Peru today is far from the title of the most developed country of the continent. " Peru-poor country and rich at the same time. And the wealth of its are innumerable, despite neblagoustroennost', and sometimes, even poverty.

Travel across the country with incredible historical heritage-it's like a little life in life. The only choice is to stay, sometimes accidentally, in a tiny village, and the stones begin to tell their story. Shortly after seeing your interest, you begin to talk and locals taking their narrations on the torn pages of history. After you're flabbergasted, you collect evidence bit by bit. But there, on the spot, all of this still-life, although it has been more than 500 years since the last highlights.

So it happened with us many times on our way to Peru. But special impression village Akira, in which we had to stay overnight because of thunderstorms and rain, razmyvshego dirt roads. We came to Akira already before dawn. In the dark it is no different from the medium-sized villages, where on the main square in the evening, the locals gather to eat soup, antikuchos and drink tea from grasses. The only thing we see is a good temper and radushnost' inhabitants. The same morning in the hotel room (with Tigers on blankets) seemed low mountains around the village, mud streets inside and raz'ezzhennaja clay after yesterday's rain everywhere. One object in the usual rustic landscape still going all out of the picture. Free-standing rock-right in the Centre of the village. Awesome and very strange.

Cost to take a course on this rock, Akira started to tell his story. Too many historical monuments, for such a small village: Baroque colonial church of San Pedro de Akira 17 century, the Palace of San Juan de Jakua, ruins of settlements and bellicose Akira Huari culture, and finally, the sacred uanka-rock-tombs with niches-transformed conquistadors to court, prison and execution site. These lands once were housed right "at hand" the great Inca Empire, only seventy miles from Cuzco. Still, until the arrival of the conquest, belonged to another of the powerful Wari culture, which conquered the local tribes. The sacred rock Sakiya Kaka was used before the arrival of the Spaniards, as an object of worship. Especially revered dead residents of mummified and seated in seating positions in natural niche, paying the face outwards so that the elders and after his death looked at their land, remaining witnesses all events. The Spaniards, treacherously stolen all burials, throwing a bone to the outside beneath the feet. Later in these niches until the 20th century were holding prisoners. With the conquistadors came the Inquisition, in which local residents died on this rock by the thousands in the worst agony.

The official date of the founding of the city by the Spanish still not installed. About-this is the second half of the 16 century. The surroundings were unbelievable Akira is rich in gold and silver, in addition to the Spaniards, the village became a convenient collection of taxes and tributes at the entrances to the great city of Cusco. In the 17-18 centuries was started and completed the construction of the massive Temple of San Pedro de Akira. Inside and outside of the building is decorated with fine carving, imitating paradise garden. Here, birds and animals made slaves-Indians by European sketches, still look at us with sad faces and personalities.

Crossing such places where the poor modern life shows traces of a great and tragic history, where almost every home grown flies the Rainbow flag, you if you become a part of this world, and it certainly becomes a part of you.

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To get to the Pacific coast in the dry desert and the fertile valley of the Inca's sacred, to overcome the Highlands of the Western Cordillera of the Andes. The path of Iki in Cusco is a continuous rise. But the Cordillera in these places is for the most part an extensive plateau, but because the sharp streamers along the way. The road goes up the unusual — almost always right. To the sky. There seems to be directly under it, begins the same Peruvian Pampa. Hidden treasure, at an altitude of four to five thousand meters. Here in permanent cold (even in summer the temperature can drop below zero) in the diluted air filled with spiky sunlight, amazing life. Here people live.

People live mainly in breeding alpacas, but there is something else, like a good tale. In the Pampa still inhabit the huge population of vicunas. Several thousand years ago the local culture, later important incaic Empire realized that kill vicunas for meat-not a good idea. Much more valuable and more useful brings these vicunas wool. By the way, products of their wool were so soft, light and warm, that use them might only the highest levels of society. When inkah, vicunas wool could oblachat'sja only the Emperor and members of his family. During this time, separating them and us is just something a couple of thousand years, there have been few changes. Still, vicunas wool is estimated to be thousands of dollars and afford clothes out of it may not be many. But not even this fact is interesting, but how to extract the wool.

Once a year, in spring-summer before in local villages hosts festivals and holidays of vicunas wool collection. The most agile boys compete at catching these graceful, gentle animals. Vicunas are harvested in paddocks thousands to … cut and let go. The cut allowed only adult animals and only partially. Vikun'jam cut back, leaving only a long wool where animals she needed to stay healthy-neck, abdomen, chest and legs. In fact, these delicate animals-relatives of alpacas, llamas, camels-no priruchaemy and does not live in captivity. This delicate collection of wool has become the key to prosperity of vicunas in these parts. The boundaries of "haircuts" shows you the long wild animals within two or three months. See vicuñas in the summer without a trace of haircuts-a rare phenomenon. But it is thanks to this tradition, vicunas can be observed here in large numbers and close enough in their natural Wednesday-endless Pampa.

Here, among the geological wonders of the most fanciful forms, blue, how precious Sapphire lagoons, still live several species of Flamingo. It is timid, cautious birds of threatened. Wings, legs, Flamingo feathers are still quite expensive goods at Magic markets. Birds know that from here good expect is not worth it, but because it is only necessary to begin to approach the lagoons, pink, light and graceful Flamingo run on the surface of the Lake and fly away, hugging purple wings sky. And it seems this land will live and prosper until even running around on her thin-legged vicuna, while over the Pampa commits flying Flamingo.

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At first glance, the Paracas peninsula is a vast desert where nothing. But only if you start enumerating that there are, it becomes clear that this first look wrong. Salt, sand, wind, Sun, Ocean, amazing biodiversity on land and in the water, a strange modern life of Peruvian fishermen, the millennial history of several cultures of mankind and paleontological discoveries that are waiting in the wings to tens of millions of years.

Is not here-so it's good roads. This fact did not drawback is this unique territory, and even vice versa, becomes a huge plus when you find yourself face to face with this element, when the tiny fishing villages become a ghostly reminder of the existence of the rest of the world.

The peninsula has few formal roads, ways, they appear on the map. But since that is the Paracas salt desert, locals sometimes pave the way straight on salt sand Cork, which eventually becomes hard and shiny like ice. However, the desert also did not remain on the sidelines, occasionally winning commitment of man without demand. The road sweeps sand, sometimes they result in dangerous and unstable cliffs. Little mileage in 200 km is transformed into a real adventure.

In Parakase you can feel the movie's hero, literally, inside a very different world. And yet, here you can taste a delicious milky fish soup, hear the cries of sea lions, smell the colonies of seabirds and endure much more.

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By far the most famous and grandiose structure remaining from the great cultural Chachapojja is the fortress of Kuelap. Every year the number of visits to the archaeological zone is growing, but quite a small number of people drew attention to the more "small" traces, which abounds in several regions of Peru.

Cloud people (autonym is translated) is enough time to devote to war, despite the fact that the army considered them powerful and dangerous opponent (they were one of the few resisted the great Inca Empire). Thus, great importance within their authorities had art and spiritual life. Today there are just 5-10 percent of all chachapojja information-their lifestyle, tradition and life in General. The traces left by their nearly destroyed and plundered by looters. But those particles that remained able to tell us amazing stories.

Petroglyphs and rock paintings culture Chachapojja

The concentration of rock art in the lands once inhabited by cloud people is impressive! From entire altars with warriors, Rainbows and sunshine to tiny anthropomorphic figurines. Have remained the same and the plastered walls of former buildings with intact muraljami (frescoes), depicting dancers, smiling people. Are fairly rare copies of drawings that contain few colors, and often drawings, executed in red paint from the pounded minerals, popular in this area.

Sarcophagi and thumbs chachapojja

The most distinguishing characteristic of the chachapojja culture from others is the way to the burial of the dead. Cloud people believed in an afterlife, and important for them was moving into it. The deceased were the pose of the embryo and zamurovyvali in personal vertical sarcophagus high up on the cliffs. The sarcophagus was to be directed to the East (the symbol of the awakening) and River (the symbol of eternal life).

The first Spaniards, starting razvorovyvat' sarcophagi, quickly realized that to take from them. Chachapojcy not believe that gold can bring in another world. With the body of the deceased leave only a totally personal thing, put it in ceremonial dress and wrapped in funeral Savannah. Large differences between the nobility and ordinary people were only there was no difference in the actual sarcophagus, figures and form human activity otobrazhavshih. Due to this fact, sarcophagi were abandoned and forgotten for a long time. But later there was a demand for ancient antiques for private collections. For example, a well-preserved shroud woven by hand with drawings and patterns could be worth a fortune on the black market. Looting recovered. Farmers sold their loot for a penny. The only quantity.

Sarcophagi, located in an incredibly tight spaces just smash and razlamyvali to whip up, and throwing the bones outwards, they took everything that could be any price. Often these were personal facial masks, adorned with drawings. But to this day something could survive intact. Some sarcophagi were settled by a colony of bees-killers, some are too steep rocks. But because today their masks, sometimes smiling, watching day after day on a new dawn and the rapidly changing life of descendants.

Buildings and villages

Not less than on steep cliffs, sarcophagi are impressive cliffs on the same little ritual village. Their orientation, shape buildings, reliefs on the walls-all had a certain value. Today some of these structures extremely dangerous to visit because of the fragility of the partially ruined rocks. To visit other climbing skills are needed with ropes, carabiners, etc. In such ritual centers was conducted ceremonies and important preparations for the burial. These fragile structures have yet to be fully explored and are waiting a century for a century.

Shards of ceramics and pottery Chachapojja

Another interesting evidence of culture. Shards of ceramics was escorted all the places settlements. Today, the majority of them find farmers in their fields. Because each local resident, you can find your own little home Chachapojja culture Museum. Leave in the hands of clay shards decorated with intricate pattern-like touch. Someone created this figure live hand brush, maybe a thousand years ago. And this figure is now in front of you!

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Our route, sometimes can change (or add a pair of five-hundred kilometers) in just two words. And they should not be rugatel'nymi. This time it was absolutely magical phrase. "footprints of dinosaurs".
The phrase "huesos de los dinosaurios" was met by chance when looking for totally unrelated to the planning of route information. But here it caught my eye and it became clear that an investigation should be started!

To top promotion in our detective was not so simple. Local respondents either did not know or gave totally different coordinates and descriptions. But after interviewing, probably more than twenty people, and collecting the puzzle of their words together, we got almost the exact almost coordinates. And this is already enough to begin the path.

Search for traces of dinosaurs in Peru

This time there was the southernmost extremity of the Cordillera Blanca and the National Park of Huascaran. We had thought that there was already a huge snowy Ridge comes to naught, but all turned out to be not so simple. With the main asphalt road running along the river Santa, we turned on, almost in the steppes, gradually rising up. There the first signs that the dinosaurs are very close. Very soon began huge flowers of the family bromeliads Present Raimondi. These endemic species are very rare even for its original territory. Pouilly lived a long life, which bloom only once, but how! To thirty-forty years the plant releases the arrow that will bloom for decades. Along with her flower plant has a truly giant size is about 12 meters in height!

Ahead on our way began to come across unusual sources with varying temperature and color of the water. One of them produced a sparkling shipjashhuju tepid water. Soon the mountain if cracked and began to finally rise on the serpentine. By cave paintings again. the glaciers! With each meter height was getting cooler, but dinosaur footprints beckoned forward. Landscapes have gone so unusual that seemed even a little bit and we nastupim dinosaurs on the heel!

Already on the other side of the Cordillera, we fell into the possession of a major mining company. It was on their territory and are those most traces of the giant teropoda. They are on one of the layers of volcanic rock, and were open quite by accident during the construction of the road, next to which are. Once this layers were horizontal and soft like clay. Some dinosaur left his imprint, volcano eruption later traces of buried volcanic deposits, and then closed even layers of sediments from different eras. Today, this "floor filler" has turned into a vertical wall. During construction the Road layer of loose clay crumbled and freed that fills the imprint. Total was found about 12-TI sites with dinosaur footprints, and most likely it is not the limit!

The night was freezing! At a height of 4800 air temperature at night drops below zero. Our motorcycle completely froze up. Apparently, to match the terrain he covered with a thick layer of frost and long enough did not want to start. But here's the Sun otogrelo all of us and our journey continued. It was decided to return via Pastoruri glacier disappearing. This glacier is melting rapidly and will never gain weight in the winter. The question of disappearance Pastoruri-only a matter of time. But how many secrets keeps this handsome (apart from drinking water to almost half of the inhabitants of the province of Ancash). Yielding daylight stones that were buried under tons of ice for millions of years, the glacier releases a whole archive preistoricheskih times! Traces of dinosaurs (again) and endless ornaments of ancient, almost like the world of ferns.

Millions of years long history to which so gently you can touch!

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