The Majes Valley has warm people, delicious shrimp and spectacular pisco. In addition, it has sunshine all year round and is an hour’s flight from the capital.
It is said that its name derives from the word “majestic” because that is how the Spanish described it. And it is that this valley seems blessed to be surrounded by a landscape full of calm. As if that were not enough, you will feel in glory when you try the shrimp chupe.
Enjoy canoeing on the Majes River or hiking to the stone formation known as El Castillo. Walk through the dinosaur footprints in Querulpa and the more than five thousand engravings that are in the petroglyphs of Toro Muerto. Majes has it all, just a stone’s throw from the city.
Eloy Linares Málaga, a historian from Arequipa, discovered in 1951 the thousands of volcanic stones engraved in the Toro Muerto ravine. These are from the year 500 a. C. until the year 1300 d. C. approximately. Engravings of the Wari, Collagua and Inca cultures are recognized. It is estimated that the tour of the petroglyphs on foot is an hour and a half. Lately, these have suffered damage caused by bad tourists and the indifference of the INC. It is everyone’s task to take care of our heritage, remember that.
The Majes Valley is located in the province of Castilla and in March it celebrates its harvest festival. Just a few steps from Socabaya is one of the most beautiful country residences in Arequipa, the so-called Mansión del Fundador, where Don Garci Manuel de Carbajal lived, who founded the city on August 15, 1540.
Don’t forget to take a tour of Huarcanqui, a municipality known for its witches, who are actually its women, who receive this name because of the spell caused by their beauty. Due to its warm climate, it is not necessary to wear special clothing. For excursions only good shoes and plenty of water.
Location
The Majes valley belonging to the department of Arequipa, located in the south-west of our country, located between 200 and 800 meters above sea level, located at 178 km. from the city of Arequipa taking the Pan-American Highway towards Lima.
Climate
The climate of the province is very varied being in direct relation with the physiography and the altitude.
In the Majes valley, the desert-subtropical climate predominates, where most of the year there is a total absence of rain, less than 50 mm per year. As for the temperature, it varies between 14ºC and 32ºC.
Vegetation
The vegetation found at the bottom of the Majes Valley, where rice, wheat, potatoes, beans, corn and others are grown; in the riparian mount there is the presence of wild vegetation such as willow, callacas, huacan, chilca, huarangos, among others; In the Majes valley there is not much cultivation of fruit trees, since they prefer to cultivate more rice.
The Majes River
The Majes Valley has a river of the same name that rises in the upper part of the western mountain range of the Peruvian Andes, where it also feeds the Andamayo and Colca rivers with its melting.
Its waters slide, eroding large rugged mountains, forming the canyon and, with the accumulated material, an extensive plain suitable for agriculture. The Majes River is cataloged as the longest river on the Peruvian coast and one of the largest in Peru, after the Santa River (Áncash).
How to get to Majes
The Majes Valley is located at three hours away from Arequipa (178 km), the road is paved and there is mobility 24 hours a day.
From Lima, by land, it takes around 18 hours to reach the province of Castilla. By air, you first travel to Arequipa (1 hour) and then continue by road.