Tag: Perù

The Inca legend of Lake Titicaca and other mysteries about its origin

Ivan

We are in Peru. The history of the creation of some local cities is sometimes based on the Inca mythological legends. One of the best known is the myth of the origin of Lake Titicaca, whose main characters are the inhabitants of Puno, a city in southeastern Peru, not by chance located on the shore of lake. Lake Titicaca is the biggest freshwater lake in the world. It is located in the Andes, on the border between Bolivia and Peru, with a surface elevation of 3,812 metres, and It’s always…

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Buried at 2,000 meters high: the inaccessible sarcophagi of Karajia in Peru

Adam

Between the steep gorges of the Andes and the immense rainforests of the Amazonas region in Peru, there are surprising historical sites that document the history of the Chachapoya people, who had to surrender to the Incas, just a few years before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors. The premiere scene from the legendary film “Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark”, Indiana Jones searches the booby-trapped ruins of a Chachapoyan temple for a golden idol. Probably this is a Hollywood classic scene, but the history behind the…

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Plaza de Toros de Acho in Lima, Perù. The oldest in the Americas

Ivan

We are in Lima, Peru. Built over 250 years ago, the Plaza de Toros de Acho is the oldest bullring in the Americas but not only: perhaps surprisingly, considering its New World location, it’s also the second-oldest active bullring in the world after the Plaza de Toros de la Real Maestranza in Seville, Spain. Already in 1765, a full 56 years before Peru declared its independence from Spain, Agustín Hipólito de Landaburu y Ribera, a wealthy landowner and colonial official in the Viceroyalty of Peru, decided to build a majestic…

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Cripta de los Héroes: the final resting place for many of Peru’s greatest military heroes.

Ivan

We are in Lima: the historic (and supposedly haunted) Cementerio Presbítero Matías Maestro is the most famous cemetery in Peru. Inaugurated in 1808, it now contains 766 mausoleums and 92 historic monuments. Among them is the Cripta de los Héroes (Crypt of the Heroes), the final resting place for many of Peru’s greatest military heroes. The Crypt was inaugurated on September 8, 1908, to house the remains of Peruvian military heroes who fought in the 19th-century War of the Pacific. During this war against Chile, the allied nations of Peru…

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Skulls and bones at San Francisco Monastery catacombs in Lima, Peru

Ivan

We are in Lima, Peru. Franciscan Monateries depend a lot on donations made by the well-to-do patrons and the San Franciso Monastery is no exception. It is located near the Plaza Mayor (main square) in Lima. There are lot of paintings along the inside corridors of the monastery, and interestingly enough, some of the faces on the paintings have been erased or removed. According to a local source, the figures in the paintings are those of generous patrons and donors. If the patron stops his donation to the monastery, his…

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Grand Hotel Bolivar is thought to be one of the most haunted places in Lima, Peru.

Ivan

We are in Lima: here, the Gran Hotel Bolivar was opened in 1924 in the hope of modernizing the city as a place to house dignitaries visiting the Peruvian capital. During the subsequent half-century, it was the hotel of choice in Lima for Hollywood stars, in addition to acclaimed authors and rock legends. However, then began its slow decline, along with rumors of an interesting paranormal activity. Back in its heyday, the Gran Hotel Bolivar was an unique place to stay in Lima. Built by government request on state property…

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Nazca, Perù: the macabre Chauchilla Cemetery.

Ivan

We are in Peru, where, since 1997, law has protected the macabre Chauchilla Cemetery, a Nazca burial ground where mummified corpses were laid to rest until the ninth century. Discovered in the 1920s, the remains and artifacts were spread across the area, picked over by grave robbers. However, the burial ground has been restored to as close to its original state as possible, with the bones, bodies, heads, and artifacts either returned to tombs or showcased in displays. So, prior 1997, it was ravaged mercilessly by Peruvian grave robbers, and…

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