Huánuco

Kotosh or the Temple of the Crossed Hands

This site belongs to the pre-ceramic or late archaic period (c. 2000–1800BC). The distinctive architecture of this site has come to be defined as part of the Kotosh or Mito Tradition. The complex is comprised of three temples: Nichitos, Blanco (white) and the most well known, the Temple of Crossed Hands. The last of these contains five niches, each containing a sculpture of life-sized human hands crossed over each other. The statues are among the oldest in pre-Columbian America. It’s believed the gesture is related to an idea of duality present in the cosmology of ancient Peruvians.

Location Access
Province: Huánuco
Distance:
Time:
5 kilometers from
the city of Huánuco		 5 minutes by car
District: Huánuco
Locality
Reference:		 N/A
Site Details
Entrance Fee:
Opening Hours:
Museum & Other Services:
Adults S/.3.00, University
Students & Seniors S/.1.50,
School Students S/.1.00		 Monday to Sunday
8:00 – 17:00		 On-site museum,
bathrooms and guides

Tantamayo Archaeological Complex

There are more than 80 archaeological sites in the area surrounding Tantamayo, with architecture characterized by immense buildings up to 11 meters high, some with 6 stories, all made from stone, and surrounded by formidable defensive walls. Some of the most important sites are: Japallán, a collection of pre-Inca buildings standing at an altitude of 4100 meters above sea level; the granaries at Salmin, a grouping of 20 storage barns; the “skyscrapers” of Piruro, some of the tallest buildings grouped together at an altitude of 3800 meters above sea level, and finally, the citadels of Susupillo and Jipango.

Location Access
Province: Huamalies
Distance:
Time:
5 kilometers from Tantamayo to the
complex		 1 hour on foot from
Tantamayo
158 kilometers north east of the city of Huánuco Approximately 7
hours by 4WD from
Huánuco
District: Tantamayo
Locality
Reference:		 N/A
Site Details
Entrance Fee:
Opening Hours:
Museum & Other Services:
Semi-restricted access N/A N/A

Garu Archaeological Complex

One of the most important sites in the Upper Marañon river valley, Garu was possibly a political and administrative center for the Yaros or Yarowilcas people, who are considered among the most organized and largest cultures in the pre-Inca era. The site includes houses, administrative buildings, religious sites and defensive positions. This complex has three main sectors: Huaychan Jucchu Punta, the Gantu Corral, and Gayarina Jirca with a collection of niches and small columns inside.

Location Access
Province: Yarowilca
Distance:
Time:
73 kilometers from
the city of Huánuco		 2 hours 30 minutes
by car
District: Chavinillo
Locality
Reference:		 Mount Condor
Waganan (“where the Condor cries”)
Site Details
Entrance Fee:
Opening Hours:
Museum & Other Services:
Adults S/.3.00,  University
Students & Seniors S/.2.00		 Monday to Sunday
8:00 – 17:00		 Ticket office and guides

Huanuco Pampa

Also known as Wanuco Marka or Old Huánuco, this citadel is typical of buildings from the late Horizon or Inca Period (1476-1534 AD). Construction started in 1460, but work was interrupted in 1539 when the Spanish arrived to found the colonial city of Huánuco. This Inca city was planned with a strict sense of order and became an administrative center, as well as an important point for textile production and other industries. The well-preserved residence of Inca Wasi lies on the eastern side of the city.

Location Access
Province: Dos de Mayo
Distance:
Time:
137 kilometers from Tantamayo 6 hours from
Tantamayo
144 kilometers east of the city of
Huánuco		 5 hours from
Huánuco
District: Dos de Mayo
Locality

Reference:

 N/A
Site Details
Entrance Fee:
Opening Hours:
Museum & Other Services:
Adults S/.3.00 University
Students & Seniors S/.2.00
School Students S/.1.00		 Monday to Sunday
8:00 – 17:00		 N/A

Cave of Lauricocha

The oldest human remains found in Peru were discovered in this cave; it’s estimated they were buried in 9525 BC. As a result they serve as vital evidence to determine how Peru was initially populated. On another level in the same cave the remains of rock tools and implements of slightly more recent antiquity were also found. Their manufacture demonstrates that the people of Lauricocha knew the technical principles of stone-age industry. The hunters of Lauricocha lived a nomadic existence, dedicated to hunting in a “chaco” or ring formation to surround their prey.

Location Access
Province: Lauricocha
Distance:
Time:
110 kilometers from the city of
Huánuco		 5 hours by car
District: San Miguel de
Cauri
Locality
Reference:		 Close to the
Lauricocha Lagoon
Site Details
Entrance Fee:
Opening Hours:
Museum & Other Services:
Free entry N/A N/A

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