Information about the city Abancay
Abancay is a city in southern-central Peru. It is the capital of both the Apurímac Region and the Abancay Province.
Abancay is located at an elevation of 2,377 metres (7,799 ft) above sea level in the southern Peruvian Andes, above the Pachachaca River, and straddles the Marino River. Because of its dry mountain[clarification needed] and famous year-round warm weather it is known as "The Eternal Springtime Valley". The nearest cities are Cusco, Chalhuanca and Andahuaylas. Abancay is located at the junction of two important Peruvian roads: the Caminos del Inca Road, an old road dating from Incan times, between the cities of Nazca and Cusco, and the Via de los Libertadores, connecting Ayacucho and Cusco.
Abancay was already a populated area before the arrival of the Incas. It was the frontier of the Quechua-Inca cultural influence area of the Chancas, an ethnic native group of Peru. Its name comes from a flower native to the region called amankay. When the Spanish arrived, they transliterated the word and named the city Abancay, Villa de los Reyes ("Abancay, Village of the Kings"), which was later reduced to Abancay, its current name. Abancay was the location of the Battle of Abancay between the forces of the Conquistadores Francisco Pizarro and Diego de Almagro. Abancay was mentioned in the first Cronicas (Pedro Cieza de León) as an encomienda dedicated to the cultivation of sugar cane for the production of aguardiente.
There is a traditional tale about the foundation of the city recorded by Guillermo Vidalegut, a local journalist, in his book "Alma y Rostro de Abancay", who, inspired by Ricardo Palma's Tradiciones Peruanas, gathered local traditional stories. As the story goes, during colonial times, the town was located above the valley, in one of the skirts of the Ampay mountain, in a place which is now known as Ccorhuani. One day, the statue of the Virgin Mary known as Our Lady of the Rosary, Patroness of the village, mysteriously disappeared from the local Church. The people, fearing robbery and claiming sacrilege, searched day and night until a shepherd found the statue standing above an immense boulder by the valley. The people believed that the thieves had left the statue in fear of being discovered by the search parties. The statue was returned in a procession back into town. A few weeks later, the same disappearance occurred again and another search ensued. The statue was again found in the same spot where it was found before. Lo and behold, the disappearance happened a third time. The people never understood why or how this was happening. Finally, it was suggested that maybe the statue was asking for a shrine in the valley at the location where it was being found. The town then built a small Chapel there, and it became a place of constant visits by the people. Before long, it became the center of activity, and the entire town was moved to where is located today. The statue of Our Lady of the Rosary still sits above the immense boulder which is located on the right side of the Cathedral.
Information about the city Huaraz
Huaraz founded as San Sebastian de Huaraz, is a city in Peru. It is the capital of the Ancash Region (State of Ancash) and the seat of government of Huaraz Province. The urban agglomeration's population is distributed over the districts of Huaraz and Independencia. The city is located in the central part of the Callejon de Huaylas Valley and on the right side of the river Santa, in addition the city has an elevation of approximately 3050 metres. The agglomeration has an extension of 8 km2 and a population of 120,000 inhabitants, making it the second largest city in the central Peruvian Andes after the city of Huancayo, and the 22nd largest city in Peru. Huaraz is the headquarters of the province's Roman Catholic Bishop and the site of his official cathedral.
Huaraz is the main financial and commerce center of the Callejón de Huaylas and the main tourist center of Ancash region, moreover, is one of the important cities in the Peruvian Andes. Huaraz is the main place of winter sports and adventure. Many visitors from around the world arrived to the city for practicing sports as climbing, hiking, mountain biking, snowboarding and also to visit the glaciers and mountains of the Cordillera Blanca, mainly the Huascarán snow peak, that is considered the highest mountain in tropics, all of them located in Huascarán National Park that is a nature world heritage site by UNESCO.
The origins of the city came before the Inca Empire with the development of some human settlements surrounding the valley of the Santa River and Qillqay. Its Spanish occupation occurred in 1574 as a Hispanic-indigenous reduction. During the Independence of Peru, the whole city supported the Liberty Army with food and guns, gaining the city the motto of "Noble and Generous City" named in that way by Simón Bolívar. In 1970, 95% of the city was destroyed by an earthquake that damaged a great part of Ancash Region. 25,000 people died. The city was supported with great international help by many countries. For this reason the city was named as a capital of International Friendship.
The main economic activities in the city are agriculture and tourism, because Huaraz has tourist infrastructure supporting the Ancash Highlands, the city is the main point of arrival for practicers of adventure sports and mountaineering. Along with the snow peaks of the Cordillera Blanca, one can visit archaeological sites as Chavín de Huantar and the eastern highlands of Ancash, known as Conchucos.
