Which contains the description and appearance of the kingdom of Peru from the city of Quito to the town of La Plata, a distance of more than seven hundred leagues.

NOW that I have finished what there is to be told respecting the province of Popayan, it appears to me that it is time to use my pen in giving an account of the notable things that are to be said of Peru, commencing from the city of Quito. But, before describing that city, it will be convenient to give a sketch of the whole country, which is seven hundred leagues long and one hundred in breadth, rather more in some parts and less in others.

I do not at present desire to treat of the whole empire over which the Kings Yncas ruled, which was more than one thousand two hundred leagues long, but I shall confine myself to that part which is understood under the name of Peru, from Quito to La Plata.

In this land of Peru there are three desert ranges where men can in no wise exist. One of these comprises the montaÑa (forests) of the Andes, full of dense wildernesses, where men cannot, nor ever have lived. The second is the mountainous region, extending the whole length of the Cordillera of the Andes, which is intensely cold, and its summits are covered with eternal snow, so that, in no way, can people live in this region, owing to the snow and the cold, and also because there are no provisions, all things being destroyed by the snow and by the wind, which never ceases to blow. The third range comprises the sandy deserts from Tumbez to the other side of Tarapaca, in which there is nothing to be seen but sand-hills and the fierce sun which dries them up, without water, nor herb, nor tree, nor created thing, except birds, which, by the gift of their wings, wander wherever they list. This kingdom, being so vast, has great deserts, for the reasons I have now given.

The inhabited region is after this fashion. In parts of the mountains of the Andes there are ravines and dales, which open out into deep valleys of such width as often to form great plains between the mountains, and, although the snow falls, it all remains on the higher part. As these valleys are closed in, they are not molested by the winds, nor does the snow reach them, and the land is so fruitful that all things which are sown yield abundantly, and there are trees and many birds and animals. The land being so fertile, is well peopled by the natives. They make their villages with rows of stones roofed with straw, and live healthily and in comfort. Thus the mountains of the Andes form these dales and ravines, in which there are populous villages, and rivers of excellent water flow near them. Some of these rivers send their waters to the South Sea, entering by the sandy deserts which I have mentioned, and the humidity of their water gives rise to very beautiful valleys with great rows of trees. The valleys are two or three leagues broad, and great quantities of algoroba[260] trees grow in them, which flourish even at great distances from any water. Wherever there are groves of trees the land is free from sand, and very fertile and abundant. In ancient times these valleys were very populous, and still there are Indians in them, though not so many as in former days. As it never rains in these sandy deserts and valleys of Peru, they do not roof their houses as they do in the mountains, but build large houses of adobes,[261] with pleasant terraced roofs of matting to shade them from the sun, nor do the Spaniards use any other roofing than these reed mats. To prepare their fields for sowing, they lead channels from the rivers to irrigate the valleys, and the channels are so well made, and with so much regularity, that all the land is irrigated without any waste. This system of irrigation makes the valleys very green and cheerful, and they are full of the fruit trees both of Spain and of this country. At all times they raise good harvests of maize and wheat, and of everything that they sow. Thus, although I have described Peru as being formed of three desert ridges, yet from them, by the will of God, descend these valleys and rivers, without which no man could live. This is the cause why the natives were so easily conquered; for, if they rebelled, they would all perish of cold and hunger. Except the land which they inhabit, the whole country is full of snowy mountains of enormous height, and very terrible.

This kingdom, as I have already said, is seven thousand leagues long from north to south, but if we include all the country that the Kings Yncas had under their dominion, its length would be one thousand two hundred leagues of road from north to south on a meridian. Its greatest breadth, from east to west, will be little less than one hundred leagues, and in other places from forty to sixty, more or less. What I say of the length and breadth is to be understood as applied to the mountains also, which extend over the whole of this land of Peru. And this mighty chain, which is called the Andes, is forty leagues from the South Sea in some parts, in others sixty; in some more, and in others less. Being so very high, and the greatest heights being towards the South Sea, the rivers which flow from them on that side are small because their courses are short.

The other chain of mountains, which also extends along the whole length of this country, prolongs its spurs into the plains, and ends close to the sea in some places, and at others eight or ten leagues from it, more or less. The climate of these plains is more hot than cold, and in some seasons more so than in others, and the plains are so low, that the sea is almost as high as the land. The season of greatest heat is when the sun has passed by and reached the tropic of capricorn, which is on the 11th of December, and then it turns again towards the equinoctial line. In the mountains, although there are provinces with a warm climate, yet the contrary may be said of them, that there is more cold weather than hot. So much I have said concerning these provinces, and further on I shall add what more there is to be observed concerning them.