Chavín’s best hotel is a 10-minute combi ride outside of town, in the direction of San Marcos. Konchuckos Tambo (tel. 043/45-4631, chavin [at] rainforest [dot] com [dot] pe, www.perunature.com, US$84 pp) is set in the middle of a neatly manicured mountain farm. Above the hotel are greenhouses full of spinach and below are guinea pig and dairy farms. The sprawling rooms are enclosed in tall adobe walls, and the beds are covered in naturally dyed weavings. The friendly hotel staff can arrange a variety of activities in the nearby community: weaving demonstrations, day hikes, and fishing trips. Another US$4 a day will buy you a filling breakfast and lunch or dinner.

In town, Hostal La Casona (Plaza de Armas 130, tel. 043/45-9004, US$3 s without bath, US$8 d with bath) offers pleasant rooms circled around a stone patio. All rooms have good beds and TV. Bathrooms may be private or shared.

Once a busy house full of eight children, Hotel R’ickay (Bolivar 151, tel. 043/45-4027, www.hotelrickay.com, US$10 s, US$12–15 d) is now a quiet and clean hotel. Rooms are a bit dark, but they are wrapped around sunny patios.