Today we took an awesome tour to Cumbemayo. We had a very knowledgeable tour guide that spoke English very well. The drive was about 50 minutes, mostly along a winding dirt road up a mountain next to the city of Cajamarca. Cumbemayo is what Stephen and I named the Bryce Canyon of Peru. It is volcanic rock that was once completely covered in ice. Over the years the ice melted away and the rains came and formed Cumbemayo. The large vertical rocks remaining are the hardest of the volcanic rock. Two of these rocks look like two statues of humans (see pics below). The native Peruvian people (3,000 years ago) believed these rocks were carved by God, and therefore believed the area of Cumbemayo was sacred. There is water in this area, and the people believed this water was sacred. So they carved an amazing aqueduct system to bring the sacred water to the valley of Cajamarca for religious purposes. Today you can still see pictures carved in the rock along the aqueducts from the native Peruvian people. It was an awesome tour!
1. Cumbemayo in the background
2. This lady is dressed in the traditional clothing that many women here in Cajamarca wear
3. Three women sitting together at the Cumbemayo site
4. Stephen at Cumbemayo
5-6. The two statues in the background are the statues believed by the native Peruvians to be carved by God
7. Ancient carvings on the rock
8. The amazing aqueduct system
9-10. We climbed through a narrow and dark cave that was formed naturally by water!
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