HUANUCO

departamento (formed 1869) of central Peru, crossed by the northward-flowing Maran, Huallaga, and Pachitea rivers. The department's area of 13,088 square miles (33,897 square km) contains snowcapped Andean peaks in the west and tropical rain forests of the Amazon basin in the east. Settlement is concentrated in the mountains and valleys, particularly in the rapidly developing agricultural areas around Hunuco (q.v.), the departmental capital, and Tingo Mara. The improvement and extension of trans-Andean highways has brought economic improvement to these long-isolated settlements and to the German colony at Pozuzo. Pop. (1989 est.) 596,000. city, capital of Hunuco departamento, central Peru. It is located on the bank of the Huallaga River in a cool, dry intermontane basin. In 1539 the Spaniard Gmez Alvarado founded the town of Len de Los Caballeros de Hunuco (Lion of the Gentlemen of Hunuco) on the site of the Inca settlement now known as Hunuco Viejo (Old Hunuco). The town was later moved 35 miles (56 km) to its present site to escape hostile Indians. Hunuco rose to prominence during the colonial era as a centre of missionary activity, and its citizens were early agitators for independence from Spain. Present-day Hunuco is a trade centre for the surrounding agricultural region, which produces sugarcane, cotton, coffee, cacao, and fruit. Cotton gins and sugar mills are located nearby. The pleasant climate, the colonial churches (San Cristbal and San Francisco), and the city's proximity to pre-Columbian ruins at Kotosh make it a popular tourist resort. The Hermilio Valdizn National University was established there in 1964. Airlines and highways link Hunuco to Lima and to cities in the east. A section of the Trans-Amazon Highway, from Hunuco to Aguaytia, was opened in the late 1970s. Pop. (1990 est.) 86,300.