Visiting hours: Mon. – Fri. 8:00 A.M. – 6:00 P.M.
The magnificent mid-eighteenth century architecture is still preserved today in this restaurant.

Inside, they have preserved a large amount of objects, furniture, and utensils from the time. The classic Louis XV style main room maintains coal irons, gramophones, tables, and furniture as well as a seventeenth century crucifix with a very large cultured pearl in the center of the crown of thorns. The house is linked to the parents of Jose Santos Chocano, “Poeta de América”, and the mother of José Carlos Mariategui since they lived there.

It was almost destroyed by the earthquake in 2001, but it was restored by the Moquegua Regional Government.

Count ofAlastaya House
Calle Moquegua, block 4
Visiting hours: Mon. – Fri. 8:00 A.M. – 6:00 P.M.
Built in 1750, it features a carved wooden door and a coat of arms on the porch. The supporting columns feature a floral decoration proper to the region. On the left hand side, there is a second floor with two wooden doors that seem to lead to a balcony that is gone. The windows on the bottom floor are beautiful with decorations in relief.

Belen Chapel
Belen Square, Calle Prolongacion Moquegua
Visiting hours: Mon. – Fri. 8:00 A.M. – 6:00 P.M.
It is located in a neighborhood known for its colonial vestiges like houses with mojinete (slanted) roofs and attractive balconies. This was built between 1828 and 1830.

District of Samegua
5 km northeast of Moquegua (10 minutes by car)
The district is known as “Avocado City” because the people say the best avocados in the country are found there. You can also see Chen Chen petroglyphs, work of the Tiahuanaco culture, which depict camelids and scenes of the chaccu (traditional ritual where they trap and sheer them).

Torata
24 km fromde Moquegua (25 minutes by car or 40 minutes by public transport)
It is typified by traditional mojinete (slanted) roofed houses. The main sights are the parish church, mills from the Vice royal period, and the Sabaya archeological remains, which is thought to have been an Incan administrative center. There are also the archeological sites of Torata Alta and Ccamata or Pampa Colorada and mythical Mount Baul with its beautiful scenery and where a tourist complex has been constructed.

Torata Mills
They date from the eighteenth century and preserve the typical architectural style of the region – adobe walls and slanted roofs. Flagstone, a regional stone, is used in the floor tiles, façade walls, steps, and the entrance path. It still works today grinding wheat, corn, and barley to make flour for such products as the prestigious Torata bread, roscas (ring shape cookies), andguargueros (lightly fried crispy pastry filled with manjar blanco).

Mount Baúl Archeological Site
18 km northwest of Moquegua (20 minutes by car)
The name comes from the mountain, where the site is located, that looks like a trunk. A small, enclosed Wari citadel is found there (600 A.D. – 1100 A.D.) that today serves as an important ceremonial center for the Andean community where “payments” to the Apus or spirits and other rituals are still carried out.

Cuajone Deposit
32 km from Moquegua (20 – 30 minutes by car)
It is an open pit copper mine. From a constructed lookout that looks like a seawall, you are able to appreciate the uniqueness and modern facilities of the mine.

Carumas – Cuchumbaya, and San Cristóbal – Calacoa Valleys
129 km from Moquegua (3 to 4 hours by car)
These are typical inter-Andean valleys where potatoes, corn, and other crops are grown. The potatoes from this area are considered to be the best in Peru. It is possible to mountain climb and experience eco-tourism.

Putina Hot Springs
141 km fromMoquegua (4 hours by car)
This area is located in the town of Calacoa and is characterized by its fissures and geysers, reaching up to five meters. There are also natural pools of all sizes.

General Sánchez Cerro: Omate

Province of General Sanchez Cerro

Omate Valley
147 km north ofMoquegua (6 hours by car); 129 km southeast of the city of Arequipa (4 hours by car)
This valley is set into the Western Andes Mountain Range, hidden in the vicinity of Mount Junín and Mount Cerro Blanco and the snow topped peaks of Mount Goylanto and Mount Paylogen. Its unpredictable terrain is the result of intense volcanic activity that shaped the region in such a way that it reveals the layers of volcanic material covering it. There is a wide variety of birds like doves, eagles, vultures, and condors in the highest areas, while in the area of the Omate River, there are crustaceans like river shrimp. Today, its seventeen villages form the basis of their economy from fruit cultivation and, to a lesser degree, raising cattle.

San Lino de Omate Parish Church
Main Square
Visiting hours: Mon. – Sat. 8:00 A.M. – 6:00 P.M.
Constructed of adobe in the eighteenth century, it possesses a carved wood, upper Baroque altar, covered in gold leaf. The side altars are Neo-classical. There is also a sun dial carved in stone and a nineteenth century silver artistic Custody.

Lord of the Mercies
Miraculous image of the Lord of Mercies, sent from Spain by the Emperor Charles V. The image is fixed to the cross with four nails (two in the hands and two in the feet that are not customarily crossed). It is found in the San Lino de Omate Parish Church

Omate Mills
These mills have used calcareous stones that are moved by water found in the upper part of the Village of Omate to grind the wheat for the famous “Omate bread” since the nineteenth century.

Ilo

Province of Ilo

Main Square
Downtown Ilo
It is the center of civic activity, just two blocks from the rotunda and the seawall. In the square, there is a fountain shaped like a scallop shell.

San Geronimo Church
Main Square, Ilo
Visiting hours: Mon. – Fri. 6:00 A.M. – 6:00 P.M.
Built in 1871 in wood and covered in zinc, today it has been remodeled and enlarged. It contains an old baptismal font shaped like a sea shell and brought over from France. There is only one rectangular nave, a choir loft, and a symmetrical façade that ends in a central tower slightly curved at the top. The wood-roof truss construction is covered with zinc. What stands out the most are the three bell towers with the year 1647 engraved on them. The inside walls of the church were decorated with angelic and plant paintings, some of which are still preserved, especially in the corners and in the upper frieze.

Coles Point
12 km from Ilo (15 minutes by are or by boat)
The area, 180 hectares, is home to marine mammals such as seals (estimates are somewhere between 3,500 and 4,000) and a variety of guano birds like pelicans, guanay cormorants, Inca terns, gulls, and many others.

Houses
Built in the nineteenth century, they are typified by their slanted roofs, wide rooms, and facades with large doors and windows. The most representative among the group are: Gambetta Complex, House Zapata, House Valdivia, House Segovia, House Malatesta, Zepita Complex, House K’arletty, House Jimenez de la Flor, House Vasquez, and House Koctong.

Jose Galvez Rotunda
A lookout built in 1915 on top of a coastline rock, it is made of iron with wooden supports and a hexagonal roof. It is connected to the mainland by the Venus Bridge. This is the symbol for Ilo, and from it, there is a beautiful view of the ocean, ships, birds, and sometimes fur seals.

Main Pier
Built at the end of the nineteenth century, it is a wooden structure supported with iron with stairs on the sides. There are still traces of heavy lines and supports of old cranes as proof of the intense port activity that used to happen.

Naval Museum
Rotunda Port Authority
Visiting hours: Mon. – Fri. 8:00 A.M. – 3:00 P.M.
There is an exhibit inside of objects of great historic value from the War of the Pacific, relics of ocean navigation, and old manuscripts written by Admiral Miguel Grau.

Fishing Pier
Located next to the old main pier, it serves as the dock for the professional fishermen and a center for selling fish. A vivacious and lively place, fishermen, boats, and the frantic and friendly pelicans congregate there.

Algarrobal Museum
El Algarrobal (10 minutes from the port by car)
Here, they feature different objects from the Chiribaya culture such as attractive ornaments made from milky quartz, ceramics, and magnificent textiles (mummies) that show off the beautiful designs of their elegant art.

Beaches North of Ilo
Boca del Rio:
2 km from Ilo (8 minutes by car)
A beach of fine sand with the Ilo River emptying itself onto the shore. Behind rocky islets, the Conchuela Beach is located; it possesses a beautiful view of the bay.

Waikiki:
4 km from Pocoma and 33 km from Ilo (30 minutes by car from Ilo)
The beach has fine, clear sand and moderate surf. There are small caves found among the rocks on the hills, and an archeological site lies over the nearby hills. It is possible to camp there.

Ports and Beaches South of Ilo
Puerto Ingles:
2 km from Ilo (5 minutes by car)
Encircled by rocky cliffs, it appears to be a natural swimming pool with crystal clear, calm waters.

Pozo de Lisas:
7 km from Ilo (12 minutes by car)
A wide beach with fine, clear sand, it possesses an excellent panoramic view of its 6 kilometer length. The water is shallow and calm. You can find restaurants and taxi service.

Playa Boliviamar:
2 km from Coquina or 11 km from Ilo (20 minutes by car from Ilo)
It is a strip of open beach with fine sand loaned to the Republic of Bolivia.

Tronco de Oro:
29 km from Ilo (30 minutes by car)
This beach has fine sand and shallow, calm waters. It is perfect for camping.

Chiribaya Ranch
Ilo Valley (20 minutes by car from Ilo)
Marshal Domingo Nieto, one of the forgers of Peruvian independence and participant in important battles in Torata, Moquegua, and Junin, was born in the ranch house. The front porch extends outward with wooden balusters and the slanted roof with windows in the upper section.

Useful Information

Altitude
Capital Moquegua (1,410 m.a.s.l.)
Lowest point:5 m.a.s.l. (Pueblo Nuevo)
Highest point: 3,756 m.a.s.l. (Ichuña)

Climate
The city of Moquegua has a dry, warm, and sunny climate all year long. The average annual maximum temperature is 26ºC (79ºF) and the minimum is 17ºC (52ºF).

Access Routes
By land: Lima – Moquegua: 1,146 km by the Pan-American Highway South (14 hours by car)
Arequipa – Moquegua: 227 km by the Pan-American Highway South (3 hours by car)
Tacna – Moquegua: 159 km by the Pan-American Highway South (1 hour and 30 minutes by car)

Distances From the city of Moquegua to the following cities
Omate (Province of General Sanchez Cerro) 141 km / 3 hours
Ilo (Province of Ilo) 99 km / 40 minutes