We had spent the earlier part of the day touring southern Peru's Colca Valley with five other tourists after being picked up from the beautiful 'White City' of Arequipa. The others were staying the night in Chivay, a small town on the eastern rim of the Colca Canyon while we had opted to bunk down in the lovely Killawasi Lodge in the nearby town of Yanque. After arriving at 3ish, we had a few minutes to dump our bags before leaving on a pre-arranged private hike in the countryside.
A sleepy street in Yanque:
Our hotel guide, Ricardo, mentioned that since we were at an elevation of 3,400 meters above sea level, older people chew coca to combat the effects of the high altitude, especially those doing hard physical labor.
At the insistence of our tour guide that morning, we had bought a bag of coca leaves and other products as we had ascended into high elevations in a short period of time. Though the lodge was at 11,154 feet, we opted not to chew any more leaves. Steven, who has asthma, knew he would need to walk at a slower pace than normal because of the high altitude and the strenuous hike that began just behind the lodge.
As I mentioned in a previous post, southern Peru has lots of active volcanoes, many of which have caused untold loss of life and damage over the centuries. Ricardo indicated this one was Sabancaya which had been spewing smoke for three months.
Around 1200, the Collagua and Cabana people carved out a huge area of terracing in an effort to control irrigation and erosion and to grow crops.
Ricardo told us an earthquake in Yanque a year earlier killed three people, including one American. Walking by this destroyed house brought home the devastation sometimes caused by Mother Nature.
Corn, potatoes, barley and beans were currently being farmed on the terraces, according to Ricardo. Years ago, the only crop was corn. Above the terraces in the green area, alfalfa was grown for animal feed.
The pipe was used to carry water for irrigation from the Colca River.
Ricardo mentioned the narrow pedestrian bridge linking both sides of the river was just recently built. We were told that our hike would be mostly downhill and this pretty easy. However, of course that meant the return to the lodge much later that afternoon would be a hard slog!
Since we were rewarded with spectacular views wherever we looked, Steven and I were glad we had embarked on the hike and not just relaxed in the comfort of our 'junior suite' at the lodge!
The Oquolle amphitheater had been used since pre-Inca times, more than nine hundred years ago. Each family is allotted six terraces. Normally, corn is grown for the famous chicha fermented beverage we first heard about and tasted in Columbia. The barley is food for sheep; the beans and potatoes are grown and taken to market.
Steven and Ricardo on the suspension Sifon Bridge over the Colca River:
I do not like heights but I couldn't resist looking down at the depths of the canyon with the roaring river below. The Rio Colca is famous for its 300 rapids, with its best-known rafting starting at Chivay and running some 40 km or 25 miles.
Ricardo pointed out the mud and stone caves or colcas (most visible on the left hand side) had been used as grain and seed storage since pre-Inca times. The colcas or storage areas had given the valley and canyon its name.
Another view of the colcas:
As Steven and I trudged through the field behind Ricardo, we just laughed remembering all the fields in so many counties we'd traipsed through over the years!
The farmer was picking alfalfa.
Walking on the irrigation canal, Ricardo said he had six brothers and four sisters. That was one of, if not the biggest, families I had come into contact with.
In the distance was the 'control center' for the large number of tourists who come to Yanque. We were so thankful we'd only seen some farmers and not hordes of fellow tourists on the interesting hike.
Ricardo mentioned he often makes tea from these pretty plants. Not sure if they were lavender or what they were.
When we saw this field of fava beans, the image that immediately came to mind was of Anthony Hopkins in his fearsome role as Hannibal Lecter!
Ricardo said we'd be rewarded with a beautiful view once we climbed to the top of the hill. We sure hoped so!
He was right. It was so nice also being able to catch our breath for a few minutes as we gazed over the valley from the Qhawarina Lookout.
Another hill to climb!
The town of Yanque in the background where we'd begun our hike:
Ricardo told us an earthquake had caused a small part of the hill to fall away here.
We hadn't known it when we set out with Ricardo but our 'goal' for the hike had been apparently to reach the archaeological site of Uyo Uyo on the right bank above the Colca River. The pre-Inca village attributed to the region's Collagua culture was later occupied by the Incas. The town is thought to be the original capital of the Colca Valley. At the top of the old settlement, the buildings had been largely restored.
Lower down were the remains of the original homes.
The restored center of worship or temple was in the central plaza.
The history of the village goes back 800 years when the Collagua and Cabana tribes settled here and established their headquarters in Uyo Uyo. Visiting the ruins of the village was like a journey into those times, seeing those stone houses where people lived, the main square where they gathered, the old but still fully functional water channels and the terraced fields below. It was so perfectly thought-through that the water from the hills was and still is distributed into the fields.
We had read the history-rich Colca Valley was scattered with ancient ruins. Those at Uyo Uyo were an especially great place to explore the ancient cultures of the region.
The stone structures of the site were a fascinating testament to the strong construction techniques and advanced architectural and agricultural strategies of the Collagua and Inca people.
Ricardo explained the doorways were so high to allow the maximum amount of light into the structure.
In the 16th century, the Spanish conquistadors arrived and created towns throughout the valley, such as Yanque. Ever since, Uyo Uyo and other similar villages became abandoned. However, Ricardo told us many locals still speak Quechua, the language of Cabanas.
By 4:45, we started to retrace our steps and return to the lodge since it was too late in the day to enjoy the soothing waters of the Termas de Tambo or nearby hot springs.
Ricardo informed us that the dike was opened once every fifteen days to irrigate the fields. He added that farmers pay 50 Peruvian soles - about $15 - per day for workers to help in the fields from 8-5 pm.
The Sabancaya volcano was a lot more active in the late afternoon than when we had set out. I sent up a silent prayer it didn't become even more so.
Apart from two other tourists, a few farmers and local herders in traditional outfits we had been alone and off the beaten track during the enjoyable hike.
We knew these were alpacas because they had shorter necks and their tails pointed downwards unlike other camelids like llamas and vicuñas.
The high altitude had made hiking more challenging so these steps looked far more daunting than they had been when we descended them a couple of hours earlier!
It was mind boggling for us remembering we'd been in the Amazon jungle just two days ago as it seemed like a lifetime ago.
What a lovely view of the sun setting but still shining on the far hills to our left over the wall.
It was discouraging when Ricardo said we'd only climbed 100 meters that afternoon on our hike up to Uyo Uyo as Steven and I were convinced it just had to have been far higher!
Unusual doorways on our walk through the village of Yanque:
Dinner was not included with our room rate at the Killawasi Lodge but, because there had been several issues with the two-day Colca Valley and Canyon tour supposedly arranged by the hotel, they comped our meals.
Steven's salad and my steak dinner with native potatoes came at the same time; he had to wait a good while for his 'pepper steak' which turned out to be almost inedible. The very tough meat was heavily spiced with pepper and not served with green peppers as he had thought! We both should have known by then to stay clear of ordering any meat, because almost none we had throughout South America had so far been worth eating. We had thought the meals served at the quite luxurious lodge would be a real treat and frozen vegetables would not make an appearance on our dinner plates!
Next post: Condors and Flamingos in the Colca Canyon - Oh My!
Posted on February 9th, 2018, from Littleton, Colorado.
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