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Ayacucho

Travelers are only just rediscovering Ayacucho's treasures. Richly decorated churches dominate the vivid cityscape alongside peach- and pastel-colored colonial buildings hung with wooden balconies. Among numerous festivities, Ayacucho boasts Peru’s premier Semana Santa celebrations, while in the surrounding mountains lie some of the country’s most significant archaeological attractions.

Yet this mesmerizing city has a dark past. Its name, originating from the Quechua aya (death, or soul) and cuchu (outback), offers a telling insight. Ayacucho’s status as isolated capital of a traditionally poor department provided the breeding ground for Professor Abimael Guzmán to nurture the Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) Maoist revolutionary movement that caused thousands of deaths in the region during the 1980s and 1990s. But the city’s historically poor links with the outside world also fostered a proud, independent spirit evident in everything from its unique festivals to its booming cultural self-sufficiency.

Explore Ayacucho

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Cathedral
This spectacular 17th-century cathedral on the Plaza de Armas has a religious-art museum inside. The moody facade doesn’t quite prepare you for the…
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Museo de la Memoria
Ayacucho’s most haunting museum, remembers the impact the Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) had on Peru in the city that was most deeply affected by the…
M
Museo de Arte Popular
Displays popular art covering the ayacucheño (natives of Ayacucho) spectrum – silverwork, rug- and tapestry-weaving, stone and woodcarvings, ceramics …
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Wari Ruins
Sprawling for several kilometers along a cactus-forested roadside are the extensive ruins of Wari, the capital of the eponymous empire, which predated the…
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Casa Museo Joaquín López Antay
This captivating little museum is really part art gallery and part an explanation of the process of retablo making. Retablos, ornamental, originally…
O
Otto Malena
Officially a restaurant, this surreal Aladdin's Cave is more a museum of curios than anything else, for the owner is primarily a collector of magical…
I
Iglesia de San Francisco de Asis
Visually striking stone church containing retablos (ornamental religious dioramas) and an attractive adjoining convent dating to the 17th century. Located…
P
Plaza de Armas
One of the prettiest plazas in the Central Andes, flanked by many gorgeous mansions, including the Prefectura. Ask at the tourist office for details on…
V
Vilcashuamán
This former Inca stronghold was once considered the geographical center of the Inca empire. It was believed to have been a city constructed in the shape…

C
Cathedral
This spectacular 17th-century cathedral on the Plaza de Armas has a religious-art museum inside. The moody facade doesn’t quite prepare you for the…
M
Museo de la Memoria
Ayacucho’s most haunting museum, remembers the impact the Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) had on Peru in the city that was most deeply affected by the…
M
Museo de Arte Popular
Displays popular art covering the ayacucheño (natives of Ayacucho) spectrum – silverwork, rug- and tapestry-weaving, stone and woodcarvings, ceramics …
W
Wari Ruins
Sprawling for several kilometers along a cactus-forested roadside are the extensive ruins of Wari, the capital of the eponymous empire, which predated the…
C
Casa Museo Joaquín López Antay
This captivating little museum is really part art gallery and part an explanation of the process of retablo making. Retablos, ornamental, originally…
O
Otto Malena
Officially a restaurant, this surreal Aladdin's Cave is more a museum of curios than anything else, for the owner is primarily a collector of magical…
I
Iglesia de San Francisco de Asis
Visually striking stone church containing retablos (ornamental religious dioramas) and an attractive adjoining convent dating to the 17th century. Located…
P
Plaza de Armas
One of the prettiest plazas in the Central Andes, flanked by many gorgeous mansions, including the Prefectura. Ask at the tourist office for details on…
V
Vilcashuamán
This former Inca stronghold was once considered the geographical center of the Inca empire. It was believed to have been a city constructed in the shape…

Top attractions

These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Ayacucho.

See
Cathedral
This spectacular 17th-century cathedral on the Plaza de Armas has a religious-art museum inside. The moody facade doesn’t quite prepare you for the…
See
Museo de la Memoria
Ayacucho’s most haunting museum, remembers the impact the Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) had on Peru in the city that was most deeply affected by the…
See
Museo de Arte Popular
Displays popular art covering the ayacucheño (natives of Ayacucho) spectrum – silverwork, rug- and tapestry-weaving, stone and woodcarvings, ceramics …
See
Wari Ruins
Sprawling for several kilometers along a cactus-forested roadside are the extensive ruins of Wari, the capital of the eponymous empire, which predated the…
See
Casa Museo Joaquín López Antay
This captivating little museum is really part art gallery and part an explanation of the process of retablo making. Retablos, ornamental, originally…
See
Otto Malena
Officially a restaurant, this surreal Aladdin's Cave is more a museum of curios than anything else, for the owner is primarily a collector of magical…
See
Iglesia de San Francisco de Asis
Visually striking stone church containing retablos (ornamental religious dioramas) and an attractive adjoining convent dating to the 17th century. Located…
See
Plaza de Armas
One of the prettiest plazas in the Central Andes, flanked by many gorgeous mansions, including the Prefectura. Ask at the tourist office for details on…
See
Vilcashuamán
This former Inca stronghold was once considered the geographical center of the Inca empire. It was believed to have been a city constructed in the shape…

Guidebooks

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