Map of Ayacucho
Ayacucho is a first-level division of Peru. Its largest mapped city is Ayacucho, with about 166,314 people in the metropolitan area. The interactive map below is centred on Ayacucho, and the tables list its 4 mapped cities.
- Cities Mapped
- 4
- Largest City
- Ayacucho
- Country
- Peru
Interactive Map of Ayacucho
About Ayacucho
Ayacucho (Spanish pronunciation: [aʝaˈkutʃo] , Quechua: Ayak'uchu, derived from the words aya ("death" or "soul") and k'uchu ("corner")), founded in 1540 as San Juan de la Frontera de Huamanga and known simply as Huamanga (Quechua: Wamanga) until 1825, is the capital city of Ayacucho Region and of Huamanga Province, Ayacucho Region, Peru.
Its original name, which continues to be the alternative name of the city, dates back to the Incan and Viceregal periods of its history, until its official change by Simón Bolívar in 1825 through a decree to commemorate the battle of Ayacucho during the Peruvian War of Independence. Bolívar issued the decree on February 15, 1825, changing the name from "Huamanga" to "Ayacucho", after the battle that decisively established the total independence of the nascent Peruvian Republic.
Ayacucho is famous for its 33 churches, which represent one for each year of Jesus' life. Ayacucho has large religious celebrations, especially during the Holy Week of Easter. These celebrations include horse races featuring Peruvian Caballos de Paso and the traditional running of the bulls, known locally as the jalatoro or pascuatoro. The jalatoro is similar to the Spanish encierro, except that the bulls are led by horses of the Morochucos.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia: Ayacucho (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Ayacucho in Depth
History
Vestiges of human settlements more than 15,000 years old have been found at the site of Pikimachay, about 25 km north of Ayacucho. From 500 to 900, the region was occupied by the Wari culture, which became known as the first expansionist empire based in the Andes before the Inca Empire.
The Ayacucho region was inhabited by varying indigenous cultures for thousands of years. During the Early Intermediate period (200 BC – 600 AD) the Nazca culture settled in the south-west, and the Warpa culture arose in the center of the Ayacucho region, the Wari Empire emerged as Huarpa cultures interacted with the nearby Nasca Culture at a time of intense interregional exchanges and widespread disruption to existing cultural traditions.
Geography
The city of Ayacucho is located in the northwestern corner of the Ayacucho Department and in the south-central highlands of the country, in the southern area of the Andes. The city occupies the district of Ayacucho, also known as the historic center, and erroneously called 'cercado', as well as the urban area of the districts of Carmen Alto, Andrés Avelino Cáceres, San Juan Bautista and Jesús Nazareno, within the valleys of the Huatatas and Chacco rivers.
Owing to its high elevation, Ayacucho has a monsoon-influenced, cold semi-arid climate (Köppen BSk). Aside from precipitation and from a thermal standpoint, the city has the subtropical highland (Cfb) with uniform rainfall.
Demographics
Although there is no official delimitation defined, the metropolitan area of Ayacucho comprises 5 districts of the province of Huamanga. These districts have a population of 229,455 inhabitants in 2020, according to the INEI.
According to the XI Population Census and VI Housing Census conducted by the National Institute of Statistics and Informatics in 2007, the city of Ayacucho had a population of 151,019 inhabitants. Its annual growth rate was 2.5%.
In 2014, Ayacucho ranked 16th among Peruvian cities in terms of population.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Ayacucho (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Ayacucho: Key Facts
| Population | 216,444 (2017) |
|---|---|
| Area | 2,981 km² |
| Established | 25 April 1540 |
Facts from Wikidata Q504215 (CC0).
History of Ayacucho: Empires and States
The atlas records 3 polities whose mapped territory included part of Ayacucho, from The Inca Empire (Tawantinsuyu) in 1450 CE to 2024 CE. They are listed in the order they first appear.
| Polity | Period here |
|---|---|
| The Inca Empire (Tawantinsuyu) | 1450–1539 CE |
| The Spanish Empire | 1540–1821 CE |
| Republic of Peru | 1822–2024 CE |
Historical Maps of Ayacucho
Ayacucho on the world map in each year one of these states held it:
Derived by testing mapped cities against dated territorial polygons. Dates are when the polygons cover this place, not the polity's whole lifespan, and polities absent from the source dataset are not listed.
Visiting Ayacucho
Ayacucho is in the Southern Sierra region of Peru. Ayacucho is embedded in a broad sunny valley with mild climate. It is home of the Morocucho people, a group of the Quechua. The population is about 100,000, altitude 2,700 m.
Travel notes adapted from Wikivoyage: Ayacucho (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Largest Cities in Ayacucho
4 cities mapped. Ranked by metropolitan population. A port city's harbour is written up on the page of its sea.
| # | Name | Population | Region | Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ayacucho | 166,314 | Ayacucho | Admin-1 capital |
| 2 | Huanta | 18,627 | Ayacucho | Populated place |
| 3 | Puquio | 10,491 | Ayacucho | Populated place |
| 4 | Coracora | 7,420 | Ayacucho | Populated place |
Ayacucho: Quick Answers
- Where is Ayacucho?
- Ayacucho is a first-level division of Peru, in South America. Its mapped cities centre on 13.9611° S, 74.0975° W.
- What is the largest city in Ayacucho?
- Ayacucho is the largest city mapped in Ayacucho, with a metropolitan population of about 166,314.
- How many cities are in Ayacucho?
- YearMaps maps 4 cities and towns in Ayacucho, with a combined metropolitan population of about 202,852. This counts mapped settlements, not every municipality.