Long walls
Rough fieldstone.
EduardoZambrano from Lima, Peru — CC BY 2.0 · EduardoZambrano from Lima, Peru — CC BY 2.0 · Unión Europea en Perú — CC BY 2.0 · Rodrigo Alomía Díaz — CC BY-SA 4.0 · EduardoZambrano from Lima, Peru — CC BY 2.0
The remains of the capital of the Wari Empire, which ruled much of Peru's highlands and coast from about AD 600 to 1000, centuries before the Incas, and which historians regard as the first great empire of the Andes. The Incas later built many of their roads and institutions on foundations inherited from it. It was a large city on a plateau about 2,800 metres up, its districts ringed by high walls of rough fieldstone and crossed by narrow streets, with D-shaped temples. Visitors today walk among the remains of these long walls, some still standing several metres high. One of the site's oddest features is that its ruins stand in a forest of tall cacti and prickly pears, so the stone walls appear between green cactus columns in a scene unlike any other archaeological site. The site museum holds pottery and tools introducing the Wari culture. It is usually combined with Quinua village and the historic Pampa de Ayacucho on a day trip. The sun is strong on the plateau, so bring a hat and water.
Rough fieldstone.
Among the ruins.
Wari design.
Ayacucho-Quinua road, km 25, about 22 km north-east of Ayacucho
Wari is centuries older, ruling from about AD 600 to 1000, and the Incas inherited many of its roads and institutions. This city was its capital.