Huacho () is a city in

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

, capital of the Huaura Province and capital of the

Lima Region The Department of Lima (), known as the Department of the Capital () until 1823, is a department and region located in the central coast of Peru; the seat of the regional government is Huacho. Lima Province, which contains the city of Lima, ...

. Also is the most populated city of the

and Norte Chico. It is located 223 feet (68 metres) above sea level and 148 km north of the city of

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

. The city is located on the

Pan-American Highway The Pan-American Highway is a vast network of roads that stretches about 30,000 kilometers (about 19,000 miles) from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, in the northernmost part of North America to Ushuaia, Argentina, at the southern tip of South America. I ...

and it is close to the Lachay National Reserve, so it has extensive vegetation and wildlife.

Geography

Settled on the bottom of a wide bay, its climate is wet and appealing. In the surrounding areas there are

rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

and different

grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached husk, hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and ...

fields. This fact has allowed the rise of a rather important cotton industry, as well as cotton and oil factories. Within its natural landscape, its salt mines and its beaches (such as El Paraíso) are of great interest. Huacho was one of the main trade centers of northern

History

Under the viceroy of

Francisco de Toledo Francisco Álvarez de Toledo ( Oropesa, 10 July 1515 – Escalona, 21 April 1582), also known as ''The Viceroyal Solon'', was an aristocrat and soldier of the Kingdom of Spain and the fifth Viceroy of Peru. Often regarded as the "best of ...

, who decided to group the '' ayllus'' of the Indians who were established in that area into

reductions Reductions (, also called ; ) were settlements established by Spanish rulers and Roman Catholic missionaries in Spanish America and the Spanish East Indies (the Philippines). In Portuguese-speaking Latin America, such reductions were also ...

. The site chosen was that of "Gaucho Bay." Consequently, on 25 August 1571, the reduction was named San Bartolomé de Guachu. During the

Viceroyalty of Peru The Viceroyalty of Peru (), officially known as the Kingdom of Peru (), was a Monarchy of Spain, Spanish imperial provincial administrative district, created in 1542, that originally contained modern-day Peru and most of the Spanish Empire in ...

, the city belonged to the province of Huara and was established as a trading and fishing port. In 1774 the Viceroy José Antonio de Mendoza granted Huacho the category of "pueblo" and with it, allowed it to build its main plaza. Huacho was, like Huaura, a pueblo that received and hosted the members of the liberation expedition led by

José de San Martín José Francisco de San Martín y Matorras (; 25 February 177817 August 1850), nicknamed "the Liberator of Argentina, Chile and Peru", was an Argentine general and the primary leader of the southern and central parts of South America's succe ...

, participating on 26 November 1820 of the ''Grito libertador en el balcéon de Huaura'', on the subject of historical verification. On 12 February 1821, Huacho was elevated to district, belonging to the province of Chancay, in the department of Lima. The Congress conceded the title of ''Fidelísima Villa'' (most faithful) on 11 April 1828, under the presidency of Don José de La Mar. On 24 January 1830, the province of Chancay was unified with the province of Lima and Santa in the department of Ancash. Huaura was established as the capital of the province of Chancay. Thirty years before, on January 23, 1866, Huacho was established as the capital of Chancay. Due to its technological advances, in 1892, the city began a city tram service, an animal transportation service called "tranvías de sangre" (blood tram), which was said to have used mules or horses. This service extended to Huara, and was electrified in 1920, making Huacho the first city after Lima to have its own electric tram system. Beginning in 1911, it was the main hub of the Ferrocarril Noroeste del Perú (Northwestern Train of Peru), which connected Huacho with Ancón, Sayan, and

Barranca Barranca (Spanish for "canyon" or "ravine"), may refer to: Geography Argentina * Barranca Yaco, Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, Argentina Chile * Barrancas, Pichilemu, a village in Pichilemu Colombia * Barrancas, La Guajira, town and ...

. On November 10, 1874, Huacho was elevated to the category of city and was made capital of the province even when it was separated from Chancay (today the province of Huaral), and the province of Huaura was created. Next the city of Huacho was also the capital of the Prefecture of Lima, and now is the capital of the Governal Region of Lima.

Archaeology

South of the city of Huacho is located a large archaeological site of Bandurria, Peru. Its history goes back to 4,000 BC.

Culture

Huacho is home to the annual

Guinea Pig The guinea pig or domestic guinea pig (''Cavia porcellus''), also known as the cavy or domestic cavy ( ), is a species of rodent belonging to the genus ''Cavia'', family Caviidae. Animal fancy, Breeders tend to use the name "cavy" for the ani ...

Festival. Its gastronomy is represented by the Salchicha Huachana.

Climate

Twin towns and sister cities

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

* San Isidro, Peru * El Cairo,

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

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Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

Valparaíso Valparaíso () is a major city, Communes of Chile, commune, Port, seaport, and naval base facility in the Valparaíso Region of Chile. Valparaíso was originally named after Valparaíso de Arriba, in Castilla–La Mancha, Castile-La Mancha, Spain ...

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Notable people

* Mercedes Indacochea (1889-1959), educator *

Jorge Koechlin Jorge Koechlin von Stein (born February 12, 1950 Huacho, Peru) is a former racing driver and magazine publisher. Koechlin began racing professionally in Formula Ford Colchester Racing Developments, Merlyn Mk20A, and then in a works Elden Mk8C makin ...

(born 1950), racing driver * José de Orejón y Aparicio (1706?-1765), composer and organist

References

External links

* {{Authority control Populated places in the Department of Lima Populated places established in 1571 Regional capital cities in Peru