Tunanmarca

Tunanmarca, also called Tunanmarca-Siquilpucara, sits on a ridge at around 3,900 metres above the Yanamarca valley north of Jauja, and it was one of the largest settlements of the Wanka, the people who held the Mantaro valley before the Inca. What survives is extensive: hundreds of circular stone houses in walled compounds, two large plazas, defensive walls and ditches, and a reservoir. Its position and its fortifications reflect a period of serious inter-group conflict in the valley in the centuries before the Inca conquest. After the Inca took the region in the 1460s the population was moved down to the valley floor and Tunanmarca was abandoned, which is why the plan survives intact. The Wanka later allied with the Spanish against the Inca. The site is a steep walk up from the road, is unfenced and unstaffed, and sees very few visitors.

What you actually see

• The round houses - hundreds of circular stone dwellings in walled compounds.
• The defences - perimeter walls and ditches from a period of valley conflict.
• The plazas - two large open spaces at the centre of the settlement.
• The abandonment - a site emptied by Inca resettlement and never reoccupied.

When to go

May to September. Two to three hours including the climb. Guides can be found in Tunanmarca or Jauja; there is no site staff.

Honest expectations

A steep climb to nearly 3,900 metres with no shade or shelter. No facilities, signage or ticket office. Stone walls are unstable in places - do not climb on them. Weather is cold and exposed on the ridge.

Nearby

Jauja and Laguna de Paca are south; Huancayo is further down the valley.