Huancayo

Huancayo is a city of several hundred thousand at 3,250 metres, the commercial centre of the central Andes, and it makes no attempt to be charming. What it has is position: the craft villages of the Mantaro valley - Cochas for gourds, San Jerónimo for silver, Hualhuas for weaving - are all short colectivo rides away, and the valley's festival calendar is among the densest in Peru. In the city itself there is the Sunday feria on Huancavelica street, a market that runs for many blocks, the Torre Torre earth pinnacles on the hillside, the Cerrito de la Libertad park, and the Wanka archaeology in the valley around. The Ferrocarril Central from Lima, the railway that climbs to 4,781 metres at Galera, runs a passenger service on limited dates and is one of the great train journeys anywhere when it operates.

What you actually see

• The Sunday feria - a market running for many blocks through the centre.
• The craft villages - Cochas, San Jerónimo and Hualhuas within reach.
• Torre Torre - the eroded earth pinnacles above the city.
• The railway - the Lima line climbing to 4,781 metres, on running days.

When to go

May to September for dry weather; July for the Santiago festival across the valley. Two to four days. Check Ferrocarril Central dates well in advance.

Honest expectations

A large, noisy, congested city with little to see in itself. At 3,250 metres, arrivals from Lima feel it. The train runs only on scheduled dates and sells out. Craft villages need separate trips and colectivo patience.

Nearby

Cochas, San Jerónimo and Hualhuas are in the valley; Jauja and Laguna de Paca are north.