The Chavin Ruins consists of an impressive Temple in the shape of a Pyramid,from which walls the famous Pegged Head stands out, a great ceremonial plaza with concentric stairs, a surprising network of galleries. In one of the galleries is found the famous Lanzon de Chavin, a carved stone stella five meters high.

We recommend:

- Callejón de Huaylas
- Llanganuco Lake
- Pastoruri Mountain
- Huascarán National Park
- Chavín de Huantar
- Climbing

-Ancash Archeological Museum
Avenida Luzuriaga 762. Telephone: (043) 72-1551. Visiting hours: Mon. – Sat. 9:00 A.M. – 5:00 P.M. Sun. 9:00 A.M. – 2:00 P.M.

The museum features an important stone sculpture collection of the Recuay culture as well as exhibitions of pottery and textiles from pre-Inca cultures such as Chavin, Huaras White on Red, Mochica, Wari, and Chimu. -Santuario del Señor de la Soledad (Sanctuary of the Lord of Solitude)
Plazuela Señor de la Soledad. Telephone: (043) 72-8878. Visiting Hours: Mon. – Sun. 8:00 A.M. – 1:00 P.M. and 3:00 P.M. – 6:00 P.M.  Built after the 1970 earthquake, it houses the Señor de la Soledad image, patron saint of the city of Huaraz, dating back to the founding of the city in the sixteenth century.

-Waullac Archeological Remains
2 km / 1.2 miles east of Huaraz (5 minutes by car)
Waullac is a pre-Inca archeological site that belongs to the period of the Waris (600 A.D). It might be a burial site composed of five stone structures that look like small niches.

-Churup Lake
28 km/ 17 miles east of Huaraz (1 hour and 30 minutes by car) to Pitec and from there, you must walk 2 more hours.
The lake is surrounded by queñual trees, quishuar trees, and ichu grass. In this areas, typical Andean animal species like viscachas, bobcats, and different species of birds like wild ducks can be seen.

-Huascaran National Park
There are different entrances to the park to be chosen according to the interest of the visitor. The most important entrances are the one by the Llanganuco sector, where Lake Chinancocha is (beautifully turquoise in color), that of Orconconcha, and the entrance by the Carpa sector, which allows access to snow capped Mount Pastoruri. The park was created in 1975 with the purpose of preserving the wild animal and plant life, geological formations, archeological sites, and beautiful scenery. UNESCO placed it on the Natural World Heritage List in 1985. Inside the 340.000 hectares, which include almost the entire White Cordillera, you can observe the great variety of high Andean plant life like the Puyas Raimondi in the areas of Quesque and Pumapampa (this flower is considered the biggest in the plant realm, and once it has blossomed, the plant dies), and the queñual trees in the Llanganuco Lakes. Among the 296 lakes of the park, the most outstanding are Paron, Culliconcha, Llanganuco, Auquiscocha, Rajucolta, Querococha, and Cuchillococha. Of its 663 glaciers, the most impressive are Huascaran (6768 masl/ 22.199 fasl), Huandoy (6395 masl / 20.976 fasl), Chopicalqui (6354 masl / 20.841 fasl), Hualcan (6122 masl / 20.080 fasl), and Alpamayo (5947 masl / 19.506 fasl). It also houses a great diversity of birds and animals such as pumas, deer, Andean cats, and three endangered species, the spectacled bear, the Andean deer, the Andean condor. -Willcahuain and Ichic Willcahuain Archeological Remains
7 km / 4 miles northeast of Huaraz (35 minutes by car or 3 hours on foot)

It is an example of Wari architecture from the people who lived during the period we now call the Mid Horizon (700 B.C. – 100 A.D.). The interiors of the buildings feature a network of galleries that were used as offerings rooms.

YUNGAY-
58 km / 36 miles north of Huaraz (45 minutes by car)
Built at the foot of MountHuascaran, Yungay was completely reconstructed after the avalanche of 1970 that buried the entire city. The new settlement is located 1.5 kilometers (1 mile) away from the original site. Yungay is the starting point to the LlanganucoLakes route.

-Llanganuco Lakes (3800 masl / 12.464 fasl)
25 km / 16 miles northeast of Yungay (45 minutes by car)
The lakes, Chinancocha and Orconcocha, are situated within the HuascaranNational Park and are fed by the melting snows of mounts Huascaran, Huandoy, Pisco, Yanapaccha, and Chopicalqui. The ChinancochaLake or “female lake” is practically at the foot of MountHuascaran, and it is characterize by the intense green turquoise color of its waters and the thick queñua forests that grow on its shores. The other smaller lake, called Orconcocha or “male lake”, is located at the end of the glacier valley, and its waters are light blue.

-MountHuascaran (6768 masl / 22.199 fasl)
21 km / 13 miles southeast of Yungay (1 hour by car), you arrive at Musho and from there you start a 4-hour hike to the base camp. Then, it is a 2-hour climb to the Raimondi glacier.
It is the highest mountain in Peru. For those who want to ascend Huascaran, the expedition lasts six to seven days. The Raimondi glacier works as an acclimation zone and a base camp to scale the north and south peaks.

-GuitarrerosCave
45 km / 28 miles away from Huaraz (50 minutes by bus) is Shupluy. The GuitarrerosCave is 3 kilometers (2 miles) away.
The cave is located at 2600 masl (8528 fasl) and traces of the oldest farmers of Peru were found at this site. Scientists date their remains back to approximately 12.500 B.C.

- Chavin de Huantar Archeological Complex
109 km / 68 miles south of Huaraz (3 hours and 30 minutes by car)
It was built around 1200 B.C. and discovered by Julio C. Tello in 1919. UNESCO placed it on the World Cultural Heritage List in 1985.
The complex includes ceremonial rooms and pyramidal structures built of massive stone blocks. The OldTemple has a group of subterranean galleries that open an access way to the Room of the Lanzon, an impressive stone knife-like sculpture. This sculpture is 4.5-meter high (15 feet) and has been carefully carved with feline, bird and snake patterns, characteristic of the Chavin iconography.

-Chavin Archeological Complex Exposition Hall
Telephone: (043) 45-4042. Visiting hours: Mon. – Sun. 9:00 A.M. – 5:00 P.M.
It shows a varied collection of textiles, ceramic and stone pieces belonging to different pre-Inca cultures such as Chavin, Huaras White on Red, Recuay, and Wari.