Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
(Psje Proceres 114; ice cream S8; 10am-9pm)
Flavors at this ice-cream parlor include
Belgian chocolate,
chicha morada
(an iconically Peruvian, sweet, unfermented, purple
corn drink) and Baileys: there's real machine-made coffee too.
Restaurant Los Alamos $
(Cuzco 215; mains S12-20; 7am-10pm)
In an attractive patio within the hotel of the
same name, this restaurant has good service, a long menu of Peruvian selections and a few
vegetarian plates; it may have musicians in the evening.
PERUVIAN
Wallpa Sua $
(Calle de la Vega 240; mains S8-20; 6-11pm Mon-Sat)
This is an upscale, locally pop-
ular and busy chicken restaurant, with a quarter-chicken and fries starting at S8.
FAST FOOD
THE WARI
Before the Incas ruled the roost in the Peruvian Highlands, the Wari were top dogs. Their empire extended north
beyond Chiclayo and south as far Lake Titicaca, with its capital on the pampa above Ayacucho. The heyday was
from AD 600 to AD 1100, during which time the Wari took control over many settlements previously occupied by
the Moche people in northern Peru, had dealings with the Tiwanaku culture to the south and established a power
base in Cuzco.
The Wari rose to dominance through developing a series of key administrative centers in topographically con-
trasting regions: Moquegua on Peru's southern coast, Piquillacta near Cuzco and Viracochapampa in the northern
highlands. This maximized trade in resources including coca, cotton and corn. At its zenith, the empire enjoyed
wealth then-unprecedented in Peruvian civilizations.
The capital, now a swathe of ruins 22km northeast of Ayacucho, once housed some 50,000 people and was
well-organized into sectors for agriculture, workshops and a grandiose area reserved for burial of dignitaries (the
Cheqowasi sector of the site shows this). The Wari certainly had grand plans. Their architectural style placed an
emphasis on a display of power with public spaces, possibly for nobles to interact in, and platforms to promote
rank seniority. They also excelled in producing weaving, as well as distinctive ceramics which indicate sophistic-
ated trade interaction with neighboring cultures such as the Tiwanaku.
However, by AD 1000, for unknown reasons, the empire had entered a period of decline. It has been speculated
that because defense had never been a priority, Wari buildings were vulnerable to attack. Significantly, however,
the civilization left behind a legacy of roads and settlements so important that they were still in use by the Inca
empire almost 500 years later.
