ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE OF CHAVÍN DE HUÁNTAR

After a hundred kilometers from Huaraz, by a road in bad condition, one reaches, at 3,200 m, an archaeological complex that was, during the first millennium of our era, the most important ceremonial center of the Cordillera. It is possible to walk from a square to an esplanade and from a pyramid with underground galleries, originally decorated with bas-reliefs, to rooms where monoliths with strange figures were erected. The main building, the Castillo or Great Pyramid, 75 m long and 13 m high, is composed of three superimposed granite terraces. Underneath, galleries, corridors and underground chambers are connected by stairs and ramps. On the outside, a portico is formed by two cylindrical columns carved with bird figures. The cornice, also elaborately carved, bears eight stylised condors or falcons.

In front of it, the plaza where the Obelisco Tello stood has been cleared. The Templo del Lanzón, inside the Great Pyramid, is the oldest building in the complex, dating back to 1200 B.C. A 5-metre-high stone of strange raw beauty depicts a figure with a feline head and hair made of snakes.

A visit to the Museo Nacional de Chavín is also worthwhile, where you can find ceramics and tools, but above all the Obelisco Tello and an interesting collection of pututos, large shells used by blowing strongly into them to call out to others.