Amazonas (Peruvian department)

The rainforest zone predominates (72.93%) and it extends to the north over its oriental slope, up to the border with Ecuador in the summits of the Cordillera del Cóndor.

It narrows when it crosses the Cordillera Oriental (Spanish for "eastern mountain range") in its most violent route towards the east, towards the lowest part of the Amazon.

It is longitudinally developed up to the Marañón River, in which it flowed at 400 m. This zone is the principal center of production and human groups location.

The Utkupampa valley which is born in the high jalcas of the Chachapoyas Province and which runs from southeast to northwest to mix with the waters of the Marañón River, forms the immense plain of Bagua.

Some excavation of archaeological sites covered over by the rain forest have attested to the presence of humans in the area since ancient times.

The largest stone complex in South America, it is located 3,000 meters above sea level, higher than the site of Machu Picchu.

In April 1821, the city's inhabitants expelled the Spaniards and ignored their rule, following the steps taken by the San Martín liberating army as Peru gained independence from Spain.

The cleric Toribio Rodríguez de Mendoza was its most outstanding representative, encouraging the patriots of this era and signing the National Act of Independence.

The conquistador did not lose time and formed an expedition of 20 men, putting captain Alonso de Alvarado in charge of it, with the express order to found a Christian city at Chachapoyas.

But this time Pizarro's envoy met the bellicose resistance of a curaca called Huamán, whom they had to defeat before coming to their destination, where they founded the mentioned city on September 5, 1538.

A few years after its foundation, the prosperity of the region began to demonstrate itself in magnificent constructions in the city of Chachapoyas, with big courts, wide lounges and architectural characteristics adapted to the zone.

Many settlers achieved a loose economic position, keeping, nevertheless, the austerity of the customs that was one of the highlight points of Chachapoyas' social life.

In April 1821, helping the action of San Martin's liberating army, they ignored the Spanish authorities, exiling the subdelegate Francisco Baquedano and the bishop of Maynas Hipólito Sánchez, who were fighting openly against independence.

Although the latter lacked training, military knowledge or discipline, they faced the realistas determined to give their lives in defense of the proclaimed freedom.

Toribio Rodríguez de Mendoza, a professor, politician, philosopher and jurist, was one of the most important patriot leaders of the Amazonas.

The same law contained a series of norms to promote the economic development of the new Hindu network including exonerations of rights in its commerce with Ecuador or Brazil.

Without highways, routes connecting to the city had to be done on horse, in long and painful caravans from the coast, or by the rivers from the region of the east.

Later, during the last government of Manuel Prado, the highway that joins Chachapoyas with the big route of penetration Olmos-Marañon was inaugurated.

The chronicler Pedro Cieza de León offers some notes about the Chachapoyas: "They are the whitest and most handsome of all the people that I have seen in Indies, and their wives were so beautiful that because of their gentleness, many of them deserved to be the Incas' wives and to also be taken to the Sun Temple (...) The women and their husbands always dressed in woolen clothes and in their heads they wear their llautos, which are a sign they wear to be known everywhere.

"Cieza adds that, after the annexation to the Inca Empire, the Chachapoya apparently adopted the customs imposed by the people from the department of Cuzco.

Towns, lagoons, hills, religious images, always have an origin that violates in an invariable way the rules of logic or biology.

A witch doctor of the surroundings, who found out about the attitude of the wealthy neighbor, entrusted that all the curses fell on him.

Mysterious power are also assumed to the four lagoons of Pukyu, in which there are monsters that influence the crops, as well as to the lake Santa Barbara which disappears before the view of the walkers and it is destined to initiate the end of the world with the overflow of its waters.

People attribute pernicious influences to certain animals like the mochuelo that "freezes the soul", or "quien-quien", that makes fun of the travelers in the roads; or the cricket, which singing in certain circumstances, like when it has sound of bells, presages big evil.

Most of the population of the department of Amazonas is indigenous and mestizo, being notable the people' quantity, in some cases entire communities, in which the Spanish type predominates.

Some of the dances most representative of the Department of Amazonas are: Religiousness is an outstanding note in the most of these towns and they demonstrate it through the enthusiasm and withdrawal that they put into these celebrations.

Near Almirante, he heard a voice that was calling him by his name from the interior of a cave, in which he found a Christ image that told him: "take me".

Corpus Christi, Holy Week, the Assumption, Dia de los Difuntos (Day of the death), and Christmas are classic dates in the calendar of this department.

The province of Bagua, because of geographical factors, has an agricultural development producing such commodity crops as rice, coffee, Cocoa bean, fruit trees and livestock.

Coffee concentrates 66.4% of the agricultural area with permanent cultivations (198.19 km2), followed by Theobroma cacao (cocoa bean) with 31.21 km2 (12.05 sq mi) (10,5%).

Marañón valley between Chachapoyas and Celendin, Peru
Hot springs in the Rupa Rupa Region
St. Turibius de Mongrovejo
President Don Manuel Prado
Aguarunas natives.
Rice is the most important cultivation in this region.