Huaraz

Huaraz ( or ) is a city in Peru. It is the capital of the Ancash Region (State of Ancash) and the seat of government of Huaraz Province. The urban agglomerations population is distributed over the districts of Huaraz and Independencia. It was estimated in 2007 to exceed 120,000. Huaraz is headquarters of the province's Roman Catholic Bishop and the site of his official cathedral.

Huaraz is the main financial and commerce center of the Callejon de Huaylas and the main touristic center of Ancash region, moreover, is one of the important cities in the Peruvian Andes. Huaraz is the main place of winter sports and adventure. Many visitors from around the world arrived to the city for practicing sports as climbing, hiking, snowboarding and also to visit the glaciers and mountains of the Cordillera Blanca, mainly the Huascaran snow peak, that is considered the highest mountain in tropics, all of them located in Huascaran national Park that is a nature world heritage site by UNESCO.

The origins of the city, came before the Inca Empire, with the development of some human settlements surrounding the valley of the river Santa and Quilcay. Its Spanish foundation occur in 1574 as a Hispanic-indigenous reduction. During the Independence of Peru, the whole city supported the Liberty Army with food and guns, gaining the city the motto of "Noble and Generous City" named in that way by Simon Bolivar. In 1970 the 95% of the city was destroyed because of the earthquake that damaged a great part of Ancash Region. In these event 25,000 people died. The city was supported with a great international helping by many countries as United States, The Soviet Union, Argentina, Chile, Canada. For that reason the city was named as capital of International Friendship.