San Jerónimo de Tunán

Silver filigree - drawing silver into fine wire, then coiling, twisting and soldering it into open lacework - came to the Andes with Spanish and, indirectly, Moorish technique, and San Jerónimo de Tunán has been the centre of it in the central highlands for generations. Workshops around the town produce earrings, brooches, filigree birds and flowers, tupus, the pins used to fasten a woman's manta, and religious pieces including crowns and adornments for church images. The work is done by hand with simple tools and a torch, and watching a piece assembled from hair-thin wire is the reason to visit. Saturday is the traditional market day when more workshops are open and selling. The town also has a substantial colonial church with a carved altarpiece. It is a short colectivo ride from Huancayo and combines with the other Mantaro craft villages.

Highlights

• The filigree - silver drawn to hair-thin wire and coiled into open lacework.
• The pieces - earrings, brooches, tupu pins and religious adornments.
• The workshops - hand tools and a torch, with work visible in progress.
• The church - a colonial building with a carved altarpiece on the square.

When to go

May to September. Saturday is market day and the busiest for workshops. Two to three hours, easily combined with Hualhuas or Cochas.

What to expect

Some pieces sold in the town are made elsewhere or are silver-plated - ask, and expect to pay properly for hallmarked work. Workshops keep irregular hours outside Saturday. Little English. At 3,270 metres.

Nearby

Hualhuas is close in the valley; Huancayo is south.