📷 Martin St-Amant (S23678) · CC BY 3.0

Where in the world

Peru

Chavin de Huantar

Chavín · Peru

Field notes

civilizations: Chavín
types: Temple · Sanctuary
built: 1,200 BCE — 500 BCE
occupied: 1,200 BCE — 200 BCE
country: Peru

The site

Chavín de Huántar is a ceremonial center built by the Chavín culture around 1200 BCE in Peru's Ancash highlands, perched at over 3,000 metres east of the Cordillera Blanca. Its great stone temples honeycomb into galleries and passages, the work of a major pre-Inca society. Set at the headwaters of the Marañón between coast and jungle, this UNESCO World Heritage site drew pilgrims and ideas across the Andes for nearly a millennium.

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