As the railway follows the valley of the Rimac toward its source, the river gorge becomes ever narrower, the enclosing mountains higher, and the scenery more wildly grand and rugged. The railway train follows the tortuous line of the gorge, zigzagging along the precipice, visible only for a few seconds from any point along the route. After leaving Matucana, the course is taken through the very heart of the sierra, the train crossing first the bridge of the Negra quebrada, then the great links of Tambo de Viso and Champichaca in quick succession, these wonderful structures spanning the chasm at short intervals of three or four miles. From the car window, the passenger looks down into the depths below and up to the towering peaks, and feels much as if travelling in mid-air. At Tamboraque, which is situated nearly ten thousand feet above the sea, the scene changes, and the region of the higher sierra comes into view, with its mining towns and snow mountains. San Mateo quebrada, in the depths of which lies the picturesque town of the same name, is hardly passed before the train crosses, a mile away, one of the most remarkable bridges of the whole line, the Infernillo. It stretches across a narrow ravine between two walls of rocks, both of which are tunnelled so as to provide a passage for the railway. As the train flashes out on the bridge from invisible depths on one side and disappears as mysteriously on the other, the effect is singularly weird. From this point to Galera tunnel the ascent is very steep and winding, the train climbing five thousand feet in twenty-five miles, crossing several bridges and passing through a number of tunnels.
All along the Oroya Route, from San Mateo to its terminus in the sierra, are scattered mining towns of growing importance. Rio Blanco, five miles from San Mateo, has important smelting works, and Chicla, four miles away, a thousand feet higher up the Cordillera, lies in the heart of a rich mineral district. It occupies a picturesque location, especially as seen from the car window after the train has made the immense loop necessary to carry it across the valley and up the opposite slope on its way to Casapalca and Ticlio. From this eminence a magnificent view of the valley appears, with Chicla nestling below and snow-clad mountains looming in the distance.
Casapalca is a typical mining town of the sierra, with its smelters spread over the bare, brown hillside, its great chimneys and its smoke. It is situated at an altitude of thirteen thousand feet, and has a cold climate all the year round, invigorating and healthful. From Casapalca to Ticlio the distance is about ten miles, and the region of perpetual snow appears as the train pulls up the last few leagues toward the Galera tunnel. The summit of Mount Meiggs, which is seventeen thousand five hundred and seventy-five feet high, is nearly always wrapped in snow, though the tunnel entrance is below the perpetual snow line.
Of the sixty tunnels along the Oroya Route, that of Galera is the longest, measuring nearly four thousand feet in length. It is in the middle of this tunnel that the highest point along the line is reached. From this tunnel eastward, the train descends toward Oroya, passing through the mining town of Yauli and skirting the bank of the inter-Andean River Mantaro, a branch of the Perene, which, later, joins the Ucayali on its way to the main waters of the Amazon. When the train stops at Oroya, sunset is already approaching, and the colors of the retiring monarch of day are to be seen reflected on the surrounding peaks and glowing in the western sky. From the window of the little hotel where lodging is found for the night, one looks on a humble though interesting scene of pastoral simplicity. Llamas graze wherever the coarse puna grass is found, and an occasional vicuña may be seen. The altitude of Oroya is little more than twelve thousand feet, and a greater descent is made from Oroya to Jauja and Huancayo, the latter being only about ten thousand feet above sea level. From Oroya to Cerro de Pasco, the railway makes an ascent of nearly two thousand feet.
GALERA TUNNEL, HIGHEST POINT ON THE OROYA RAILWAY, NEARLY SEVENTEEN THOUSAND FEET ABOVE THE SEA.
STONE ROADWAY ACROSS THE HUALLAGA RIVER, IN HUÁNUCO.
CHAPTER XXVIII
A TRIP OVER THE SOUTHERN ROUTE—NEW RAILWAYS AND PUBLIC ROADS
