The Inca Empire Center: Huanuco Pampa

Wanuku Pampa or Wanuku Marka (Hispanicized spellings and names Huánuco Pampa, Huánuco Viejo, Huánuco Marca) is an archaeological site in Peru in the Huánuco Region, Dos de Mayo Province, La Unión District. The site lies on a plain above the Urqumayu or Vizcarra River in the north central Andes.  Wanuku Pampa is one of the many administrative centers which is built along the highland Inca highway between Cusco and Quito. The land administrated at least five, and perhaps many more, ethnic groups.  The city is situated on an important commercial trade route and sits on top of a plateau with ravines on all sides in order to allow easy defense of the city. Wanuku Pampa fell in the 1530s when Pedro de Alvarado besieged the city and burnt it to the ground