Refugio de Santiago a Refugio de Santiago - b
Refugio de Santiago - c

Information of the
Cañete river basin
In the western central andes the Cañete river is the longest (220 km.) and most important. It is born in the sacred mountain of the Pariacaca, 5754 meters, and enters the Pacific Ocean 140 km to the south of Lima; it contains domesticated centers of important plants of Peru, in fact the different ecological floors have allowed to develop throughout 12,000 years a unique biodiversity in the world.
Interesting Things
  • Cerro Azul: Old seaport through several historical periods, actually is possible to enjoy a rich marine gastronomy and to practice rafting and surfing.
  • Lunahuana Valley: Guaranteed sunshine all the year, a truely singular paradise located two hours from Lima, this is a narrow valley in the central section of the Cañete river. It is 40km in length boxed by barren mountains, and in the clean river water you can find among other wild creatures, shrimps, crabs, and pejerreyes of fresh water.
  • Rafting and adventure sports: The valley of Lunahuana is ideal for the lovers of adventure sports like rafting, rural cycling, parapente, in addition to excursions by Wari ways (before inca culture)
  • Fruit trees Biodiversity: Refugio de Santiago has an organic orchard of 10,000 square meters which has more than 50 species of fruit trees, like lúcuma or the guanábana, domesticated for 10,000 years. Also there is a medicinal orchard with well-known aromatic herbs, forgotten, native, as medicinal plants.
  • Gastronomy: There are specialized restaurants in gastronomical tourism in the Lunahuana valley, with regional products as pallares (Lima bean), ancestral capuchinas (kind of capers), vegetables, exotic shrimps, fruit trees, etc.
  • Laraos: An enigmatic town 4 hours from Lunahuana, old plants domesticate center, can be appreciated a platform system with level of 2,000 meters a true ancestral work of wise agricultural engineering, by the water pick up and the transformation of mountains in agriculture areas.
  • Huancaya: An Ensuños town, called the country of waters because it is surrounded by hundreds of small cataracts. This is 5 hours from Lunahuana.
  • Sacred mountain Pariacaca: Mythical bicephalous mountain where 5 important rivers of peruvian central andes are born, old pre Christian God, contains evidence of mysterious caves of old lodges hidden under the snow.