Fodor's Expert Review Tomayquichua

This small village was reportedly the birthplace of Micaela Villegas, a famous indigenous actress in the 18th century and the mistress of Viceroy Manuel de Amat y Juniet, Peru's most prominent colonial official during the Enlightenment. Also known as La Perricholi, the spunky peruanita was the basis of Prosper Mérimée's comic novella Le Carrosse du Saint-Sacrement before becoming an important character—along with the viceroy—in Thornton Wilder's The Bridge of San Luis Rey. A festival in July with parades, music, and dancing celebrates her vitality. Beautiful mountain views are the main attraction of the 2,000-meter-high (6,500-foot- high) area. Sixteenth-century San Miguel Arcángel, one of the first churches built in the Huánuco area, is nearby in the village of Huacar.