Huánuco

Introducing Huánuco

After the oxygen deprivation of the altiplano, coming down to the busy little town of Huánuco is a pleasant relief. It makes for a convenient and decidedly more tempting stopover on the Lima–Pucallpa jungle route. Huánuco is the capital of its department, and is the site of one of Peru’s oldest Andean archaeological sites, the Temple of Kotosh (aka the Temple of the Crossed Hands). The town has a museum and a pleasant, shady Plaza de Armas. Although Huánuco was founded in 1541, little is left of its colonial buildings. The town’s inhabitants boast that the perfect elevation and location gives Huánuco the best climate in Peru.