Hike to Yanamarca

The priesthood leaders of the Vista Alegre branch of the Tarma District invited Scott to go on a hike with them to the ruins of Yanamarca and, while at this "Lamanite" location, give a talk on the promises to and blessings of the Lamanites.

The hike began at an altitude of 9550 feet above sea level in the small pueblo of Tupín, a 10-minute taxi ride from Tarma. The group included (front left to right) Jaime Calderón (1st counselor in the district presidency), Miguel Espinoza (district counselor), (back left to right) Jesús Zabala (district counselor), and Carlos Florián (who attends Scott's Institute classes):


On the way, they met a woman with her burro:


... a boy with his lamb:


... a man threshing his barley by hand:


... and a couple separating beans from chaff:


They saw lots of cattle, sheep and burros, even at altitudes above 12,000 feet:


They passed three ancient wells, which were fed by a spring coming out of the mountain (Jaime Calderón is in the background):


The Peruvian mountains are full of prickly plants:


... and beautiful prickly flowers:


At 13,500 feet above sea level, after hiking over four hours with a vertical elevation change of 3550 feet, they arrived at the top of the mountain Pumampi where the pre-Inca ruins of Yanamarca (Quecha for "black town") are located. The ancient town contains the ruins of two dozen homes and another two dozen buildings that appear to be harvest storage units:


Here's the back of one of the two-story houses:


The doors to the houses barely fit Scott's body:


Some of the houses have only one or two walls left:


This was the most attractive, well built home in the complex:


Here Scott poses (with Miguel Espinoza) in front of one of the homes. Many of them have a stone roof, and over the years dirt has blown onto the roof, and now grass is growing there:


The village is located on the very edge of a 3,500-foot cliff:


Down in the valley, below the cliff, is the agricultural valley of Palcamayo. They hiked down from Yanamarca to the road you see 3500 feet below:


You can see how close this structure was built to the cliff:


This building appears to be a storage unit for the harvest:


This wall was once part of a three-home complex (the residents must have been small people, because Scott's head reaches the second floor):


Scott and his friends hiked up the not-so-steep south side of Pumampi, but they hiked down the dizzying cliff side:


While in Yanamarca, the group held a devotional and Scott was the "featured speaker." He quoted scriptural promises of the descendents of the Lamanites and said, "These prophecies are being fulfilled even as we speak, here in Tarma." He pointed out that (a) we all have unfaithful, as well as faithful, ancestors; (b) the Lamanites were more righteous than the Nephites when the Savior came to the Americas; and (c) some day we might be able to read the complete record of the Lamanites, from their point of view. The descendents of the Lamanites should cherish their heritage, as part of the House of Israel and as the covenant people of the Lord.