12 Best Sights in Ayacucho, The Central Highlands

Recent excavations at this massive archaeological site have uncovered multilevel underground galleries, burial chambers, circular plazas, arched portals, and other architectural wonders. Together they make this capital city of the Huari culture one of the most impressive non-Inca ruins in the Peruvian sierra. The Huari flourished from around AD 700 to 1100, and wandering the quiet alleys of this 2,023-hectare (5,000-acre) complex gives you a sense of how its 60,000 residents lived, worshipped, and died. Especially noteworthy are the temples and communal tombs. There's a small museum on-site with mummies and ceramics, as well as a lounge to rest in after roaming the cactus-covered grounds. The best way to visit is to take a tour from a travel agency in town for S/30, as taxis and colectivos to the site are sporadic and hard to figure out.

Four long hours south of Ayacucho on winding, unpaved roads is the former Inca provincial capital of Vilcashuamán, set where the north–south Inca highway crossed the east–west trade route from Cusco to the Pacific. Erected by the great Inca Pachacutec after his defeat of the Chanca people in 1438, the site displays the same monumental stone architecture that's ubiquitous in the Sacred Valley. Especially impressive are the sun temple (sadly now capped by a Spanish colonial church) and a five-tiered platform, known as an ushnu, crowned by an Inca throne. You can also visit the trapezoidal plaza, as well as the stepped fields once farmed by Inca peasants.

An hour's walk from Vilcashuamán (or a half-hour's walk south past the main road from Ayacucho) is Intihuatana, aka Pumacocha, a site built for Inca royalty that includes a palace and tower beside a man-made lagoon. Former Inca baths, a sun temple, and a sacrificial altar can also be seen on the grounds. Check out the unusual 13-angled boulder, one of the odd-shaped rocks that are an Inca construction hallmark.

Ayacucho travel agencies can organize tours of both sites (S/65), or you can catch a bus or colectivo for S/15–S/20. Be sure to ask around to confirm where these public transport options depart from, as pickup points change frequently.

Joaquín López Antay was Ayacucho's most renowned maker of retablos; this lovely museum pays homage to his work. Biographical displays, explications of the retablo-making process, and on-site classes make this a must-visit for art lovers. You can also buy finished works in the museum shop.

Across from the Iglesia Merced, one block from the Plaza de Armas, you'll see the colonial-style Casa Ruiz de Ochoa. The stately 17th-century doorway mixes European and Indigenous emblems in a cardinal example of mestizo style; over it, you'll see a stone carved with a double eagle, the coat of arms of the Hapsburg Empire. Climb up to the second floor for a bird's-eye view of the cobbled patio.

Built in the late 16th century and now part of the cultural center for San Cristóbal de Huamanga University, the Casona Velarde Álvarez is one of the oldest mansions in Peru. The colonial-era architecture includes portales (stone arches) in front and a monkey-shaped stone fountain in the courtyard.  On the left side as you enter, you'll see the remains of Inca stone walls discovered during restorations in 2003.

The twin bell towers of Ayacucho's cathedral, completed in 1672 under the vigorous administration of Bishop Don Cristóbal de Castilla y Zamora, crown the Plaza de Armas. The church's sober Renaissance facade belies its lavish interior, which boasts no less than 10 baroque retablos bathed in gold leaf, a silver-embossed tabernacle, and an intricately carved black-walnut pulpit. Also open to visitors are the church's crypt and a small museum of religious art. Look for the plaque inside the entrance that quotes from Pope John Paul II's speech during his visit in 1985.

This Jesuit church’s facade is one of the most striking in the Peruvian sierra. A relatively simple Renaissance design flames vividly into life due to the blood-red brick used around the main doorframe. No less intriguing are the floral ornaments that stud the twin bell towers, carved in a decorative style known as plateresco that derives from some of Spain's most flamboyant palaces. Built in the mid-1600s, the church retains the Jesuits' insignia on the frieze above its entrance, despite King Carlos III's having banished the society from Latin America in 1767.

Located in the Casona Vivanco, a 17th-century mansion, the Museo Cáceres was once the home of Andrés Avelino Cáceres, an Ayacucho resident and former Peruvian president best known for his successful guerrilla leadership during the 1879–83 War of the Pacific against Chile. This is one of the city's best-preserved historic buildings, and today houses a mix of military memorabilia and ancient local artifacts, including stone carvings and ceramics. Note the gallery of colonial-style paintings. The Museo de Arte Religioso Colonial can also be found within these storied walls, and exhibits antique objects from the city's early days.

Regional finds from Peru's various pre-Hispanic cultures are on display at this small museum, with artifacts from the locally based Huari logically given pride of place. Highlights include textiles, domestic implements, and mummies from some of the area's earliest inhabitants. The museum is located in the Centro Cultural Simón Bolívar of Ayacucho's local university.

Also known as the Boza and Solís House, the Prefectura is tucked into a two-story, 1740 casona histórica (historic mansion). Local independence-era heroine María Prado de Bellido was held prisoner in the Prefectura's storeroom until her execution by firing squad in 1822. The balcony opens out onto a lovely view of the Plaza de Armas.

Begun in 1548, the Templo de Santo Domingo is now a national monument. Legend holds that the first bells ringing out Peru's independence from the Spanish after the Battle of Ayacucho were sounded here. The church's unusual facade displays a mix of late Gothic and Renaissance architectural elements, along with mudéjar (Moorish-inspired) accents such as the slender wooden posts along the upper gallery. The interior features a sumptuous altarpiece coated in pan de oro (gold leaf).