Quinua Village

Quinua makes the iglesias de Quinua, small red-clay churches placed on the ridge of roofs across the Peruvian Andes for protection and good fortune - the northern counterpart to the Pucará bulls - along with musicians, bulls, nativity figures and a wide range of modelled clay work sold from workshops along the main street. The clay here is a strong red and the pieces are usually left unglazed or lightly finished. Above the village is the Pampa de Ayacucho, where the battle of 9 December 1824 was fought: Sucre's army defeated the royalist force and the viceroy was captured, ending Spanish rule in South America, and a white obelisk forty-four metres high stands on the plain to mark it, one metre for each year of the independence struggle. The site is a historic sanctuary with a museum, and the anniversary is marked every December.

History

The first Huamanga, forerunner of today's Ayacucho, was founded within the district's territory in 1536 by Juan de Berrio, and the district itself was created in the first years of the Republic. The village's site museum, with weapons, uniforms and models from the battle, keeps the room where the Capitulation of Ayacucho was signed on 9 December 1824 (Spanish Wikipedia, Distrito de Quinua).

The main sights

• The ceramic churches - the red-clay roof pieces made and sold along the street.
• The workshops - families modelling bulls, musicians and nativity figures.
• The Pampa de Ayacucho - the 1824 battlefield that ended Spanish rule.
• The obelisk - forty-four metres, one for each year of the independence war.

When to go

May to September. Half a day from Ayacucho. 9 December brings the battle anniversary and large official events.

Good to know

The village is small and the workshops are homes with irregular hours. The battlefield monument is a walk uphill at 3,300 metres. Much of what is sold is repetitive tourist ware; the better modellers are worth asking for by name.

Nearby

Wari, the pre-Inca capital, is on the road back; Ayacucho is west.