Huaca Huallamarca, also spelled Wak’a Wallamarka for its meaning in Quechua, is a pre-Columbian adobe pyramid and museum located in the heart of San Isidro. It is also known as Pan de Azucar, taking its name from the hacienda where the site, ignored for centuries, was located.

History

In 1942 archaeologist Julio C. Tello began excavating the site, and in 1958 a team of researchers found 48 “funeral bundles” on top of the pyramid. The site was converted into a museum in 1960. More excavations were carried out in the 1990s, but the funeral offerings are still the major finds at the site. Researchers say the pyramid was used as an administrative site and a cemetery from 200 AD to 1532.

Among the objects exhibited in the Museum are mummies, ceramic pots from the Lima Culture, jars and bottles decorated with red, white and black geometric figures and jugs with anthropomorphic representations. Also found were textiles, wind instruments which simulated the sound of birds and more. These offerings were at the floor level of the.

Pyramid and Museum

For those looking for something shorter than the guided tour at Huaca Pucllana, Huaca Huallamarca in San Isidro is conveniently located and can be seen in under an hour with no guide.

After the entrance on the left is a small, one-room museum explaining the offerings found at the pyramid.

The museum includes skeletons which may spook children, including this wonderfully preserved woman who died in her 60s.

Ceramic pottery found at Huaca Huallamarca.

After seeing the temple in 10 minutes max, climb the pyramid without a guide. A Peruvian Hairless Dog sits at the foot of the pyramid.

Reconstructions illustrate where the funeral bundles were found.

Like Huaca Pucllana, the 2,000-year-old site is contrasted with the heights of modernity in its immediate vicinity, the heart of the upscale San Isidro district.