Peru Tourism

The Junin Region includes highlands as well as Amazonian jungle. To the west, at the border with the Department of Lima, the mountains are steep and snowy. Towards the east, he landscape is made of glacial valleys and high altitude plateaus. At the rim of the jungle, deep narrow gorges and mist forests abound.

The city of Huancayo is located in the Mantaro River valley, one of the most fertile valleys in the central Andes. Its inhabitants make a living from agriculture, cattle raising, trade, and tourism. Long ago, the area was the realm of the Huancas, a tribal enemy of the Incas who according to legend were finally subjugated by Pachacútec after ferocious resistance.

Half an hour away from the city of Huancayo, in the province of La Concepción, you come across the Convent of Santa Rosa of Ocopa. Franciscan missionaries built it in 1725 for the purpose of establishing a base for evangelizing the jungle peoples. There are still preserved old, Colonial cloisters and an impressive library with more than 25,000 volumes.

From the city of Jauja, the first capital of the Peruvian Vice-royalty, you can visit the lovely Paca Lake. The city of Tarma, the city of flowers, is celebrated for its attractive countryside and excellent climate. However, the department is not only mountainous. It also contains jungle valleys with splendid countryside and typically tropical climate like Satipo and Chanchamayo, where the cities of San Ramon and La Merced are located.

The department is also home to the Chacamarca Historic Sanctuary and the Junin National Reserve, which protects the second largest lake in Peru where the Junin grebe lives, a bird nearing extinction.

Places to visit in Peru

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