Templo de los Jaguares

Location:
19 kilometers (8.5 miles) from Huancabamba, near Mitupampa, in the Sondorillo district
Huancabamba, Peru

Ruin Types:
Ruins

By Lorraine Caputo

The path off the road leads along a blue agave cactus hedge. From afar this site, dating from about 1200 AD, doesn’t look like much, just an old stone wall. But once reaching the Templo de los Jaguares, a wooden catwalk takes you around this ceremonial center sunken into the earth. The ancient cultures had performed rituals and left offerings upon the altars for the two reposing stars of this site—a female jaguar and a male carved in the sand-colored rock. 

Getting There
From the new bridge in Huancabamba, take a collective taxi to Sondorillo (half-hourly 6 a.m.-3 p.m., $1.70, 1 hour). Tell the driver to let you off at Mitupampa. From the blue sin, follow the road to the left. At the first turn-off, go left. At the next crossroads, turn left; the next two crossroads go straight. At the fifth, go right. The path will go down hill to the site, which is under a large zinc roof. The walk to the site takes about 30 minutes.

Travel Tips: There are few people to ask directions, and you can easily be lead to wrong paths or long ways around. The above instructions detail the most direct route. The site is at an altitude of 2800 meters (9100 feet).

Price Description: free

Relative price: Free

Open Hours from:dawn

Open Hours to:dusk

Travel Skills: None

You Need to Bring: Bring along water and snacks; also sunscreen and a hat if clear, and raingear if wet.

In Huancabamba village, Museo Mario Polío Meconi, Jardín Botánico de Plantas Medicinales, various miradores (lookout points) and beaches along the river. Natural wonders, like waterfalls, other pre-Columbian ruins and quaint villages like Sondorillo and Sondor. Of course, the Lagunas de las Huaringas.

Currencies accepted
Nuevo Sol