Shopping in Huancayo

The crafts in the Mantaro Valley are very good, and each village has its own specialities. Most of the crafts can be bought in Huancayo itself, although it is more fun to visit the workshops in the villages themselves. Particularly good products include the traditional village scene textiles from Hualhuas, silver jewellery from San Jeronimo and carved gourds from Cochas. In Huancayo, the Casa del Artesano on the Plaza de la Constitucion is a good crafts market with lots of different crafts.

Supermarkets

There are several grocery shops on Calle Real.

Markets

The food market is located at the corner of Jr. Amazonas and Jr. Cajamarca. There is a good Sunday market on Av. Huancavelica that dates from the founding of the city.

Shopping centres and clothes stores
There are plenty of clothing stores on Calle Real.

Photography

There is a good Fuji shop on Av. Giraldez on the corner of the Plaza de la Constitucion that sells film, including slide film.

Nightlife in Huancayo

Bars, clubs and discos

The best discos in Huancayo are La Noche, at Jr. San Antonio 241, and Taj Mahal. Take a taxi to both, as it is not safe to walk. There are plenty of seedy nightclubs on Av. Giraldez.

Cinema

The Cine Mantaro, at Calle Real 666, shows the latest Hollywood offerings.

Getting in Huancayo

Bus connections

Jauja/Concepcion

Combis to Concepcion and Jauja leave from the corner of Jr. Amazonas and Av. Giraldez, taking about 1 hour to Jauja. Colectivos leave from Calle Calixta 531 when full. The journey to Concepcion takes 20 minutes. The journey to Jauja takes 40 minutes .

Lima

There are plenty of buses to Lima, 6 to 7 hours from Huancayo. Cruz del Sur (Jr. Ayacucho 287) has Imperial service buses at 8am, 1.30pm and 11pm for USD 8. Ormeno (Av. Mariscal Castilla 1379, El Tambo, 15 blocks from centre - take a taxi or combi - T 251199) has basic services at 1.30pm and 11pm for USD 7 and a Royal Class service at 11.30pm for USD 12. Etusca (Jr. Puno 220) has good buses with bathrooms for USD 6 at 8am, 1pm, 11pm and 11.30pm. It also has a semi-cama bus at 11.45pm for USD 8. Mariscal Caceres (Calle Real 1241) has basic buses at 10am and 11.30pm for USD 5.Transportes Rogger (Jr. Ancash 460) has a good service at 11.15pm for USD 8.

Ayacucho

Expreso Molina Union (Jr. Angares 334, T 224501) has buses at 7am, 7pm, 8pm and 9pm for USD 6. The service at 9pm is the most comfortable, although travelling this route at night is not recommended. For the best views, sit on the right. Turismo Central (Jr. Ayacucho 274) has a bus at 8.30pm for USD 5.

Tarma

Transportes Los Canarios (Jr. Puno 739) has buses every hour or so to Tarma, taking 3 hours, for USD 2.

Towards Pucallpa

Turismo Central (Jr. Ayacucho 274) has buses to Cerro de Pasco (6 hours, USD 3.50) at 2pm, to Huanuco (8 hours, USD 5) at 9.15pm, to Tingo Maria (10 hours, USD 7) at 7.30pm and to Pucallpa (20 hours, USD 12) at 2pm.
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Main attractions in Huancayo

Capilla de la Merced, the colonial chapel where the Constitutional Congress assembled to sign the Peruvian Constitution in 1839. It has the status of National Monument and houses a great collection of Cusqueno style paintings. Cerrito de la Libertad, a natural observation point with a panoramic view over the city. It also has a site zoo. Torre Torre is a geological formation of enormous towers of clayey soil, molded by the winds and rain, located very near to Cerrito de la Libertad. Convento de Santa Rosa de Ocopa.

This convent, located at 25 km from Huancayo, was built 250 years ago as part of the mission to evangelize the Amazon people. The library holds over 25,000 volumes, some from the fifteenth century. There is also a Museum of Natural History and a church, reconstructed in 1905, that houses wood carved altarpieces. Plaza Constitucion is named in honor of the Liberal Constitution of Cadiz, 1812, and is the place where you’ll find monuments in honor of Mariscal Ramon Castilla, who abolished slavery in Huancayo in 1854.

Plaza Huamanga, closer to the heart of the city, is the site where Huancayo was founded in 1572. Another interesting site within the city center is the Museo Salesiano, located in the district of El Tambo, which has exhibits of local flora and fauna.