Tantamayo

Around the village of Tantamayo, on ridges above the Marañón gorge, stand a series of pre-Inca sites built by the Yarowilca between roughly 1000 and 1400 AD, and their architecture is distinctive: tall narrow stone buildings of several storeys, some reaching ten metres or more, with small windows and internal floors, perched on exposed spurs. Susupillo, Piruro, Japallán and Selmín are the main groups, each a walk of one to three hours from the village and each on its own ridge. Why the Yarowilca built vertically like this is not settled - defence, storage, status, or the constraints of the terrain. The area is high, at 3,600 metres and above, deeply cut by the Marañón and its tributaries, and it is remote enough that visitors are rare. There is basic accommodation in Tantamayo and guides can be found locally.

What you actually see

• The towers - narrow multi-storey stone buildings, some over ten metres tall.
• The sites - Susupillo, Piruro, Japallán and Selmín on separate ridges.
• The Yarowilca - the highland people who built them between about 1000 and 1400.
• The setting - exposed spurs above the Marañón gorge at 3,600 metres and higher.

When to go

May to September; the roads and paths are bad in the rains. Two days minimum given the journey and the walks between sites. Guides in the village.

Honest expectations

A very long journey from Huánuco on rough road. Each site is a separate hike at altitude on steep ground. Accommodation and food in Tantamayo are basic. No signage, no facilities and no ticket office.

Nearby

The Marañón gorge is below; Huánuco Pampa and La Unión are south-west.