Huaraz or Huarás (Quechua: Waraq’amanecer’), is a Peruvian city, capital of the department of Áncash, and the second most populated city in the department. Located on the banks of the Santa River, it is located in the north center of the country and north of Lima. Huaraz was founded by the Spanish conqueror Alonso de Santoyo y Valverde, under the name of San Sebastián de Huaraz (in honor of Sebastian of Milan) thus becoming the capital of the corregimiento of Huaylas on January 20, 1574. It is currently the political and administrative center of the department, in addition to being the second largest and most populated urban agglomeration at the departmental level. The city houses the main public bodies (Regional Government, Judiciary and others), commercial, cultural and financial Áncash.
The city extends beyond the boundaries of the district of Huaraz and is conurbated with the district of Independencia, north of the Quilcay River, mostly residential area.
Huaraz is located approximately at coordinates 9°31 48 S 77°31 44 W and at an average altitude of 3050 m s. n. m. With an extension of 9 km², Huaraz had a population of 123 069 inhabitants in 2017, which was equivalent to 75% of the total population of the province. Huaraz is the twenty-third most populated city in the country and the ninth most inhabited in the Andean region.
