Santa Ana de la Ribera de Tarma, commonly known as Tarma, is a city in central Peru. It is the capital city of the Tarma District and Tarma Province, located in the Junín Region. The city has a population of 43,042 as of the 2017 census. The city is nicknamed, "Ciudad de las Flores", the City of Flowers due to its diverse flower and plant fauna.

Recent archaeological excavations show that prior to Inca occupation, the gorges of Tarma were settled by many ethnic groups. The Chinchaycocha were to the northwest, mainly what is today La Oroya and northern part of the valley. The xauxa settled to the southern part, south of Tarma river. A small group called Palcamayo settled to the east section. When the Inca arrived, they built up a new province in Tarma. They took away people and territory from the former ethnic groups and building a strategic political province, which allowed them to better control the large ethnic groups of Chinchaycocha, Xauxa and Wanka. Tarma became a sort of buffer zone for the Inca. The capital of the Inca province was Tarmatambo.

Tarma was founded during the policy of "reducciones" under the rule of fifth viceroy Francisco de Toledo (1569-1575). The Spaniards moved the capital or head of the province from Tarmatambo, located at a slope of a mountain, to the bottom of the valley, called Pampas. Originally its name was Santa Ana de Pampas, and was a town of natural people, called "pueblo de indios".

With the introduction of the Intendencias in 1784, the first Intendente Don Juan Maria Gálvez, converted or elevated the status of the village to that of a "villa" or town. This meant that the Cabildo or city administration was no longer in the hand of the local indians, but turned to the Spaniards and wealthy mestizos. Thus, was also the name of the town change to Tarma. Indeed, throughout the Colonial time, since the 17th century, the name of Tarma was becoming popular in used than the one of Pampas.

In 1815, the first land survey was conducted in Tarma, concluding that the town had 755 houses and approximately 3,500 inhabitants. During those years, Tarma was the capital of one of the eight intendencies into which the viceroyalty was divided. Its importance was such that it included the districts of Huánuco, Jauja, Cajatambo, Huamalies, and Panataguas. The Intendency of Tarma became the largest economic contributor to the Crown among all the remaining Intendencies.

In the beginning of November, 1820, during the war of independence that took ahead general Don Jose of San Martín, the population of the city of Tarma supported the General Arenales. On 25 November, General Arenales reached Tarma, being welcomed with celebrations in the city.

During the period 1836–1839, Tarma belonged to the Northern Peru state and was the capital of the then Department of Junín. Later, the wealth of Cerro de Pasco influenced it to establish itself as the capital of the department, to the point that the province, which had such exceptional importance in the colony, was included within its jurisdiction. In 1855, José Gálvez Egúsquiza, accompanied by his wife Ángela Moreno de Gálvez, presented a project to restore Tarma's provincial status. On December 31 of that same year, Tarma became a province.

During the War of the Pacific against Chile, Tarma supported the Peruvian army, and later supported the resistance commanded by Marshal Andrés Avelino Cáceres. The city was the location of the Battle of Tarmatambo which took place in 1882 during the War of the Pacific, which was won by Chile.