Junin Department

The Junín Department is an administrative unit in central Peru that extends from the Andean highlands down toward the edge of the Amazon rainforest. The landscape shifts between mountain ranges, deep valleys and a large highland lake surrounded by open grasslands and forested slopes.

Simón Bolívar founded this administrative unit in September 1825, shortly after the Battle of Junín dealt a decisive blow to the Spanish viceroyalty. The name recalls those clashes and points to the location where independence forces prevailed.

Between highland and rainforest, several indigenous groups shape the social fabric with their languages and daily routines. Marketplaces in the larger towns reveal this mix of Quechua, Spanish and the customs of resident communities who continue to hold their own celebrations and gatherings.

Huancayo serves as the capital and transport hub, from which roads branch out to surrounding towns and onward toward the coast or rainforest. Travelers unused to high altitude should allow time to acclimatize, especially when visiting the upper mountain areas.

The lake area is home to the Junín grebe, a flightless waterbird found nowhere else on Earth and surviving only in this body of water. Several amphibians and fish species also share this habitat and occur solely here.