The Santa Barbara Mine was one of the most important mines in the Western Hemisphere in the 16th and 17th Centuries. The mine provided the mercury to separate the silver that was mined in Mexico and Bolivia. The mine was also k own as the mine of death, as numerous laborer, mostly indigenous died during the mining operations.

The mine is located above the very pretty colonial city of Huancavelica, which was one of my favorite cities to visit in Peru. Huancavelica is rarely visited by foreign tourists, as it is off the main tourist route. I reached it from Ayacucho. You can reach it through infrequent buses, that usually requires a transfer. I hired my own vehicle and driver. An expensive option, but a beautiful 4 hour drive. Huancavelica is much more accessible from Huancayo - which is where I went after, there are also a few overnight buses to Lima.

the mine site is located 7 kilometers from town by a very pretty, and not too strenuous walk. There is also a good dirt road - which is about 15 kilometers in distance. There is no public transport, but it would be easy to hire a taxi in town. I walked the trail (which connects to the road) there and back.

I had the site to myself. There are a few signs mostly in Spanish, with some English translation. The first place you encounter is the now closed, concentrating plant. This actually was built in early 20th century. You then encounter the entrances to the old pits. Though fenced off, they are interesting to view. After the entrances is the old town site, which dates back to the 1600's. The most prominent building is the old colonial church.

The site itself is interesting and definitely important from a historical perspective. I've definitely seen way more impressive mine sites. I'm definitely glad I visited, as Huancavelica was a nice town to stay for two nights, the walk to the site was nice and the surrounding scenery was very pretty.