Peru by Carolina Miranda

Author:Carolina Miranda
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9781742203690
Publisher: Lonely Planet Publications
Published: 2010-10-20T10:00:00+00:00

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ACOBAMBA

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Colorful Acobamba, about 9km from Tarma, has profited substantially from and is famous for the religious sanctuary of El Señor de Muruhuay, a white shrine visible on a hill 1.5km away.

The sanctuary, one of Peru’s top pilgrimage sites, is built around a rock etching of Christ crucified. The image supposedly appeared to smallpox sufferers during a regional epidemic, healing them when authorities had left them for dead. Historians claim it was carved with a sword by a royalist officer who was one of the few survivors after losing the major independence Battle of Junín (Click here) but this story has less cachet and legends relating to the image’s miraculous appearance persist. The first building erected around the image was a roughly thatched hut, which was replaced in 1835 by a small chapel.

The present sanctuary, inaugurated in 1972, is a modern building with an electronically controlled bell tower and is decorated with huge weavings from San Pedro de Cajas.

The feast of El Señor de Muruhuay, held throughout May, has been celebrated annually since 1835. There are religious services, processions, dances, fireworks, ample opportunities to sample local produce and even a few gringos. Stalls sell chicha (corn beer) and cuy, but be wary unless your stomach is travel-hardened. Visitors usually stay in nearby Tarma, although Acobamba has accommodation possibilities.

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