What is "paramonga"

Paramonga was an important city constructed at the border of the former Kingdom of Chimor in Peru during the late Intermediate Period (1200 to 1400AD), whose capital was the metropolis of Chan Chan.

Paramonga is located on the Fortaleza River, close to the town of Pativilca to the north of Lima. It is said that it was an important religious settlement, similar to Pachacamac. It is named after the nearby modern town of Paramonga, as its original name is unknown. Paramonga is often called a fortress due to its staggered pyramid of four levels of enormous proportions constructed on a hill, which somewhat resembles a European medieval castle.

The oldest written records of the site are from the Spanish colonial period by chroniclers, Spanish soldiers, priests and other literate men who accompanied Hernando Pizarro on the conquest of the Tawantinsuyu. Important among them was Miguel de Miguel de Estete, who was called the "chronicler soldier." Accompanying Pizarro, in 1532 he traveled by the Able Ñan (dirt road) along the coast to Cajamarca to receive the gold for the rescue of the Atahualpa Inca. Estete wrote in his account,

"(...) and another day we went to sleep in a great town that is called Parmunga, which is next to the sea, has a Strong House, with five blind fences, painted of elaborately on the inside and outside with its walls carved, the way it is done in Spain, with two tigers (pumas?) at the main entrance (...)."

Another chronicler, Cieza of Leon, passed Paramonga during his trip from the City of the Kings (Lima) to Trujillo in 1541. He described it by the following, as having

"(...) beautiful rooms and quarters, with walls painted with many ferocious animals and birds; everything is surrounded by very strong walls and built well. The citadel is already almost in ruins (...)." Note: This text is a loose translation from www.naya.org.ar/Peru/paramong.htm

Category:Populated places in the Lima Region Category:Former populated places in Peru