Circular plaza
Sunken, 20 metres across.
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Chavín de Huántar is an archaeological site in Peru's Ancash region, holding the ruins of a ceremonial centre built from before 1200 BC and used by the Chavín, a major pre-Inca culture, until about 400 to 500 BC. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, about 39 km in a straight line from Huaraz. The site sits at 3,180 metres east of the Cordillera Blanca, where the Mosna and Huachecsa rivers meet, beside the small town of the same name. It was a place where people of the region gathered for rituals, and its name comes from a Quechua word meaning «centre». Some of its finds are shown at the national museum in the town. The temple is a massive flat-topped pyramid surrounded by lower platforms, with broad stone stairs dropping to a sunken circular plaza close to 20 metres across. A stone portal with carved columns, walls of coursed granite and narrow underground passages complete the scene, set among green grass and valley hills. The inner passages are narrow and low, so mind your head. The site is high, so acclimatise before visiting.
Sunken, 20 metres across.
With carved columns.
Narrow, underground.
Chavín de Huántar town, Ancash Region, Peru
The pre-Inca Chavín culture.
On a day trip from Huaraz.