thumb|right|200px|View of Pampas in the Tayacaja province
thumb|right|200px|The cathedral of Huancavelica
thumb|right|200px|[[Danza de tijeras|Scissors Dancers in a regional dance]]
Huancavelica (; ) is a department of Peru. It is bordered by the departments of Lima and Ica in the west, Junín in the north, and Ayacucho in the east. It has an area of and a population of 347,639 (2017 census). It is administered by a regional government. Its capital is the city of Huancavelica.
History
The department was created by the Reglamento Provisional de Elecciones, published on April 26, 1822, which established the department of Huancavelica alongside those of Arequipa, Cuzco, Huamanga and Puno.
Political division
thumb|Map of provinces
The department is divided into seven provinces.
Province (Capital)
- Acobamba Province (Acobamba)
- Angaraes Province (Lircay)
- Castrovirreyna Province (Castrovirreyna)
- Churcampa Province (Churcampa)
- Huancavelica Province (Huancavelica)
- Huaytará Province (Huaytará)
- Tayacaja Province (Pampas)
The main cities are Huancavelica, Pampas and Lircay. There are many little districts like Querco in Huancavelica. Querco is a nice little town. Most of the residents are agricultors. They own cattle, sheep, pigs, horses, mules, llamas, goats, chickens, and donkeys.
Demographics
The region is mostly inhabited by indigenous people of Quechua descent.
Languages
According to the 2007 Peru Census, the language learnt first by most of the residents was Quechua (64.03%) followed by Spanish (35.67%). The Quechua variety spoken in Huancavelica is Chanka Quechua. The following table shows the results concerning the language learnt first in the department of Huancavelica by province:
{|class="wikitable"
|-
! Province
! Quechua
! Aymara
! Asháninka
! Another native language
! Spanish
! Foreign language
! Deaf or mute
! Total
|-
|Acobamba
|align="right" |51,338
|align="right" |49
|align="right" |11
|align="right" |10
|align="right" |8,261
|align="right" |-
|align="right" |78
|align="right" |59,747
|-
|Angaraes
|align="right" |40,669
|align="right" |62
|align="right" |7
|align="right" |7
|align="right" |10,922
|align="right" |-
|align="right" |56
|align="right" |51,723
|-
|Castrovirreyna
|align="right" |4,093
|align="right" |14
|align="right" |1
|align="right" |3
|align="right" |14,168
|align="right" |-
|align="right" |73
|align="right" |18,352
|-
|Churcampa
|align="right" |33,025
|align="right" |27
|align="right" |4
|align="right" |19
|align="right" |8,542
|align="right" |3
|align="right" |127
|align="right" |41,747
|-
|Huancavelica
|align="right" |73,340
|align="right" |117
|align="right" |28
|align="right" |13
|align="right" |59,544
|align="right" |4
|align="right" |157
|align="right" |133,203
|-
|Huaytara
|align="right" |5,670
|align="right" |13
|align="right" |4
|align="right" |3
|align="right" |16,218
|align="right" |2
|align="right" |28
|align="right" |21,938
|-
|Tayacaja
|align="right" |63,950
|align="right" |91
|align="right" |23
|align="right" |15
|align="right" |33,900
|align="right" |1
|align="right" |242
|align="right" |98,222
|-
|Total
|align="right" |272,085
|align="right" |373
|align="right" |78
|align="right" |70
|align="right" |151,555
|align="right" |10
|align="right" |761
|align="right" |424,932
|-
|%
|align="right" |64.03
|align="right" |0.09
|align="right" |0.02
|align="right" |0.02
|align="right" |35.67
|align="right" |0.00
|align="right" |0.18
|align="right" |100.00
|-
|}
Education
The National University of Huancavelica is the only university in the region and it has branches in Pampas, Lircay, Acobamba and Castrovirreyna.
Health
The region has two hospitals located in Huancavelica and Pampas. There are clinics and medical post in most of the towns.
Transportation
The region is connected with the neighboring regions by national roads, which are paved in most cases. There are regional and local roads that are serving the towns of the regions. Huancavelica has a train service with the city of Huancayo.
Notable natives
- Lina Medina, world's youngest mother
Authorities
- Governor: Rubén Alva Ochoa (2015–2018)
See also
- Aknuqucha
- Chunta mountain range
- Chuqlluqucha
- Inka Wasi
- Urququcha
- Warmiqucha
Sources
External links
- Official regional site
- Official municipal site