Paramonga

Paramonga was an important city constructed at the border of the Kingdom of Chimor (Period Intermediate late, 1200 to 1400 d. C.), whose capital was the metropolis of Chan Chan. It is located on the Fortaleza river, close to the town of Pativilca to the north of Lima. It is said that Paramonga was an important religious building, 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 4 levels of enormous proportions constructed on a hill, which resembles somewhat a European medieval castle.

The oldest written records of the site are the ones from the cronists, Spanish soldiers, priests and other literate men who accompained Pizarro on the conquest of the Tawantinsuyu. Miguel de Estete, the "cronista soldier", traveled accompanying Hernando Pizarro by the Able Ñan (Dirt road) of the coast to Cajamarca, to receive the gold for the rescue of the Atahualpa Inca in 1532. Estete writes in his story: "(...) 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 cronista, Cieza of Leon, in his trip from the City of the Kings (Lima) to Trujillo in 1541, passes by Paramonga and describes it as of "(...) 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 appears to be a translation from www.naya.org.ar/peru/paramong.htm