The population is about 500,000, altitude 3300 m. Huancayo lies on the lower end of the broad Mantaro Valley. The surrounding mountains reach up to ca. 3,600 m. En route from Lima, the road ascends as high as ca. 4100 m.
In Peru, there is not only Cuzco, Arequipa and Puno to visit, but also charming, smaller towns such as the ones encountered in the region of Junin. These towns represent another aspect of the Peruvian culture and its traditions, giving tourists another angle from which to experience this diverse country. In Huancayo and its surroundings, there are many activities on offer and many not so touristy cultural sites to visit. When Pizzaro settled the first capital of Peru in Jauja, his first impression of the region was that it looked like Switzerland. The everlasting valley of Mantaro is very green in the wetter parts of the year, but dries out quite a bit at other times. Its agriculture is flourishing and is full of wandering cows, pigs, donkeys and lambs.
The region is full of pre-Inca ruins, from the Wanka civilization. You should go and visit Tunanmarca, a wanka ruin that has more than 3000 houses! or go trekking on the Huaytapallana glacier for a day.
It is a pleasant and relatively safe place for visitors to practice their Spanish, meet down-to-earth Peruvians, and try delicious local food at reasonable prices. Ruins, museums, trekking and fishing are on the menu.
Tunanmarca
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Huancayo
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Huancayo - updated May 2024
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Huancayo Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
