Central Highlands - Peru - page 642

This tiny town is the first significant community on the rocky road from Huánuco to
Huaraz: an exciting way to connect the Central Highlands and the Cordillera Blanca.
From here you can hike to the extensive Inca ruins of Huánuco Viejo (admission S4;
8am-6pm) on a swathe of barren pampa at 3700m. It's a two-hour trek on a steep path
from behind the market heading toward a cross on a hill. Minivans leaving from the mar-
ket at 5am, as well as other vehicles, can take you to within a 30-minute walk of the site.
There are 2 sq km of ruins and supposedly more than 1000 buildings and storehouses in
total here. Most impressive is the usnu, a huge 4m-high ceremonial platform with engrav-
ings of animals (monkeys with lion faces) adorning the entrance. A key figure in the Inca
resistance against the Spanish, Illa Tupac, defended Huánuco Viejo until 1543, signific-
antly after many Inca settlements had fallen. Looking at the site's defensive advantages
today, it's easy to see how.
La Unión has public but no listed phones and a handy Banco de la Nación (Jirón 2 de
Mayo 798) with what is surely Peru's remotest Visa ATM. Just a block from here you'll
also find Hostal Picaflor (Jirón 2 de Mayo 840; s/d without bathroom S15/25) . Basic but
agreeable rooms cluster around a bright courtyard. Basic eateries include Restaurant
Recreo (Jirón 2 de Mayo 971; mains S10-15) , with relaxed courtyard dining.
All transport arrives/departs from the well-ordered bus terminal on Commercio at the
west end of town. Companies leave around 6pm for Lima (S20, 10 hours) while two or
three buses daily ply the route east to Huánuco (S15, five hours), as well as to Tantamayo
(three hours). La Unión Huánuco has a service to Huaraz that departs at the ungodly
hour of 3:45am, taking five hours.
Tantamayo
ELEV 3400M
Tantamayo is connected only by a rough track to the outside world. The first sign you are
approaching is the green-brown patchwork of fields standing out from the stark, precipit-
ous sides of the Upper Marañon valley. From this serene, chilly village flows a river that
will, hundreds of kilometers downstream, morph into the Amazon itself. Tantamayo was
capital of the pre- Columbian Yarowilca culture, remains of which are scattered
throughout the nearby hills. The most impressive ruins are those at Piruro and Susupillo .
This culture was one of the oldest known in Peru and very architecturally advanced.
Buildings were constructed with up to six floors connected via internal spiral staircases,
giving them a different appearance to the constructions of the Incas, whom many believe
were unable to emulate Yarowilca style.