Sacred Mountains of the Andes

by Antonella Damiani (Brazil)

Making a local connection Peru

We placed the coca leaves on the ground, close to the lake, and on the leaves we put a pile of stones - one over the other, trying to balance them all and hoping it would honour and show our respect and gratitude to Pachamama and Humantay. ‘Pachamama’, I repeated to myself, the earth mother revered by the indigenous people of the Andes. I have heard that name before. I had been traveling for more than 15 days across Peru. But, it was only when I reached Humantay Lake that I shivered at the warmth and peace. I could feel the gratitude feeling overflowing. I was looking at the lake and lost my train in thoughts, remembering the beginning of the day. Like many other places, you could see beautiful mountains and breathe clean air amongst the nature. The driving route our tour guides took was similar in look to others I had already visited during that trip. But still, I should had known, when I read the painting on the wall, that this would not be something ordinary for me, although I never thought my experience could be so bonding. “The APUs, Sacred Mountains of the andes are like angels. Once you get close, they will not stop protecting you”. This sentence marked the beginning of one of the many trekkings I have decided to do in Peru. It was painted on a wall of a local restaurant where our van, full of tourists, stopped so we would have breakfast. I wondered if all the local places would show the APUs from that perspective. APUs are, as I’ve been told, Mountain Spirits. The highest they are, the closest you can get to Hanan Pacha, the “above world”, where the most powerful Gods live. You could feel the energy everywhere, they have been present for too long and their power and meaning had not been forgotten - the Condor flying towards the sun, the offerings, the symbols, the culture, it was all there. And the lake, that lake, the one that I was staring. I have that experience in my mind. It is still vivid. I sometimes mentally revisit it when I am in need of peace instead of chaos. A place of tranquility and balance: the turquoise water, the view of the mountains covered in snow on the background, the green grass, the stones we could use as seats to stop and admire. Wherever I am, mythology or not, I know: APU Humantay accompanies me now.