Prefectura

Ayacucho


Most of Ayacucho's old mansions are now mainly political offices and can be visited, usually during business hours. These offices of the department of Ayacucho on the Plaza de Armas are a good example. The mansion was constructed between 1740 and 1755 and sold to the state in 1937. There is a pretty ground-floor courtyard where visitors can see the cell of the local heroine of independence, María Parado de Bellido. Upstairs there is some excellent tilework.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Ayacucho attractions

1. Museo de Arte Popular

0.06 MILES

Displays popular art covering the ayacucheño (natives of Ayacucho) spectrum – silverwork, rug- and tapestry-weaving, stone and woodcarvings, ceramics …

2. Plaza de Armas

0.06 MILES

One of the prettiest plazas in the Central Andes, flanked by many gorgeous mansions, including the Prefectura. Ask at the tourist office for details on…

4. Templo Compañía de Jesús

0.1 MILES

This church has two fine bell towers and, in the body of the structure supporting them, striking embossings and motifs. It sits on the site of its 1605…

5. Cathedral

0.11 MILES

This spectacular 17th-century cathedral on the Plaza de Armas has a religious-art museum inside. The moody facade doesn’t quite prepare you for the…

8. Iglesia de Santo Domingo

0.14 MILES

One of Ayacucho's most photogenic churches, dating from 1548. Purportedly built with the stone of a former Inca fortress, it contains some superb examples…