Pachacámac

(Lurín Valley, 31 km from Lima, T01-430 0168, http://pachacamac.peru cultural.org.pe/ and http://www.ulb.ac.be/philo/ychsma. Tue-Sun 0900-1700; open on public holidays by appointment. US$2.15 including the small site museum, students US$0.75; guides US$6.)

When the Spaniards arrived, Pachacámac was the largest city and ceremonial centre in coastal Peru. It was a vast complex of palaces and temple-pyramids, to which pilgrims paid homage, and where they obtained divinations from the oracle Pachacámac. A wooden statue of the god (a two-faced staff) is in the site museum. Hernando Pizarro came to Pachacámac in 1533, having been sent by his brother to speed the delivery of gold from the coast for Atahualpa’s ransom. However, great disappointment awaited Pizarro as there was no store of riches. In their desperate search for the promised gold the Spaniards destroyed images, killed the priests and looted the temples. The ruins encircle the top of a low hill, whose crest was crowned with a Temple of the Sun, a large pyramid built in 1350 of sun-baked bricks, now partially restored. Slightly apart from the main group of buildings and hidden from view is the reconstructed House of the Mamaconas, where the ‘chosen women’ were taught to weave and spin fine cloth for the Inca and his court. Various other temples and palaces can be seen. Further to the north the Temple of Urpi-Huachac, who was reputed to be the wife of Pachacámac, is in a state of total ruin. The museum has a model of the city; there is also a café and toilets. An impression of the scale of the site can be gained from the top of the Temple of the Sun, or from walking or driving the 3-km circuit (the site is large and it is expected that tourists will be visiting by car – there are six parking spots).