FROM THE HIGH ANDES OF PERU

Driving through the high Andes makes me appreciate the ancestors of the Incan peoples. The Incans, founders of the city of Machu Picchu, one of the New Wonders of the World, came to power in the early 1400’s AD. Machu Picchu lies in the Urubamba Valley at about 10,500 ft.
I am now in the Conchucos Valley at about 15,416 feet going to see the famed ruins of the Chavin peoples, ancient ancestors of the Incas. The Chavin inhabited this high valley from 1200 BC to about 800BC. Although their ruins are not as spectacular as those at Machu Picchu, the fact alone that they predate Jesus Christ (from whence all calendars are derived) by 1200 years and that if we add that to the date of this writing, we are talking about a people that lived 3011 years before us.
3000 years is a long time ago to have a formal culture with crafts to make drinking vessels, to have gods that they honored with statuary and ceremonial centers that are impressive enough to have Stanford University archaeologists come every year and stay for 3 months to dig for relics and study their findings.
The most amazing thing for me is that in the town of Chavin surrounding the ruins, there is not one desirable place to stay. There are several hostals, but these places give me the creeps and I am amazed that the archaeologists stay there when they can go 5 miles down a winding road and stay in one of the loveliest places I have found in the high Andes.
Here at almost 13,000 ft. in the small town of San Marcos is a small bed and breakfast called Nanaleys (the sisters in Quechua the native language). Each wonderful room is decorated with exquisite taste reflecting the owner who Peruvian is born now living in the US. Heavily carved wooden doors frame the arrival but please note that there are horseshoes and horses carved throughout this historic home as the owners also love horses.
.So fond of her childhood home, Martha Oconnel,( who now lives in Thomaston, Georgia) wanted to share this beautiful area with visitors, so she opened her doors to visitors. With its honor bar in the patio, you feel at home the moment you arrive. But don’t imbibe too much as one drink at 13,000 feet can “put you under” in a matter of minutes.
From Nanaleys, visit the Chavin Museum and ruins, or drive a little further on to Huari and the “Lake of Mirrors” with its 300 foot waterfall. The drive itself is amazing as you zig zag through little native villages all along the way. The central plazas of each village have their own flavor, but there is always dancing and a loud speaker blaring the latest Huayna (Andean folk music). Markets are abundant filled with crafts from nearby villages. Sundays are always special market days and the locals dress to the nines in their native finery to sell to neighbor and foreigner alike.
To get to Chavin and San Marcos, begin your journey in Lima where there are daily flights to Anta and Huaraz, hiking and climbing central for Peru. From here you can climb the Cordilerra Blanca or Negra. Spend a few nights hiking the trails near the city and acclimatizing to the altitude before continuing on to Chavin and San Marcos, a few hours away.
Huaraz in the high Andes is the big city and Chavin and San Marcos are wonderful small towns to rest and relax and enjoy the wonderful views and nearby hot springs that gush from this volcanic country. Visiting the high Andes of Peru is like a step back in time and time to appreciate those who came before us.