Santa Rosa de Ocopa Convent

Ocopa was founded in 1725 as the Franciscan base for missions into the Amazon, and for two centuries it was the point from which expeditions set out towards the Ucayali and beyond - which is why its collections contain what they do. The library holds around twenty-five thousand volumes, some from the sixteenth century, including works in and about Amazonian languages compiled by missionaries. There is a natural history collection of specimens brought back from the jungle, a picture gallery with colonial paintings, cloisters, and a museum covering the mission history, including the deaths of friars on expeditions and the complicated record of the missions themselves. The building was damaged and abandoned at points in the nineteenth century amid political conflict and later restored. It is a short trip from Huancayo and visits are guided, with fixed times.

What you actually see

• The library - around twenty-five thousand volumes, some from the 1500s.
• The natural history collection - specimens brought back from Amazon expeditions.
• The cloisters - the eighteenth-century convent around its courtyards.
• The mission history - the base from which Franciscans entered the Amazon.

When to go

May to September for weather. One to two hours. Access is by guided tour at set times and the convent closes over lunch - check the schedule.

Honest expectations

Guided access only, in Spanish, at fixed times. Photography is restricted in the library and gallery. The mission history is presented from the order's perspective. Cold interiors at 3,300 metres.

Nearby

Concepción is close; Huancayo and the Mantaro valley are south.