[3] It was inhabited by the Wanka (Huanca) people – a self-governing nation with a reputation for producing strong warriors and whose spiritual practices placed an emphasis on remembering their ancestors' role in the mystique of the Mantaro Valley.

The Huanca (or Wanka) people were eventually subdued during the reign of the Inca King Pachacutec, but in revenge for their oppression took sides with the Spanish during their conquest of Peru.

Eventually the Spanish, in their quest to suppress paganism, got tired of their allies, and destroyed an important temple of the Huanca – Wariwillka (A temple constructed some 1000 years ago near the city of Huancayo) Archaeologists have focused on the 2,573 Inca qullqas (storage silos, or colcas) in the Mantaro Valley which was one of the largest and most fertile areas of the Inca Empire.

The Incas placed great emphasis on storing agricultural products and other goods and the Mantaro Valley has more qullqas than any other region of Peru.

[5] In the 18th and early 19th century, the Convent of Santa Rosa de Ocopa was the headquarters of a far-flung missionary enterprise of the Franciscans who established missions in the rain forests of the Amazon Basin with the objective of converting the indigenous people to Christianity.

Treasured landmarks such as the Nevado Huaytapallana, when compared to 30 years ago, have much less glacial ice during the peak dry season.

This is a crucial water source feeding the Mantaro River, and some estimates suggest that within 10 years there will be no ice left on the mountain.

These buriladores or carvers practice burilado, a craft of burning intricate creation designs on the surface of gourds (macas).