Huallamarca (Pan de Azucar)

A gigantic adobe pyramid set amidst the office blocks and residential apartments of San Isidro financial district, the archeological site of Huallamarca stands in startling contrast to its surroundings. Also known as the Pan de Azucar (Sugar Loaf), after the farmlands that once covered the ruins, the existing structure has been extensively rebuilt and restored, but was originally constructed as a sacred burial temple, or ‘Huaca’, between 200 and 500 CE.
Although much of the site’s long history remains shrouded in mystery, the Huaca Huallamarca is believed to have served a number of roles over the years, from pre-Columbian  burial site to Inca settlement. Today, visitors can climb to the pyramid’s upper platform where the views expand over San Isidro or explore the on-site museum, which displays a number of items excavated from the site, including Ichma ceramics, funerary masks, musical instruments, weaving equipment and even a well-preserved mummy, as well as an exhibition dedicated to Peruvian archaeologist Arturo Jimenez Borja.