Museum of Andean Sanctuaries

There’s no carved stone or forgotten artifacts gathering dust here. Instead, you’re about to meet Juanita, the famous “Lady of Ampato”—an Inca girl of around 15 who was sacrificed more than 500 years ago on the summit of a frozen volcano. Preserved by the extreme cold at more than 6,000 meters (19,700 feet) above sea level, her body is the best-preserved frozen mummy in the Americas, and today she can be seen at the Museum of Andean Sanctuaries.

To understand how she survived in such remarkable condition, we need to go back to 1995. Archaeologist Johan Reinhard and mountaineer Miguel Zárate were climbing Ampato volcano, about 70 kilometers (43 miles) from Arequipa. An eruption from a neighboring volcano had melted part of the ice cap, exposing a funerary bundle.

Inside, wrapped in precious, brightly colored textiles, they found the perfectly preserved body of a teenage girl who looked almost as though she were asleep. Then came a race against time: the 40-kilogram (88-pound) bundle had to be carried down by hand and rushed back to the city before thawing could destroy the extraordinary discovery. As you move through the first galleries, you’ll see ceramics, rare textiles, and delicate gold and silver figurines found alongside her.

All of them formed part of the Capacocha, the most sacred ritual of the Inca Empire. To appease the apus—mountains worshipped as divine beings—the Incas offered what they considered most precious: children from elite families, chosen for their beauty and purity. For those selected, the honor was probably considered the highest imaginable, but that did nothing to make the fate awaiting them any less terrifying.

After days of an exhausting climb to the summit, Juanita was killed by a fatal blow to the head. Tests later revealed traces of coca leaves and alcoholic chicha in her system. Were they meant to dull her fear of what lay ahead, ease the effects of altitude sickness at more than 6,000 meters (19,700 feet), or help her drift into sleep in the freezing cold?

The mystery remains. Today, the most emotional moment comes in the final room. Surrounded by solemn darkness, Juanita rests inside a refrigerated display case kept at -25°C (-13°F).

If you visit between January and April, Juanita enters a conservation period and is replaced by Sarita, another sacrificed girl discovered on the same volcano. Whatever time of year you come, this is the kind of museum visit that stays with you.