Toquepala Caves

The Toquepala caves are located 154 kilometres from the city of Tacna, Peru in the western Andes at an altitude of 2,700 metres above sea level. The caves are 10 metres deep, 5 metres wide and 3 metres high. They are noted for the cave paintings found on the walls, depicting scenes of hunters corralling and killing a group of guanacos.

This type of hunting is known as "chaco" in the Andes mountains. The hunters form human circles, corral the animals and either capture or kill them.

The cave paintings use colors such as red, yellow, green and black. According to researcher Jorge Muelle, the scenes were intended to bring about a fruitful hunt.

Estimated ages of the paintings at the site have been radiocarbon-dated to 7,650 B.C. or before.