Municipalidad de Miraflores
This country´s capital is a vibrant modern metropolis of around 10 million, with excellent dining, nightlife, nearby beaches, and an atmospheric, UNESCO World Heritage colonial core dating back to 1535. And it´s also home to a number of Incan sites as well as others which are not just pre-Columbian but also predate the Incas; these huacas are temples, funerary, administrative, and commercial centres spread throughout the modern city, and provide a fascinating look at Peru´s historical heritage dating back as far as 1,500 years.
Lima´s Incan Heritage: the Qhapaq Ñan
The legacy of the Incan empire which absorbed these previous cultures can be seen to an extent in some of the colonial core´s layout and architectural elements as well as some local customs. But as far as explicit remnants of the empire, the main one is the Camino Inca (known in the local Qechua language as the Qhapaq Ñan), an 40,000-kilometre (nearly 25,000-mile) network of roads which connected the entire Incan empire - and came through what is today the province and city of Lima, particularly in its northern areas of Ancón, Lima Norte, and Rimac, just north of the city centre, and some remnants can still be seen today.
Lima´s Pre-Incan Sites
There are primarily two:
Huaca Pucllana
Located in the posh Miraflores district, south of the historic centre, the city's most emblematic huaca (top) is an archaeological complex built by the relatively short-lived Lima culture (100 to 650 CE). The adobe step pyramid is impressive, it as well as the rest of the site gives a glimpse into what life was like in this region before this civilisation´s decline and the Inca took over. Throughout the excavations a large number of artifacts, such as ceramics and tools, have been found, which help us better understand the customs and beliefs of the Lima culture. There´s a museum which offers an interactive tour, allowing visitors to learn more about this fascinating ancient people.
Huaca Huallamarca
Also known as Pan de Azúcar (Sugarloaf) for the shape of its main structure, it´s located in the heart of the San Isidro, a modern financial district in the west of the city´s downtown, this huaca was a ceremonial and religious center of great importance in the pre-Inca era, but the Incas also used it as a ritual space during their expansion. With its pyramidal adobe structure, Huallamarca was used as a tomb and a center of worship. Today at its summit you can see the remains of tombs and a unique panoramic view of the city. The museum here holds a collection of objects found in the huaca which illuminate the religious rituals performed here, especially funerary rites.
And farther afield, if pre-Incan huacas truly fascinate you:
Huaca del Sol and Huaca de la Luna
The Temples of the Sun and the smaller but better preseved Temple of the Moon were built between 100 and 800 CE by the Moche culture, whose capital (referred to as Cerro Blanco) was in the coastal desert around the city of Trujillo, an hour and a half flight from Lima and 8½ hours by car. Through the colourful mural paintings that adorn their walls, as well as a large museum dedicated to both huacas, one can see the importance of religious ceremonies in this ancient civilisation.
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