Tarma: Place of flowers

Hello everyone!

I hope that you are all very well. Today I would like to talk to you about a trip that I made on August Bank Holiday of 2014. We have this Bank Holiday in Peru for Santa Rosa de Lima, the first Patron Saint of America. I decided to go on this trip with two of my University friends so that we could escape Lima, my friend Bianca and Cintia.

In the beginning, we didn't know where to go but finally we decided to go to Tarma. Tarma is one of the most beautiful cities that I have been able to visit in Peru, it is tranquil, small and perfect for a relaxing on long Bank Holiday. How great!

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How to get to Tarma:

Tarma has always been a place that has caught my eye, due to the fact that it is said that the best flowery countryside in Peru is found here. As I am a lover of flowers, plants and trees myself, I knew that I would have to come here one day. Dear friends, Tarma is located in the department of Junín, approximately 230 kilometres away from Lima. The only way to be able to get here is by the motorway, as there is not an airport. However, there is an airport close to the city in the town of Jauja, but in this case the distance between the two places is about 50 kilometres and so we are talking about 1 hour on the bus.

I went without my camera!

At the time, I didn't bring my camera because I wanted to totally disconnect from modern life and the photos that I'm going to show you are part of the ones that I sent to my friends after the trip. So now I will share them with you. I usually bring my camera to take photos with but I wanted to see as I went and save the best moments in my mind on this trip.

On the outskirts of Tarma we found a white sculpture of Christ, located on the highest part of a mountainous hill, typical of the area found on the edges of this relaxing city with a warm and comfortable climate:

Tarma can be found in the magical area of Junín and it is known in Peru for being one of the cities in Peru with its own peculiar style of celebrating festivals. They place flower petals on the trail and that is why Tarma is known for being a land with lots of flowers, like the "alelís".

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To get to Tarma we had to get a provinical bus via the central motorway, passing by towns and localities like Chaclacayo and Chosica, among others. They seemed picturesque and perfect to escape to on a weekend away, thanks to their great climate. In approximately 6 hours we were arriving at beautiful Tarma that was once labelled as "the pearl of the Andes" by investigator Antonio Raymondi, due to its gorgeous landscape and lands that look like a day dream.

As it was a Bank Holiday, we encountered loads of traffic on the motorway. This did not dissuade us though, it had been a long time since I went on a trip and it was very relaxing after having been working like crazy in a hotel in Lima. Tarma was perfect to unwind me from the city. To see its mountains, to discover its archaeological sites within it... it was an unforgettable trip.

We only spent two days and a night there, as we had to return to Lima to continue working. When we arrived in Tarma we were looking for accommodation close to the Plaza de Armas and it was here where we found a room with three bed where we could spend our night in Tarma. As always, I have told you the best place that you can stay when you come to Lima is close to the Plaza de Armas, as it is here where the majority of activities can be found for visitors. Inside the bedroom, I remember that we watched movie for a while and then we went for a walk through the city. I forgot to mention that the street where we stayed was called Lima street.

After watching a bit of the film we went to eat in one of the restaurants that we found on the same street that the accommodation was on, a small local place with a calm and domestic atmosphere. Here I remember that I asked for fried fish with salad. On this same day we also found an activity in the Plaza as it was the anniversary of the San Ramón College of Tarma and there was a parade along the entire stretch of the street, arriving at the Plaza de Armas and the city. This is one of the oldest colleges in Tarma, as it was celebrating its 158th year. This school is only for boys and there were many cheers made by students and teachers to choose the prettiest of them.

I will also say that, right in front of the Plaza, we found a small Travel Agency where we could take a tour to bring us to all of the tourist sites of the area. Unfortunately we came at a time when the flowers were not growing in all their splendour, so we could not enjoy them.

The Cathedral in the Plaza de Tarma is known as the Santa Ana Cathedral. Around it you can find shops and picturesque places where you can enjoy a peace that you could never be able to find in Lima.

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The foundation of Tarma dates back to the Colonial Era in Peru. It has been converted little by little into an important tourist destination in the region of Junín. Furthermore, if you wanted to continue your journey afterwards, you can go along to the Central jungle and, for example, visit the Merced. In less than two hours, you would begin to see the great diversity of Peru, seeing how the Andean mountain views change for the green mountains of the jungle.

Tarma is on rich earth full of dairy and cheeses, it is a city that can astonish you with its beautiful flowers. In truth, the flowers were what caught my attention the most because, as I told you, everything related to plants fills me with such emotion and makes me understand that we must continue to preserve nature for the well-being of all human beings.

On the next day we woke up early and we went to buy stuff for breakfast in the Tarma market. Afterwards, the guide waited for us to start our tour around the outskirts of Tarma. We went to a little locality where we found a hand-made craft workshop where the gentlemen showed us how they make their looms using natural colours. Unique colours that the craftsmen of Peru have in their blessed hands, they create true works of art for anyone who wants to see it:

The workshop also had a room with all their products for sale. My friend bought a woolly hat and I bought myself a green scarf that I still have in my things now, after I have arrived here in Italy! I keep it with affection, knowing that it was made in my country by these people who design colourful art.

The Huagapo Cave: the deepest cave in the world:

We went to one of the most well-known caves in the area, known as Huagapo, which is said to be one of the deepest caves in the world. To get here, we found a quiet entrance where there were a few children and also a easily-accessed walk towards the cave entrance.

As well as the cave, we also visited the grasslands of Junín, on the high part of the land where we found a couple of groups of alpacas in their natural habitat. We also went through the archaeological site where there were some salt-water wells, one of them represents a boy and another a woman. We drank a little of this water to see how salty it was, and we also went to a temple where we found an image of old Jesus Christ on the top of a village. The image is worshipped and miraculous for the people in this area. As you can see, dear friends, the day in Tarma flew by, then we had to return to the city to get our things ready and return to Lima with recharged energies after having seen very beautiful places. I still remember with affection the alelí flowers that appear in most of the photos that I am showing you in this publication.

Thank you very much for reading this experience! I hope you will explore every place in Peru because it is a country with a lot of diversity, tradition, art and rich food for those who want it!

Until next time!

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