Chavín de Huántar, Peru

Chavín de Huántar (tel. 043/72-4042, 8 a.m.–4 p.m., $1), four hours east of Huaraz, was the capital of the Chavín culture, which spread across Peru’s northern highlands from 900–200 b.c., nearly 2,000 years before the Incas. The site includes a sunken plaza ringed with stylized carvings of pumas and priests holding the hallucinogenic San Pedro cactus. A broad stairway leads to a U-shaped stone temple, called the Castillo, which rises 13 meters off the ground in three levels of stone. Much of the site was covered by a 1945 mudslide, which also wiped away a Chavín bridge that was still in use.

This site was visited by Italian explorer Antonio Raymondi in the 19th century and later excavated in the early 20th century by Julio Tello. Both men brought back elaborately carved pillars from here, now on display in Lima’s museums. Tello developed an elaborate theory that Chavín de Huántar was the launching pad for all of Peru’s advanced cultures. Recent excavations have revealed that the city was preceded by Caral and other important centers on the coast, but Chavín’s importance is still irrefutable. During its peak from 400–200 b.c., the Chavín culture spread across Peru as far as Ayacucho in the south and Cajamarca in the north. Its exotic deities, which included the puma and a mythical deity with a staff in its hand, became central icons in Peru’s ancient art and iconography from the Moche to the Incas. Chavín was Peru’s first pan-Andean culture and set the stage for the Tiahuanaco, Wari, and Inca states.

The highlight of Chavín de Huántar are the underground chambers that lead beneath the main temple and are now illuminated by electric light. Three of these passages converge underground at an extraordinary stone carving, known as the Lanzón. This granite pillar is carved with a frightening mythical being, which has thick, snarling lips and a pair of menacing canines that arch upward. Heavy earrings hang from the ears and snakes appear to grow from the head. The notched top of the pillar extends upward into an upper gallery, where priests may once have performed rituals.

There is a spectacular trek that crosses the southern end of the Cordillera Blanca from Olleros, a village just south of Huaraz, to Chavín de Huántar. The trek, which is not crowded, heads along an ancient trade route up and over Yanashallash Pass at 4,700 meters (see Routes in the Parque Nacional Huascarán section).

Many of Huaraz’s agencies offer a day tour to Chavín de Huántar, which leaves Huaraz at 8 a.m. and returns 12 hours later. If you go on your own, contract one of the Spanish-speaking guides at the entrance to better understand the place. Buses head to the town of Chavín, about 1 km north of the ruins; for details see Getting There for Huaraz. There are a few restaurants and hostels in Chavín, but your best bet for hot water is Hotel Chavín Arqueológico (Inca Roca 141, tel. 043/75-4055, $8 s, $14 d).

Pastoruri Glacier
The easiest way to touch ice in the Cordillera Blanca is by making the day trip to the flat, road-accessible Pastoruri Glacier, 70 km south of Huaraz. Though not spectacular by Cordillera Blanca standards, the ice caves and walls of this glacier are an alternative for those not able to climb or trek. Catching combis into the area is complicated and time-consuming. so the best way to go is with an agency tour from Huaraz, which generally costs around $8 per person and last nine hours. Tours spend about two hours walking up and around the glacier to about 5,240 meters (17,190 feet), so prior acclimatization in Huaraz is necessary. As a bonus, tours also stop along the way and see the gargantuan Puya raimondii plant.