Peru - Lonely Planet Publications [241]
Huancayo buses pass through the old town. For Cerro de Pasco and Tarma buses and colectivo (shared) taxis leave from the other side of the river on Horacio Zevallos Gomez in the west of town.
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TARMA
064 / pop 60,500 / elev 3050m
Tarma, a pleasant, laid-back city surrounded on all sides by scrubby, brown dirt mountains, is easily the best place in this area to stay. From here it’s a steep drop down the ceja de la selva (eyebrow of the jungle) from the altiplano (highlands) to the Amazon Basin. Lying on the important route linking Lima with its nearest jungle neighborhoods, Tarma sees holiday-makers in the shape of limeños (inhabitants of Lima) seeking a tropical change from their desert city but gringos rarely make it here. That said, the city is cottoning on to tourism and facilities are ever-improving. With fascinating excursions on offer in the vicinity, Tarma is a good spot to stop for a couple of days and soak up life in this sector of the central Andes.
The city also has a long history. Hidden in the mountains around town are overgrown Inca and pre-Inca ruins that have yet to be fully excavated. Tarma was one of the first places to be founded by the Spanish after the conquest (1538 is the generally accepted date). Nothing remains of the early colonial era, but the town has many attractive 19th- and early-20th-century houses with white walls and red-tiled roofs.
Orientation & Information
While the city center is fairly compact, most transport to and from Lima arrives about 800m to the west of the Plaza de Armas, near the óvalo (main roundabout) at the arched entrance to central Tarma. Taxis from Huancayo arrive and depart from a rather inconvenient location on the southwest side of town; Amazon transport leaves from the east side of town.
Casas de cambio (foreign-exchange bureaus) are at the western end of Lima.
Banco de Trabajo (Lima) Has an ATM near the casas de cambio.
BCP (32-2149; Lima at Paucartambo) You can change money here; also has an ATM.
Locutorio Telefónico (Arequipa at Jirón 2 de Mayo) Internet and international telephone cabinas.
Tourist office (32-1010, ext 20; fax 32-3483; Jirón 2 de Mayo 775; 8am-1pm & 3-6pm Mon-Fri) On the Plaza de Armas, offering information about local tours, in Spanish.
Sights
Tarma is high in the mountains and the clear nights of June, July and August provide ideal opportunities for stargazing, though the surrounding mountains do limit the amount of observable heavens. A small astronomical observatory (32-2625; Huánuco 614; admission S5; 8-10pm Fri) is run by the owners of Hospedaje Central: admission includes an entertaining talk (in Spanish) on constellations and a peek at some stars.
The town’s cathedral is modern (1965), and it contains the remains of Tarma’s most famous son, Peruvian president Manuel Odría (1897–1974). He organized construction of the cathedral during his presidency. The old clock in the cathedral tower dates from 1862.
Of the myriad archaeological ruins near Tarma, best known is Tarmatambo 6km south. Former capital of the Tarama culture and later a major Inca administrative center, the fairly extensive remains include storehouses, palaces and an impressive, still-used aqueduct system. Ask at the tourist office about guides to take you there and to other sites: going solo, these ruins are difficult to find.
Local excursions include visits to the religious shrine of El Señor de Muruhuay (the Christ of Muruhuay) near Acobamba (9km from Tarma; Click here), the Gruta de Huagapo (33km away; Click here) and San Pedro de Cajas (41km away; Click here)
Festivals & Events
The big annual attraction is undoubtedly Easter. For good information on this and other regional festivities (in Spanish) visit www.tarma.info.
Semana Santa (Holy Week) Many processions are held, including several by candlelight after dark. They culminate on the morning of Easter Sunday with a marvelous procession to the cathedral along an 11-block