Climbing Quebrada verde

On Friday an hour-long bus ride delivered us from the concrete and noise of Lima to the small, rural village of Quebrada Verde in the coastal mountains in the district of Pachacamac. During the humid winter months, the “verde” in the village’s name makes sense. But now, in the dry, warm summer, one has to look carefully to find any green. Nonetheless, our group enjoyed a day of hiking in this unique coastal ecosystem, and particularly enjoyed the bird’s-eye view of the natural terrain just south of the city.

Our guide Alfredo told us about the local wildlife (including hawks and snails) and talked about the history of the area, pointing out rock formations, petroglyphs that date back two millennia, and an abandoned mine shaft.

The day of our visit happened to be a special one for the village: They were inaugurating a new interpretive center, and more than 100 people attended a party to mark the event. The two non-hikers in our group enjoyed a variety of traditional dances performed by local young people, as well as some quality time in the interpretive center. After the hikers returned the entire group had the privilege of signing the first page of the new guestbook with our names and hometowns.