Amazonas
Amazonas
General Information:
Location: North of the country.
Area: 39 249 km2.
Capital: Chachapoyas (2334 msnm).
Altitude:
Minimum: 230 masl (Santa María de Nieva).
Maximum: 3952 masl (Chuquimbamba).
The department of Amazonas, named after the Amazon River, provides an extraordinary view of endless leafy forest for those flying over the region. Here and there one can spot villages and towns, even large cities built with great effort in the middle of the jungle. One of these cities is Chachapoyas, capital of the department of Amazonas.
History
The archaeological centers lost in the rainforest emerge as a testimony of presence of humans in the area since remote times. Most of the Pre-Hispanic cultures that became prosperous in the area are still a mystery due to the lack of research. The Kuélap's Fortress is the most representative monument of this age. It is a huge construction of military architecture which shows the high level of civilization achieved by the people of this region. The Chachapoyas culture developed during the Inca age and represented a strong opposition to the conquest by repealing the first Inca attempts to incorporate region to their empire.
The region's capital, Chachapoyas, was founded in 1538 by Alonso de Alvarado. During the same year, its first church was built and later, the Santa Ana, San Lázaro and Señor de Burgos churches were built. In April 1821, the city's inhabitants expelled the Spaniards and ignored their authority, following the steps taken by the San Martín liberating army.
The area of the Amazonas Region was strongly linked to the independence thoughts and actions. The cleric Toribio Rodríguez de Mendoza was its most outstanding representative, encouraging the patriots of this era and signing the National Act of Independence. The Cordillera del Condor, located in this region, was the scenery of the war between Peru and Ecuador in 1981.
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Tours in Amazonas
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