Huancayo-Junín

Huancayo

Santísima Trinidad de Huancayo
Holy Trinity of Huancayo

Flag

Nickname(s): "La Ciudad Incontrastable"
(The Uncontrastable City)

Huancayo

Location in Peru

Coordinates: 12°4′S 75°13′W / 12.067°S 75.217°WCoordinates: 12°4′S 75°13′W / 12.067°S 75.217°W

Country

Founded

1 June 1572

Government

• Type

Municipal government

• Mayor

Dimas Aliaga Castro

Elevation

3,259 m (10,692.26 ft)

Population

• Estimate (2015)

364,725

Time zone

PET (UTC-5)

• Summer (DST)

PET (UTC-5)

Area code(s)

Website

www.munihuancayo.gob.pe

Huancayo (Spanish pronunciation: [waŋˈkaʝo]; in Wanka Quechua: Wankayuq [wɐŋˈkæjuː], '(place) with a (sacred) rock') is the capital of Junín Region, in the central highlands of Peru.

Huancayo is located in Huancayo Province, of which it is also the capital. Situated in the Mantaro Valley at an altitude of 3,271 meters, it belongs to the Quechua region. Depending on delimitation, the agglomeration has a population between 340,000 and 380,000 and is the fifth most populous city of the country. Huancayo is the cultural and commercial center of the whole central Peruvian Andes area.

The area was originally inhabited by the Huancas. At around 500 BC, they were incorporated into the Wari Empire. Despite efforts to defend its independence, the Huancas were eventually subdued by the Inca leader Pachacutec in 1460 and the region was incorporated into the Inca empire. It subsequently became a notable stopping point along the Inca Camino Real.

After the Spanish colonization (1534), Huancayo was overshadowed by Jauja, 45 km to the north, which the conquistador Francisco Pizarro established as a provisional capital of Peru until Lima took over that role. In 1570, the viceroy Francisco de Toledo established the site as the center of his encomienda Guancayo. The town was officially established on 1 June 1572 with the title of Santísima Trinidad de Huancayo. In 1813, Huancayo celebrated the promulgation of the Constitution of Cadiz, changing the name of the "Plaza del Comercio" to "Plaza de la Constitución".

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Wikipedia