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. In some cases, descendants actually form part of the valley. One legend in particular includes that of the "guerrero" or soldier, who courts a mermaid in
Laguna de Paca, a lake in the valley largely isolated, and courts the mermaid each night; she moans and cries for him to join her, then she disappears beneath the surface. One night, she disappears into the water, and the soldier jumps in after her. He looks under the water for the mermaid, but runs out of air and gives up. His body is lost, but now appears as a mountain range present surrounding the valley in the shape of a man's body. This legend of the Huancan warrior of
Laguna de Paca has numerous variations and explains the deep connection many residents of the town of Paca have with 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. Half of the 2,573 qullqas were placed in the center of this maize and potato producing area and the other half were scattered among 48 compounds along the course of the river. In total, the qullqas of the Mantaro Valley had a storage area of 170,000 cubic meters, possibly the largest storage facilities in the Inca Empire and in pre-Columbian America. Illustrating the quantity of stored items, these qullqas supplied and equipped an army of 35,000 soldiers during the Spanish conquest of the 1530s. 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. ==Climate==