Photo Gallery

Sunset on the road from Nazca to Puquio, Abancay and Cusco. These giant candelabra cacti are a common sight on the arid slopes of this region. – 1972

This wayside cross, decorated with flowers and cloths, stands on the scenic main road between Abancay and Cusco in the Peruvian Andes. The crosses often mark sites that were already regarded as sacred places (huacas) or dedicated to the guardian spirits of the mountains (apus) in Inca times. The placement of Christian crosses led to the fusion of Spanish Catholic traditions with Andean animism. The elaborate decoration with bright strips of fabric and floral arrangements is typical of regional festivals such as the widespread ‘Cruz Velacuy’ (Festival of the Veneration of the Cross) in May, during which the crosses are carried down from the hills into the villages, festively decorated and blessed. – Peru – 1969

Vicuñas grazing at 4,200 metres above sea level. Alongside the guanaco, the vicuña is the second and smaller wild species of the genus Lama. Its range is now restricted to the Andean highlands between 4,000 and 5,500 metres in altitude, where it grazes on barely visible low-growing vegetation. In adaptation to this diet, it is the only ungulate to have constantly regrowing lower incisors. Because of its wool, which is considered the finest and most precious in the world, it was almost wiped out during the colonial era. Bolívar had already enacted protective laws for this reason, similar to those that had existed under the Incas, who herded the animals into pens for shearing and then released them again. - Book: Picture 94 - Peru - 1976

A shepherdess with llamas and alpacas on the Altiplano, on the road from Abancay to Puquio. - Book: Picture 96 - Peru - 1976

Photo taken in the Peruvian Altiplano in winter. A herd of llamas near Pampamarca on the road from Abancay to Puquio. Ayacucho Department. - Book: Picture 92 - Peru - 1976

The route between Puquio and Abancay crosses several mountain passes reaching altitudes of over 4,000 metres. In these areas, the weather changes rapidly, so that even outside the winter months, sudden cold snaps and heavy snowfall can blanket the entire Puna vegetation in white. – Peru – 1976

The Apurímac is a water-rich river in southern and central Peru, known for having the most distant source of the Amazon. It rises on the slopes of the snow-capped Mismi at 5,597 m in the department of Arequipa and flows through deep gorges (pictured) until it joins the Mantaro to form the Ene. The name is derived from the Quechua words ‘Apu’ (god or lord) and ‘Rimaq’ (the one who speaks), which, due to the loud roar of its rapids, can be translated as ‘the speaking god’ or ‘the great oracle’. – 1972