Peru is a country with enormous archaeological wealth, and there are many important sites throughout its territory. We clarify that this order has nothing to do with ranking but rather we have ordered this list according to different cultures that inhabited these lands and left testimony of their surprising culture.
Contents
1 | Inca culture
It was the last of the great pre-Columbian civilizations that preserved its independent State during the conquest of America. It came to cover the current territories of Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Chile, Argentina and Colombia, thus becoming the largest Empire in pre-Columbian America. The conquest of Tahuantinsuyo, carried out between 1530 and 1540 by the Spanish led by Francisco Pizarro, put an end to the empire.
Macchu Picchu
To start this trip, we do it with the most internationally known destination and that without a doubt you cannot miss if you plan a trip to Peru. This ancient Inca city, located in the Andes mountains, has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. It was an ancient Andean town (llaqta Incaica), which had already developed before the 15th century on the rocky promontory that joins the Machu Picchu and Huayna Picchu mountains on the eastern slope of the Central mountain range.
Without a doubt, it is a masterpiece of architecture not only for the buildings themselves, but also for its studied location, its dialogue with the mannific landscape that surrounds it.
Coricancha or Qorikancha
The city of Cusco was the capital of the Inca Empire and is home to Coricancha, the temple of the Sun, which was one of the most sacred places of the empire built in 1200. The Santo Domingo square is located in the current site of the temple and convent. . of Santo Domingo, built on the remains of the temple and extends to Av. El Sol.
We believe that it is worth knowing although what you see is a mix of colonial architecture on the Inca walls. The Spanish settlers built the Convent of Santo Domingo, demolishing the temple but using its foundations for the church.
They also used parts of the building for other churches and residences. This is one of numerous sites where the Spanish incorporated Inca masonry into the structure of a colonial building. What is incredible is that large earthquakes severely damaged the church, but the Inca stone walls, built with huge, tightly interlocked stone blocks, still stand due to their sophisticated stone masonry.
This Inca work, in which few foundations remain, withstood three earthquakes (1650, 1749 and 1950) without suffering major damage, unlike the Spanish temple which fell to pieces. After the event of 1950, in 1956, the reconstruction of the temple of Santo Domingo began (under the supervision of UNESCO) with some modifications, giving preference to exposing the Inca walls, thus forming a cover in most parts of the temples. walls of Qorikancha. Neighbor, you will be able to visit an underground archaeological museum that contains mummies, textiles and sacred idols from the site.
Sacsayhuamán
Located on the outskirts of Cusco, it is an impressive Inca fortress built with enormous carved stones. The ceremonial fortress of Sacsayhuamán dates back to the 15th century and, with its megalithic walls, is the greatest architectural work that the Incas carried out during their heyday. From the fortress you can see a unique panoramic view of the surroundings, including the city of Cusco.
Moray
It is located 57 kilometers northwest of the city of Cusco and is made up of circular terraces that give it an even more mysterious air. They say that Moray was possibly an agricultural research center of the Incas where they checked the response of crops at different heights (hence each terrace is deeper than the previous one), each of which represented the meteorological conditions of the different areas of the kingdom of this ancient culture. Be that as it may, visiting it today is, in addition to being historically interesting, a beautiful and impressive vision of what the Incas could do.
Tipon
The Tipón complex is located in the Community of Choquepata, 27 km southeast of Cusco next to the Cusco-Puno highway. Located at an altitude of 3,560 meters above sea level. It was a great sanctuary where water was worshiped with the care and veneration that the Incas treated this element. In this place you will find one of the largest irrigation works on the terraces also called platforms, the incredible distribution of outdoor water conduits. It contains enclosures, terraces and an intact irrigation ditch. The upper part of the complex is crossed by the Inca Trail along with an irrigation canal. It was probably used as a laboratory for agricultural products due to the various microclimates found in this complex.
Pisac
Also in the Sacred Valley, and with the prestige of being the most famous archaeological site in this area of Peru, is the Inca city of Pisac (or partridge, due to the shape that this complex theoretically has). This place is not only worth your visit for its archaeological value, for how well preserved it is, but it is a very enjoyable place if you like mountain nature. Pisac is surrounded by the Andean mountain range in all its splendor, at almost 3,000 meters high. Here you can also see the oldest Inca cemetery in South America, a kind of holes in the cobblestone wall of the adjacent hills, on the other side of the Quitamayu River. The sight is overwhelming but sad at the same time, especially when you learn that the Spanish colonizers looted the tombs to take possession of the treasures with which some of the Inca mummies were buried. A real shame.
Ollantaytambo
It is an ancient Inca town located in the Sacred Valley of the Incas and is known for its impressive agricultural terraces and architecture. And Ollantaytambo has the peculiarity of still being inhabited and is known as “The living Inca city.” It is not far from the famous Machu Picchu. And at an altitude of 2,700 meters above sea level. It is a place that will allow you to experience how Inca societies really lived centuries ago. If you visit it, keep in mind that the climb, although short, is somewhat exhausting on a hot day. Ollantaytambo is a very touristy town today, both for its historical interest, for the beauty of its location and for the architecture of the area, which in many cases took advantage of the pre-existing Inca constructions.
2 | Chimú Culture
The Chimú were the residents of the Chimú Kingdom with their capital at Chan Chan in the Moche Valley of Peru. Chimú was conquered by the Inca Empire 50 years before the arrival of the Spanish conquerors, so chroniclers were able to collect many testimonies about the daily life of that town before the Inca conquest by Tupac Inca Yupanqui.
Chan Chan
Located on the northern coast of Peru, near the city of Trujillo, it was the capital of the kingdom and is considered the largest adobe city in America. Likewise, in its time it was one of the most important capitals of pre-Columbian America. This citadel was inscribed on the list of World Heritage Sites by UNESCO in 1986. If you visit, you can explore the massive mud structures, murals, and labyrinthine passageways.
3 | The Nasca civilization
The Nasca civilization made its appearance in pre-Inca times in the province of the same name in the Ica region. In the Nasca desert, there are the famous lines and geoglyphs, which represent geometric figures and animals.
4 | Moche culture
It developed between the 2nd and 7th centuries AD. C. in the valley of the Moche River (current province of Trujillo, in the department of La Libertad). They built large works such as irrigation canals and dams, which allowed them to expand their agricultural frontier. For the Mochica culture, the raw material was adobe.
Huacas of the Sun and the Moon
These ancient sanctuaries of the Moche culture are located on the outskirts of the city of Trujillo. They were developed between the 2nd and 5th centuries in the valley of the Moche River
Huaca del Sol being the most large pre-Columbian adobe pyramid in the country. Itl was the administrative and ceremonial center of the Moche culture, while Huaca de la Luna was an adjacent temple. Platforms and plazas delimited by large adobe walls that serve as interconnection areas stand out for being superimposed and built in different periods. The most notable components of the building are the reliefs in its five-color wall paintings that represent, among other figures, the characteristics and attributes of the Moche deity called Ai apaec, the throat-cutting god.
El Brujo Archeological complex
Located on the northern coast of Peru near the city of Trujillo, it is an archaeological complex that includes pyramids and tombs from the Moche culture.
In this archaeological complex, the tomb and mummified body of the Moche ruler called Lady of Cao were found.
5 | Lima culture
It is a culture that developed on the central coast, in the current province of Lima, between the years 100 and 650 of the Christian era. It is contemporary with the Moche, Nasca, Recuay and Huarpa cultures.
It is distinguished by its colorful and sculptural ceramics with representations of intertwined serpentine beings and fish. Also for its buildings made with small adobes and its fine, polychrome ceramics decorated with geometric motifs.
Huaca Pucllana
Ancient temples and pyramids in the heart of the city: you don’t have to travel to the Andes to learn the history of the ancient Peruvian civilization. Lima is home to a series of ruins, or ‘huacas’, evidence of pre-Inca civilizations. The Huaca Pucllana belongs to the Lima culture, a civilization that developed between 200 and 700 AD. Now, the Huaca Pucllana was built around the 5th century and, after the decline of the Lima Culture, it was occupied by two other civilizations.
6|Chachapoyas Culture
The Chachapoyas have a long history in the region, measured in several millennia judging by the rock art testimonies. Possibly they were descendants of Cordilleran immigrants who adapted their ancestral culture to the new environment, perhaps collecting traditions from the first settlers of Amazonian origin. What is traditionally called “chachapoyas”, itself, possibly had its beginnings in the 8th century.
They modified the jungle landscape, making it eroded and barren as they deprecated the forests and as a consequence of the annual burnings to which they subjected their lands.
Kuelap
It is an archaeological complex located in northern Peru, in the Amazonas department and is known for its impressive stone walls.
Kuelap was the citadel-capital of the Chachapoyas culture that dominated these areas between 600 and 1400 AD, before the arrival of the Incas. From Kuelap there are several more or less preserved ruins with the typical cylindrical or conical shape (unlike the Incas who only built with square shapes), houses, places of worship, walls and bastions. From the citadel, perched high up, the landscape is sensational and the atmosphere epic. It remained almost intact, due to its difficult access, until 1843. Its circular constructions are somewhat reminiscent of Celtic forts, and the fact that nature has managed to make its way, merging with some of the semi-ruined buildings, centuries old, They give this place an even more magical touch.
7 | Ychsma culture
It was a pre-Inca lordship system that was later absorbed by the Inca Empire and reorganized as a wanami (province). To the Incas it was known as Pachakamaq (Pachacamac), instead of its original name of Ichma. The Ichma Kingdom was located south of Lima, Peru, in the valley of the Lurín River; It then spread north into the Rímac River valley. The Ichma culture was formed around 1100 AD. C. after the disintegration of the Wari Empire. Ichma autonomy lasted until around 1469 when they were absorbed by the Inca Empire.
Pachacamac
Most of the surviving buildings date from 800-1450, built by the Ichma (or Ishmay) people. The Incas later conquered it and built more buildings, but in the 1530s the Spanish conquistadors took it over and dismantled it for building material. Located near Lima (on the right bank of the Lurín River, very close to the Pacific Ocean and in front of the Pachacámac Islands, it was an important pre-Inca ceremonial center that covers different cultural periods. It presents four temples, fourteen platform buildings with ramps, twenty-one buildings and several places.
8 | Caral culture
The Caral culture developed between 3000 and 1800 BC. (Late Archaic and Lower Formative) that is, it was contemporary with other primitive civilizations such as those of Egypt, India, Sumeria, China, but unlike them (who exchanged their achievements), it developed in complete isolation. In America, it is the oldest of the pre-Hispanic civilizations, surpassing the Olmec civilization by 1,500 years, another important civilizational focus located in Mesoamerica.
Caral
Caral, the archaeological site where the remains of the main city of the Caral civilization are found. It is located in the Supe Valley, 182 kilometers north of Lima (Peru), 23 km from the coast. It is attributed to being 5000 years old and is considered the oldest city in America, since no other older site with such a diversity of monumental buildings, with different ceremonial and administrative functions, has been found so far on that continent. It has been declared Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.
These are archaeological jewels that allow us to travel in time to appreciate the greatness of the original cultures of America.
