Kúelap (72 km. from Chachapoyas / Amazon Dept.) – this fortress was built by another pre-Inca civilization, the Chachapoyas people, which existed between 800 AD and 1470 AD. The fortress is protected by walls as high as 66 meters. Despite this, the Incas still managed to conquer them. Visitors at this site will take note […]
Government Palace (Plaza Mayor, Lima) — this Spanish colonial building was once the residence of conquistador Francisco Pizarro (1535). The land used to build this palace previously belonged to Inca ruler Taulichusco (chief of the Rimac valley). Since Pizarro’s time, various rulers resided here, with renovations being made after a fire damaged portions of the […]
Chavín de Huántar (Chavín de Huantar, Áncash) — located 110 km southeast of the town of Huaraz, this site is even older than the Inca Empire. Its main temple was built in 1,400 BC. Revered by locals for the oracle-like powers that its priests were said to have, they would seek their counsel and make […]
Chan Chan (Huanchaco, Trujillo) – located just 10 minutes from the regional Peruvian city of Trujillo, this is one of the country’s significant archeological sites. This site was once the capital of the Chimú kingdom (which existed along Peru’s north coast from appx. 1100 AD, before being conquered by the Incas around 1470 AD). Upon […]
Caral (km 184, Panamericana Norte highway, Barranca Province) – this is the Sacred City of Caral, the reputed origin of pre-Columbian Andean culture. As the most ancient of civilizations that thrived in the Americas, this area’s historic roots go back over 5,000 years. The Caral complex contains a variety of structures, in particular the six […]
Tourists visiting Peru think firstly of the country’s ancient indigenous civilization – the Inca Empire that goes back to the 13th century. That pre-Columbian empire, during its height, covered not only Peru, but parts of Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador and Colombia (centered on the Andean Mountain regions of these countries). Inca rule over these lands came […]
La Compañía de Jesús (Calle Garcia Moreno y Sucre, Quito) – complete in 1765, this is Ecuador’s most ornate church – considered one of the most significant works of Spanish Baroque architecture in South America. Moorish influences are evident in the church’s interior. A sarcophagus with the remains of Ecuador’s patron saint (Mariana de Jesís […]
Museo Mindalae (Plaza Yuyú, La Mariscal, Quito) – this museum is dedicated to the country’s ethnic history — celebrating the immense cultural and ethnic diversity of the many nations within Ecuador. The Museum is managed by the Sinchi Sacha Foundation, an organization that supports indigenous cultures, fair trade, craft training and responsible tourism. The name […]
Museo de Arte Colonial (Calles Cuence y Mejía, Quito) – located in a colonial building from the 16th Century, this museum was established in 1914, and houses a vast collection of artwork (from paintings to sculptures going as far back as the 16th century). There is also a section devoted to colonial era indigenous artists. […]
Capilla del Hombre (Mariano Calvache E18-94 y Lorenzo Chávez, Bellavista, Quito) – located in the Bellavista section of Quito, this structure (“the Chapel of Man”) is actually an art museum put together by Ecuadorian painter Oswaldo Guayasamín – which he dedicated to the peoples of Latin America. Artworks shown there range from murals to sculptures. […]