Lunahuaná is a small town in the

Cañete Province Cañete may refer to: Places * Cañete, Chile, a city in Chile * San Vicente de Cañete, a town in Peru * San Vicente de Cañete District, Peru * Cañete Province, Peru *, in Cañete Province, Peru *Cañete, Cuenca, a municipality in Cuenca, Spain ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

. The town lies about 187 km south of

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

in the Lunahuaná valley at the bank of Cañete River. Due to the unique landscape, Lunahuaná is a very popular destination for both Peruvians and foreign tourists. According to the 2017 census, there were 4,393 inhabitants.

Gastronomy

In Lunahuaná you can taste local dishes prepared in clay pots and wooden stoves such as: Shrimp (various styles), chola soup, duck with rice,

tamales A tamale, in Spanish , is a traditional Mesoamerican dish made of ''masa'', a dough made from nixtamalized corn, which is steamed in a corn husk or banana leaves. The wrapping can either be discarded prior to eating or used as a plate. Tam ...

, chicharrones, adobo pork, carapulcra, pachamanca, guinea pigs and rabbits.

History

The history of Lunahuaná dates back to the origins of

. There is evidence that the first settlers arrived in this area between 6000 and 2000 BC However, it was during the expansion of the

Inca Empire The Inca Empire, officially known as the Realm of the Four Parts (, ), was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political, and military center of the empire was in the city of Cusco. The History of the Incas, Inca ...

that Lunahuaná became the second largest city led by Pachacútec. The name Lunahuaná might be derived from

Quechua Quechua may refer to: *Quechua people, several Indigenous ethnic groups in South America, especially in Peru *Quechuan languages, an Indigenous South American language family spoken primarily in the Andes, derived from a common ancestral language ...

(''runa'' man, mankind, ''wasi'' punishment). The Lunahuaná valley was the target of Inca conquests. First, the Guarco, or Huarco, settled in the valley. Due to the natural obstacles of the wild Cañete River the campaigns of the Inca took three to four years. Still today there are the ruins of the fortress Inka Wasi eight kilometers from the successful conquest.

Tupac Yupanqui Topa Inca Yupanqui or Túpac Inca Yupanqui (), also Topa Inga Yupangui, erroneously translated as "noble Inca accountant" (before 14711493) was the tenth Sapa Inca (1471–1493) of the Inca Empire, fifth of the Hanan dynasty. His father was Pach ...

was part of these campaigns. Lunahuaná was officially founded in 1821 as a market town of Don José de San Martín.

Points of interest

In the center of the village there is a Catholic church, situated at the main square, which was built by the Order of the

Franciscans The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor being the largest conte ...

in 1690. In 1972 the church was declared a historical monument. The main attraction of Lunahuaná is the Cañete river. It is a popular destination for whitewater boat tours (rafting). Other popular activities include hiking, mountain biking, paragliding and fishing. Inka Wasi is situated about eight kilometers from Lunahuaná. The complex is divided into three sections, the area of the Inca (''El barrio incaico''), a religious center called

Qullqa A qullqa ( "deposit, storehouse"; (spelling variants: ''colca, collca, qolca, qollca'') was a storage building found along roads and near the cities and political centers of the Inca Empire. These were large stone buildings with roofs thatched w ...

) and finally there is the palace of the Inca (). In 2015, an official pisco trail started in Lunahuaná which is the first of its kind in the Lima Region. This trail adds to the other four official pisco trails located in Ica,

Arequipa Arequipa (; Aymara language, Aymara and ), also known by its nicknames of ''Ciudad Blanca'' (Spanish for "White City") and ''León del Sur'' (Spanish for "South's Lion"), is a city in Peru and the capital of the eponymous Arequipa (province), ...

Moquegua Moquegua (, founded by the Spanish colonists as Villa de Santa Catalina de Guadalcázar del Valle de Moquegua) is a city in southern Peru, located in the Department of Moquegua, of which it is the capital. It is also capital of Mariscal Nieto Prov ...

and

Tacna Tacna, officially known as San Pedro de Tacna, is a city in southern Peru and the regional capital of the Tacna Region. A very commercially active city, it is located only north of the border with Arica y Parinacota Region from Chile, inland f ...

. The trail includes five wineries approved by the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism (Mincetur). The pisco trail first stops at the winery D’La Cruz (kilometer 33, Annex Jerome). This winery was first founded in 2002 by Johan De La Cruz Peña, its annual production is 13,000 liters of pisco. The next stop is Langla, located at kilometer 35.5, at the winery El Sol owned by Marco Martínez. It was founded in the early twentieth century and its annual production is 8,000 liters of pisco. The trail continues to Condoray, located at kilometer 39.5, where Jose Antonio Espinoza Peña continues the family tradition, started by his grandfather Benedicto Peña, in the winery Santa María, which dates back to 1929. This winery reaches a production of 50,000 liters per year. Winery de la Motta is next in the trail tour, located at kilometer 40.5. It was created in 2005 by Sergio De La Mota. Its production volume is around 20,000 liters. The last stop in this pisco trail is the winery Viña Los Reyes at kilometer 41. It is the oldest winery in Lunahuaná since 1896 and is administered by Isabel Gonzales del Valle, widow of Domingo Alvarado Reyes. It produced 15,000 liters in 2014. All the wineries of this district, Cañete, have tasting rooms, the latest technologies, areas of accommodation and restaurants.

Gallery

Image:Puente colgante - lunahuana - peru.jpg, A bridge near a river Image:Rio Canete.jpg, Cañete River

External links

All about Lunahuaná, maps, hotel, history a more..

News Cañete

References