Andagua, the valley of volcanoes

12/12/20 – Arequipa, Peru

Andagua is located at a distance of 8 hours by bus from the city of AQP in a very remote location at an altitude of 4020 M.A.S.L with a population of less than 300 people. Last year, I travelled here to capture the Gemini Meteor shower in a solo trip to explore unknown lands. What I received as a result was a rarely seen place, which holds many secrets and ancient ruins that didn’t appear in any map or registry. I made a close friend named Pablo with whom I climbed a cliff that according to him was prohibited to the people of Andagua. In the way up we discovered a complex of ruins that was unknown to my local friend. We took some pictures and as soon as the night fell, we received a call saying that the local villagers were gathering a search party to come look for us to ask why we were with lights at such an hour of the night in this location. We descended and I feared the possibility of being beaten up and kicked out, but luckily for us nothing happened.