In which the road is described from Xauxa to the city of Guamanga, and what there is worthy of note on this road.

I FIND that the distance from this valley of Xauxa to the city of the victory of Guamanga is thirty leagues. Going by the royal road, the traveller journeys on until certain very ancient edifices, now in ruins, are reached, which are on the summit of the heights above the valley. Further on is the village of Acos, near a morass full of great rushes. Here, also, there were edifices and store-houses of the Yncas, as in all the other towns of this kingdom. The natives of Acos live away from the royal road, in some very rugged mountains to the eastward. I have nothing more to say of them, except that they go dressed in woollen clothes, and that their houses are of stone thatched with straw. The road goes from Acos to the buildings at Pico, then over a hill, the descent from which is rugged and would seem difficult, yet the road continues to be so broad and smooth, that it almost seems to be passing over level ground. Thus it descends to the river which passes by Xauxa, where there is a bridge, and the pass is called Angoyaco. Near this bridge there is a certain white ravine, whence comes a spring of wholesome water. In this pass of Angoyaco there was an edifice of the Yncas, where there was a bath of water that was naturally warm and convenient for bathing, on account of which all the Lords Yncas valued it. Even the Indians of these parts used to wash and bathe in it every day, both men and women. In the part where the river flows the valley is small, and there are many molle[420] and other trees. Further on is the valley of Picoy, but first another small river is crossed, where there is also a bridge, for in winter time this river washes down with much fury.

From Picoy the road leads to the buildings of Parcos, erected on the top of a hill. The Indians have their abodes in very lofty and rugged mountains on either side of these buildings. Before reaching Parcos there is a place called Pucara (which in our language means a strong thing[421]) in a small wilderness, where, in ancient times, as the Indians declare, there was a palace of the Yncas and a temple of the sun. Many provinces sent their usual tribute to this Pucara, and delivered it to the overseer who had charge of the stores, and whose duty it was to collect the tribute. In this place there is such a quantity of dressed stones that, from a distance, it truly appears like some city or towered castle, from which it may be judged that the Indians gave it an appropriate name. Among the rocks there is one, near a small river, which is so large that its size is wonderful to behold. I saw it, and slept one night under it, and it appeared to me that it had a height of two hundred cubits, and a circuit of more than two hundred paces. If it was on any dangerous frontier, it might easily be turned into an impregnable fortress. This great rock has another notable thing connected with it, which is that there are so many caves in it that more than a hundred men and some horses might get into them. In this, as in other things, our God shows his mighty power. All these roads are full of caves, where men and animals can take shelter from the wet and snow. The natives of this district have their villages on lofty mountains, as I have already said. Their summits are covered with snow during most parts of the year. The Indians sow their crops in sheltered spots, like valleys, between the mountains. In many parts of these mountains there are great veins of silver. The road descends a mountain from Parcos, till it reaches a river bearing the same name, where there is a bridge built over great blocks of stone. This mountain of Parcos is the place where the battle took place between the Indians and the captain Morgovejo de QuiÑones, and where Gonzalo Pizarro ordered the captain Gaspar Rodriguez de Campo-redondo[422] to be killed, as I shall relate in another part of my work. Beyond this river of Parcos is the station of Asangaro, now the repartimiento of Diego Gavilan,[423] whence the royal road passes on till it reaches the city of San Juan de la Victoria de Guamanga.