The road, by which we had descended the valley of Chanchamayo, turned at this place sharp to the right, and faced the mountains that divide this valley from that of the Rio Seco. We were near the junction of the two valleys, but a rock had fallen from the hills above and blocked up the road on which we were travelling, so that we had to cross the mountain on our right and get into the other valley. The ascent was steep, and trying to man and beast. It is called the "Cuesta de Tangachuca," or "Hill of take care of your hat," and is about three miles in length. The road, after passing through a thick forest, brought us out upon a bald eminence, the termination of the spur of the Andes that divides the two valleys. The rivers Seco and Chanchamayo unite at its base and flow off through a valley, rapidly widening out, covered with forests, and presenting an appearance entirely distinct from the rocky and stern sterility that characterizes the country above. This is the "Montaña" of which I had thought so much. I was wofully disappointed in its appearance. I had taken the impression that I should behold a boundless plain, alternating with forest and prairie, covered with waving grass, and with a broad and gentle river winding its serpentine course through it, between banks rich with the palm and plantain. In place of this, the view from the mountain top showed a country broken still into mountain and valley, (though on a much smaller scale than above,) shaggy with trees and undergrowth of every description, and watered by a small stream, still foaming and roaring over its rocky bed.
We descended the hill by a very circuitous and precipitous path, most of us on foot, though it may be ridden over, for Mr. Gibbon did ride over the worst parts of it, and only dismounted where a fallen tree made an obstruction that he could not pass. The descent brought us to the rocky bed of the Rio Seco, crossing which we were clear of the eastern chain of the Andes and in the Montaña of Chanchamayo.
As far as the traveller is concerned there are not, on the route we have travelled, two ranges of the Andes—that is, he has not to ascend and descend one range, and then ascend and descend another. From the time he crosses the Cordillera at Antarangra, his progress is downward till he reaches the plain. Really there are two. The streams from the first, or western range, have broken their way through the second, making deep gorges, at the bottom of which the road generally runs, and leaves the peaks of the second range thousands of feet above the head of the traveller.
A league from the crossing of the Rio Seco, we passed a bad and broken bridge, that spans a small stream called "Punta Yacu," coming down a valley from the southward, and halted at the hacienda of Don Jose Manuel Cardenas, the first of the Montaña, where we camped for the night.
June 19.—Six miles of travel brought us to the fort of San Ramon. The road is a black mud bridle-path through the woods, much obstructed with the roots and branches of trees, but level. Comparatively few rocks are seen after leaving Cardenas. We were kindly received by the commandant, Don Juan Noel, a fine-looking young man, Captain of Frigate and Lieutenant Colonel in the Army, and his officers, Major Umeres and Lieutenant ——.
Fort San Ramon is, by Mer. alt. of "γ Crusis," in latitude 11°.07 S. Its height above the level of the sea, as given by barometer, is two thousand six hundred and ten feet.
From the first of March to the last of August the climate is delightful; but the heavy and almost continuous rains of the other six months of the year make it disagreeable, but not unhealthy.
As we are now near the foot of the mountains, on the eastern slope, I give a table of the distances and elevations of various points on the route. The B. P. opposite some of the elevations show that these were indicated by the temperature of boiling water:
| Places. | Distances. | Height above the level of the sea. |
|---|---|---|
| Miles. | Feet. | |
| Callao | . . . | . . . |
| Lima | 6 | 476 |
| Pacayar | 12 | 1,346 |
| Yanacoto | 10 | 2,337 |
| Cocachacra | 16 | 4,452 |
| Moyoc | 15 | 7,302 |
| San Mateo | 13 | 10,200 |
| Acchahuarcu | 9 | 12,898 B. P. |
| Pass of Antarangra | 6 | 16,044 |
| Pass of Antarangra | 6 | 16,199 B. P. |
| Pachachaca | 13 | 12,786 B. P. |
| Oroya | 12 | 11,654 |
| Oroya | 12 | 11,825 B. P. |
| Tarma | 18 | 9,738 |
| Palca | 11 | 8,512 |
| Matichacra | 12 | 7,091 |
| Huacapishtana | 4 | 5,687 |
| Challuapuquio | 12 | 3,192 |
| Fort San Ramon | 6 | 2,605 |
| Fort San Ramon | . . . | 2,953 |
The barometer gave the height of a point, four miles above Tarma, at eleven thousand two hundred and seventy feet. So that there is a descent in these four miles of distance of one thousand five hundred and thirty-five feet. The ascent, however, between Acchahuarcu and the top of the hill on which we observed, at the Pass of Antarangra, is steeper than this, being three thousand three hundred and fifty-eight feet in six miles.