Huarco Ruins
The ruins of this pre-Hispanic fort are minimal, but they conceal a violent history. The Huarco were a tiny seaside kingdom that resisted the incursions of the Inca Empire in the 15th century. After four years of fruitless attempts to subdue them, in 1470 the Inca ruler, Túpac Yupanqui, hit upon a stratagem: feigning a desire for peace, he tricked the unsuspecting Huarco into descending to the sea en masse to solemnize a would-be truce in a water ceremony. Then, in their absence, the wily Inca proceeded to seize the Huarco fortress, which he used as a base to subjugate the ill-fated tribe. Today, you can still pick out a few Inca trapezoidal niches among the ruins' crumbling walls, which overlook a precipitous cliff. There's also a museum in Cerro Azul with artifacts that tell the Huarcos' tragic story.
