Huaraz

Huaraz is the capital of Peru's Ancash Region, located at 3,052 meters elevation in the Callejon de Huaylas valley about 420 kilometers north of Lima. Its name comes from a Quechua word for sunrise or dawn. The 2017 census recorded 118,836 residents in the metropolitan area, making it the largest city in the central Peruvian Andes after Huancayo. Spanish colonists founded the settlement on January 20, 1574, and Simon Bolivar later honored it as the Noble and Generous City for its support of Peru's independence. A 1970 earthquake destroyed most of the city and killed roughly 25,000 people in the region, after which Huaraz became a hub for foreign humanitarian aid and now serves as the main gateway for mountaineering and tourism in Huascaran National Park. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/