For a culture that can be quite macho at times, mummies play a surprisingly large role in Peruvian history – so much so that you could even base the whole of your Peru holiday around visiting Peru and following the Mummy Trail. There are various famous mummies around Peru– a kind of ‘Mummy Trail’ similar to the Inca Trail but less strenuous. When you visit Peru and follow the Mummy Trail you will get insights into the country’s history and culture.
The Mummy Trail
The culture of mummifying the dead dates back to the Incas. Various ancient cultures throughout Peru developed the techniques necessary for mummifying their dead. The dry desert climate of the southern coast and the Andean Altiplano both provide perfect natural conditions for preserving mummies. Despite the best efforts of grave-robbers throughout the centuries, many Peru mummies have survived to the present day.
Peru’s Mummy Trail Starts Here
Your first stop on the Mummy Trail would be to the south of Lima, in the town of Ica. Situated halfway between the ancestral homes of the Paracas and Nazca cultures. The Regional Museum here is home to one of the largest collections of pre-Inca mummies in Peru. It is also home to a wide variety of Paracas-culture textiles (also miraculously preserved) and pre-Inca ceramics. It’s a perfect stop on your Peru vacation to start familiarizing yourself with Peruvian mummies.
You shouldn’t be expecting the stone sarcophagi or elaborate golden masks of Egyptian mummies though – Peruvian mummies usually appear wrapped in vibrantly colored and delicately woven textiles.
Nazca and Chauchilla Cemetery
Continue to follow the Mummy Trail in Peru by traveling further south from Ica. You can stop in Nazca, where the famous Nazca Lines are the main attraction. If you don’t fancy spending your Peru vacation tearing across the skies in a light aircraft, however, you can head just out of town to the Chauchilla cemetery, where you can see in-situ Nazca-culture mummies. Also, see the original mummy storage jars. Yes, that’s right: they specialized in potted mummy!
The “White City” of Arequipa
The next stop on this Mummy Trail is the highlight. The “White City” of Arequipa – so-called because most of the buildings are constructed out of the local white stone. This is one of the top destinations in Peru, but it’s also a real draw for anyone interested in Inca mummies. For half the year, it is home to the ice maiden, Juanita. It was in 1995 that the frozen and mummified body of a female child was discovered on the top of nearby Mount Ampato, where it had been left nearly five hundred years earlier as part of ghoulish child sacrifice.
Junita the Mummy
Although Juanita is one of the best-preserved mummies in Peru, she was still very delicate, An international team of conservators spent months working with the body and installing it in a special conservation chamber in Arequipa’s Museum of Andean Sanctuaries. Today, when you visit Peru and follow the Mummy Trail you can go and visit Juanita for yourself. If you’re feeling super-fit you could even climb the Ampato volcano yourself and see where Juanita was actually discovered.
Visit Cusco
Your final stop when you visit Peru and follow the Mummy Trail will be the former Inca capital of Cusco. Most people visit Cusco on their vacation in Peru. It is the base for the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, but the city’s Mueso Inka also houses one of the largest collections of Inca mummies in the country and so it’s well worth taking some time to stop in there. As with everywhere on the trail, there is a great deal more to see and do in Cusco than just seeing the mummies. Taking a tour of Peru is a great way to understand the broader culture and history of Peru! For more Peru travel ideas check out the Peru page on this site.
Author Bio: Dan Clarke works for Real Peru Holidays and reckons he’s seen just about every mummy in Peru over the years – Juanita’s still the best, though!
