From Jaén
To Abancay
Trip Tuesday 16 April

Jaén to Abancay

04/16/2024


Information about the city Jaén

Jaén is a city which is the capital of the Jaén Province in the Cajamarca Region in Peru, located in the high jungle of northern Peru. It is the seat of the Catholic Apostolic Vicariate of St. Francis Xavier, also known as Apostolic Vicariate of Jaén en Peru.

Jaen has a warm climate, all year round. It is one of the warmest cities in Peru, but does have frequent and refreshing showers. Jaén is also known as Land of the Brave Bracamoros. We can see evidence of their culture in Hermogenes Mejía Solf museum located in the same city.

Jaen has a great deal of potential as a tourism destination, owing to the large number of natural and archaeological attractions accessible from the city. However, it has not traditionally been a popular visitor destination, mainly on account of its distance from large population centres, being a five-hour drive from Chiclayo, the erstwhile nearest airport, and 18 hours by bus from Lima.

Those people that have stayed overnight have overwhelmingly been nationals, with only 2% being overseas visitors.


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.

Vídeo de Jaén

Vídeo de Abancay