The Pacific slopes of the Peruvian Andes are crossed by countless rivers, one of which is the Lercanlech, which in the Mochica language means "main valley". This river, known in Spanish as "La Leche", forms the legendary valley which is home to the Quechua community of Incawasi, the wildlife sanctuary of Laquipampa and the pyramids of the Sicán culture, which are intimately related to the sea and the island of Lobos de Tierra. Join us on a magical journey through the ancient and fascinating territory of the Mochica.

Text: Fernando Angulo Pratolongo
Photos: Walter Hupiu

The mountains of Incawasi fill with colour for the fiesta of Taqui and hundreds of local inhabitants from the many villages of the region gather to celebrate, with each inhabitant demonstrating their origins through the colours of their poncho. This dance and acting spectacular, with dramatised scenes from legends, is performed entirely in Quechua, the language which the inhabitants of Incawasi hold onto stubbornly. 

In the upper reaches of Incawasi stand the high mountains where the headwaters of the Lercanlech emerge, with lakes at over 3800 metres dotted with remnants of forest, where the pure waters that give life to those below is collected. The forests of these highlands are still unexplored territory, with much remaining to be discovered. 

The herpetologist Pablo Venegas, from "Asociación Cracidae Perú", who during the Laquipampa 2006 expedition discovered a new species of frog of the Eleutherodactylus genus, which is soon to be baptised laquipampensis (in honour of the place it was discovered), says that "It is thought that in the forests of the upper reaches of the Lercanlech valley there remain several species of amphibians yet to be discovered". 

On the other side of the peaks, looking east, is Kañaris, a town whose inhabitants wear bright clothes and speak Quechua. Following the valley, the Lercanlech flows down into vast forests, leaving behind the areas of low vegetation and cold grasslands and arriving in a distinct territory where the customs, scenery, fauna, crops and costumes all change...

Plains and guans
The river crosses the hills to arrive at a place where each plain, or "pampa", has its own name: Ullurpampa, Riopampa, Lanchipampa, Cochapampa, Shangapampa, Tallapampa, Atumpampa, Tolospampa, Chacuapampa, Oxapampa and Laquipampa. It is this last-named which is a particularly unique section of the river's course. At Laquipampa (or "plain of sorrow", in Quechua) life is peaceful. In the succession of forests, from high montane forest to dry forests, the explosion of birdlife is impressive. The skies and the tree branches are crowded with more than 160 species, including the rare white-winged guan (the symbol of the region), which is very difficult to spot. In the humid forests, at more than 1400 metres above sea level, white-winged guans are replaced by Andean guans. The region is also home to the spectacled bear, which roams the forests teaching its cubs how to strip the leaves from the "achupalla" (Vrisea espinosae) and eat its tasty heart. 

Sicán and the birds
Following the course of the river, we began to enter an oasis of green, where the carob trees rule the landscape, surrounded by lesser species such as "sapotes" and "faiques". This is the natural and historical sanctuary of Pómac, where one can sense how harmoniously interlinked are history - represented by the pyramids of Sicán - and nature, with its forests filled with birds like the Peruvian plantcutter, the rufous flycatcher and the buff-necked ibis. 

When it rains the Lercanlech, giver of life, flows from east to west filling the forests of the vast plains of Lambayeque with greenness. The solemn pyramids watch the river in its passing and thank it for changing the face of the landscape as it has done for centuries. It was in these lands that the ancient Sicán culture flourished, rich in gold and with a special relationship with the local fauna, particularly birds, which are represented perfectly in its pottery, masks, sacrificial knives and painted temple walls in homage to the mythical founder of the first dynasty of Lambayeque kinas, Naymlap. 

From here the sacred hill of Chaparrí can be seen, just as it was when it was venerated by the shamans of the Mochica civilization, as well as the plain of the same name, which was one of the greatest expanses of agricultural land in the New World under the Sicán, with more than ten thousand hectares of crops, canals, dams, temples and villages, all of which has now been declared by the province of Ferreñafe a Protected Natural and Cultural Area. 

Through the land of the iguanas
After bathing the plains in its waters, the Lercanlech makes its way through the desert, where we came across an area of sand dunes dotted with carob trees and "sapotes", close to Murrup ("iguana" in Mochica), known today as Mórrope. There, on small plots of land, native Peruvian cotton is still grown in a gamut of beautiful colours ranging from fine red to brown, pink, cream or simple white. 

It is in this desert that the Lercanlech leaves its waters, for the river does not reach the sea. During the intense rains that fall during the El Niño phenomenon, the Lercanlech joins the rivers Motupe, Salas, Olmos and Cascajal and the Virrilá estuary and the lakes of Ramón and Ñapique Virrilá to form the lake known as La Niña. 

Coves and sea
The journey from the cold peaks of the La Leche valley took us as far as the ocean, specifically to the cove of San José and the islands of Lobos de Tierra and Lobos de Afuera. In San José, ancient fishing communities still ready their vessels to go out and gather the fruits of the ocean along the same route by which the god Naymlap arrived. In the faces of the inhabitants of this cove one can still see the features of their Mochica ancestors. The long stretch of beach to the north of the cove faces those two islands rich in marine fauna and ends at Illescas hill, making it the longest beach in all Peru. Lobos de Tierra was important in the burial ceremonies of the Sicán or Lambayeque elite, for their tombs and pyramidal temples face the island exactly. And it is from these waters that a wise and charismatic man arrived who when he died was hailed as the immortal god Naymlap ("bird of the water") and became central to Lambayeque culture. 

The waters which surround these islands are filled with generous banks of shellfish, including Peruvian scallops, squid and dusky grouper, while on the islands themselves there is an important colony of Nazca boobies which was recently discovered by the researchers Marcelo Stucchi and Judith Figueroa.

Chain of attractions 
The Lercanlech valley is a new and interesting tourist destination in the department of Lambayeque, offering a variety of attractions both cultural and natural in character which are only just beginning to be promoted. Armandina Cayotopa Martínez, Director of Tourism and Handcrafts for the regional government of Lambayeque, describes the possibilities as follows: "With regard to the sacred route of the Lercanlech, it could certainly have a long term future as a travel destination, but work will have to be done first to ensure its sustainability, including the establishment of an adequate infrastructure". 

Within the context of the Lercanlech corridor it is important to ensure the conservation of its natural spaces, for if we are to promote its tourist attractions we musts first guarantee the area's protection in the long term. The Pómac Forest and the Laquipampa Wildlife Refuge fulfil that function. Dante Alemán, the head of protected areas for INRENA, says: "The proposal for this circuit, provisionally called the Sacred Valley of Lercanlech, the Route of the Sun, aims to include a great range of options for the visitor, from nature to living cultures, archaeology and cuisine". On this route lie two state-protected areas, as well as other areas of interest such as the forests of Incawasi and Kañaris, places in which the provincial authorities of Ferreñafe are showing growing interest in converting into Municipal Protected Areas to complement the system of state-protected areas. The project has already begun and a local ordinance has been drawn up that declares "of local interest" the implementation of a natural and cultural protected area covering 37,500 hectares in the district of Kañaris, the province of Ferreñafe, in Lambayeque.

Also, a new law was published recently: The Law for the Protection, Conservation and Repopulating of the Islands, Islets and Guano Points of Peru declares both Lobos de Afuera and Lobos de Tierra as being "in the national interest". 

Part of the value of this route as a tourist attraction lies in its archaeological and historical importance. It is to be hoped that the recent excavation work at the Huaca El Loro will reveal important new findings. Also, the restoration at the Huaca Las Ventanas, under an agreement between INRENA, the INC, COPESCO, MINCETUR and the local government of Ferreñafe, will help us to a greater understanding of what the pyramids of Sicán were actually built for, so that they will no longer be seen as simply enormous hills of mud bricks. Carlos Elera, the Director of the National Museum of Sicán believes that: "This is a cultural and biological corridor with enormous potential for strengthening local identity and highlighting its authenticity, and it could contribute to the improvement of quality of life and generate development in the local communities of Mochica and Quechua origin, under the framework of sustainable rural tourism". The Sicán Museum, in Ferreñafe, houses a rich collection from our past and is an essential excursion for all visitors to the Lercanlech valley, with what is the largest collection of gold objects on the entire continent, many of which represent Ñaymlap, birds and the sea. 

Naymlap's flight
The Lercanlech valley route links the sea with the desert, carob forests and the grasslands and lakes of the high Andes. It links history with living cultures and nature, education with research and recreation. It will be necessary to add to the circuit the high montane forests to the east, and for that to become a reality a road will be needed enabling direct access from Chiclayo to the community of Kañaris, for the existing road only goes as far as Incawasi. According to Dante Alemán, the absence of a road is limiting the development and implementation of the proposal. The relevant institutions and organisms must therefore evaluate the viability of such a project and, if necessary, complete the missing section of road in such a way that any negative impact on the area is avoided. 

If you would like to visit the sacred route of the Lercanlech and follow the magical flight of Naymlap, then all you need to do is grab your backpack and start walking. The proverbial warmth of the inhabitants of Lambayeque will see to the rest. 

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