4 Best Sights in Huancayo, The Central Highlands

Situated in front of the Río Shulcas, the Capilla de la Merced is a national monument that marks where Peru's constituent assembly met in 1839 to draw up the country's fifth constitution. This document helped to centralize power in the fledgling nation and so promote the growth of its political institutions. The church's neocolonial design is a 20th-century addition, and the product of a 1940 earthquake that damaged many buildings in Huancayo.

Begun in 1799, Huancayo's cathedral presents the odd juxtaposition of a stark, neoclassical facade and a Renaissance-style dome modeled on Brunelleschi's for the Santa Maria del Fiore basilica in Florence. The church is similar to other Andean temples in that it's been rebuilt numerous times; thus, while the sandstone masonry of the frontage is mostly original, the bell towers date from the 1920s.

The focus of the beautiful Parque de la Identidad Huanca (Huanca Identity Park) is the pre-Inca Huanca culture, which once occupied the area but left few clues to its way of life. A 5-km (3-mile) drive from downtown Huancayo, the park has pebbled paths and small bridges that meander through blossoming gardens, as well as a rock castle that's just the right size for children to explore. An enormous sculpture at the park's center honors the artisans who produce the city's mates burilados.

An all-in-one amusement complex 1 km (½ mile) northeast of the city, the Parque del Cerro de la Libertad lets you picnic in the grass, watch the kids at the playground, swim in the public pool, dine at a restaurant, and stroll through the on-site zoo. Folkloric dancers and musicians perform at the park's amphitheater on weekends. A 15-minute walk from the park brings you to the site of Torre Torre, a cluster of 10- to 30-meter (30- to 98-foot) rock towers formed by wind and rain erosion.