---

The city of Huánuco was founded by the conqueror Gómez de Alvarado on August 15, 1539, in the famous city of Huánuco Pampa (current province of Dos de Mayo), and shortly after, in 1541, moved to the Pillco Valley, your current location. The nickname of "Huánuco de los Caballeros" was given precisely in honor of the settlers that the new city had, who were noblemen and worthy of the Conquest. Years later Vaca de Castro renews the title of the city with the addition of "León" in memory of his native land. The Spanish crown granted him the title of the "Very Noble and Very Loyal City of León de Huánuco de los Caballeros del Perú".







The presence of man in Huánuco dates back to very early times. In the Lauricocha caves, the engineer Augusto Cárdich found the oldest fossil remains in Peru, dating back to 8,000 years BC. In Kotosh, to the west of Huánuco, the first remains of monumental architecture are found: the Temple of the Crossed Hands, the oldest in Peru and America (2,240 years BC). The ancient inhabitants of Kotosh were also the first potters of Peru. During our era, the region was inhabited by the Yarohuilcas, who established a regional empire that put up serious resistance to the Inca advance, to be finally incorporated into the great State of Tawantinsuyo. The region was used as an obligatory passageway on the Cusco-Cajamarca route, and vice versa. During the emancipation stage, Huánuco was one of the first cities to promote the independence of Peru, at the beginning of the 19th century. It even appears on December 15, 1820, as the first oath of independence, after a series of uprisings in Huamalíes, Huallanca and Ambo.

The city of Huánuco, located at 1915 m.a.s.l. It is characterized by its spring climate, also known as the city of the “Best Climate in the World”.









It is formed by extensive fluvial areas, giant and small rivers that cross the slopes of the sullen and violent peaks up to the drying and low jungle lands, forming a kind of arterial system in the Department of Huánuco. Its topography is very rugged. To the west, is the deep canyon formed by the Marañón River; in the central zone, the canyons that form the Huallaga and to the east, the deep valley of the Palcazú River. Alternated with these forms, there is the Andean mountain range with snowy sectors such as the Cordillera de Huayhuash and the Cordillera de Raura. The relief of Carpish, between Huánuco and Tingo María, exceeds 3,500 meters of altitude. To the east and forming a watershed between the Huallaga and the Ucayali, is the Cordillera Azul.

---