One of the most amazing side trips from Sucre takes you to the dramatic Cordillera de los Frailes, revealing wonderful scenery as well as the incredibly rich culture of the indigenous Jalq’a people. Though the ridge of the Andean mountain range can be reached from the city in just over an hour, the villages within it feel worlds away. Nestled at the foot of the mountains, they can be reached via trekking routes, ideally during the dry season from April to October.
The treks start about 35 km outside of Sucre, at an altitude of 3’600 m above sea level in Chataquila. This is the place where Tomás Katari, the leader of an indigenous rebellion against the Spanish rule, was murdered. The sanctuary, an important place of pilgrimage at the 7th of August, consists of a chapel and a shrine dedicated to the miraculous Virgin of Guadalupe. Enjoy typical cordillera mountain vistas hiking the 4,5 km down to Chaunaca on the prehispanic trade road, more commonly known as the Inca Trail. Landscape-wise the alternative route via the two rock painting sites Pumamachay and Incamachay is equally nice. The paintings date back maybe 1’500 years for the first site and about 2’500 for the latter.
The area is the homeland of the Jalq’a people. They are Bolivia’s only indigenous community depicting the underworld in their textiles. Located in a crimson-red landscape, Potolo is the area’s largest village. It is possible to watch the Jalq’a women at work, allowing you to witness the ancient weaving techniques. The black and red weavings, called aqsus, represent the “ukhu pacha”, a dark and chaotic underworld, inhabited by scary, mythical beings called “khurus”. The zoomorphic and geometric patterns were originally used for clothing. The Indigenous Art Revival Program created by ASUR in 1986 started recovering the nearly lost, ancestral weaving techniques with the idea of strengthening the cultural integrity and generating additional income for the indigenous communities.
The crater of Maragua, surrounded by shell-shaped layers of multicoloured rock, provides an incredible setting for the two weaving villages Maragua and Irupampa. A cemetery that exists since prehistoric times can be found in the center of the crater. Hiking through the quiet pastureland behind the ridge, dotted with small farms, you might find yourself handing out coca leaves every now and then, as you make your way to a spot called Niñu Mayu. Here you will come across dinosaur footprints, embedded in a large sloping section of rock, making it easy to step back in time and picture dinosaurs escaping from the crater. The Garganta del Diablo (devil’s throat), a cavern with stalactites and stalagmites situated behind a 40-metre waterfall, is shrouded in legend and only a 15-minute walk from Maragua. The nearby community of Irupampa is also worth a detour in order to drop by the small museum set up and run by Crispín. He is a charismatic local, who has worked along with all the archeological experts who came to the area and is happy to share his passion for archeology, history and culture.
