Callalli District is one of twenty

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

of the

Caylloma Province Caylloma Province is the largest of eight provinces in the Arequipa Region of Peru. Geography The Chila mountain range traverses the province. One of the highest mountains of the province is Mismi. Other mountains are listed below: Politic ...

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

and is located within the geographical area of the

Colca Canyon The Colca Canyon is a canyon of the Colca River in southern Peru, located about northwest of Arequipa. With a depth of about 1000 - 2000 m (3300 - 6600 ft) (whereas bottom is at cca 2000 m and edges are at 3000 - 4000 metres above the sea lev ...

. Its capital, Callalli, lies on an ancient trade route for

Obsidian Obsidian () is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed when lava extrusive rock, extruded from a volcano cools rapidly with minimal crystal growth. It is an igneous rock. Obsidian is produced from felsic lava, rich in the lighter elements s ...

that ran from

Chivay Chivay is a town in the Colca valley, capital of the Caylloma province in the Arequipa region, Peru. Located at about 3,600 m above sea level (12,000 ft), it lies upstream of the renowned Colca Canyon. It has a central town square and an ac ...

Lake Titicaca Lake Titicaca (; es, Lago Titicaca ; qu, Titiqaqa Qucha) is a large freshwater lake in the Andes mountains on the border of Bolivia and Peru. It is often called the highest navigable lake in the world. By volume of water and by surface area, ...

around 1800-200BC. The earliest findings in the region, carvings of camelids in the Mollupunko Cave, date around 8,000 years back. The town of Callalli was founded as a Spanish

Reduccion Reductions ( es, reducciones, also called ; , pl. ) were settlements created by Spanish rulers and Roman Catholic missionaries in Spanish America and the Spanish East Indies (the Philippines). In Portuguese-speaking Latin America, such redu ...

in 1573 with the initial name of ''Alcantara de Callalli''. Callalli is the main seat of a catholic pastoral team that takes care of a 7,000 km² area including the towns of Callalli, Sibayo, Tisco, Imata and Caylloma. The parish is led by the

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n priest and missionary Franz Windischhofer since 1991, whose work was acknowledged by the Peruvian government for "building a community of peace" in Peru since 1980.

Geography

One of the highest mountains of the district is Waran K'anthi at approximately . Other mountains are listed below:

Tourism

*Alpaca Fair, a

regional fair of

Alpaca The alpaca (''Lama pacos'') is a species of South American camelid mammal. It is similar to, and often confused with, the llama. However, alpacas are often noticeably smaller than llamas. The two animals are closely related and can successfu ...

breeders convening in Callalli each June to present their alpacas. *Mollepunko Caves, a rocky shelter and shallow cave system dating from about 6000 years BC, featuring more than 20 carved

cave painting In archaeology, Cave paintings are a type of parietal art (which category also includes petroglyphs, or engravings), found on the wall or ceilings of caves. The term usually implies prehistoric origin, and the oldest known are more than 40,000 ye ...

s. Said paintings, made by pre-Inca inhabitants, show the early domestication of

Camelid Camelids are members of the biological family Camelidae, the only currently living family in the suborder Tylopoda. The seven extant members of this group are: dromedary camels, Bactrian camels, wild Bactrian camels, llamas, alpacas, vicuñas, ...

s among other figures. The caves were probably used for rituals in the pre-Inca era, and as a grave site after the Incas. Local legends point to an

Inca Empire The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The admin ...

treasure being buried close to a large black boulder, as one of the abandoned deliveries of gold to buy free

Atahualpa Atahualpa (), also Atawallpa (Quechua), Atabalica, Atahuallpa, Atabalipa (c. 1502 – 26-29 July 1533) was the last Inca Emperor. After defeating his brother, Atahualpa became very briefly the last Sapa Inca (sovereign emperor) of the Inca Empir ...

after his execution. Multiple excavation attempts - including an intact, 3m long tunnel in front of the caves and a 2.5m deep man-made ravine under the large boulder, point to

treasure hunting Treasure hunter is the physical search for treasure. For example, treasure hunters try to find sunken shipwrecks and retrieve artifacts with market value. This industry is generally fueled by the market for antiquities. The practice of treasure ...

having taken place. *Enchanted Castles of Callalli, a rock formation featuring jagged boulders directly above the city of Callalli. *Banos Termales de Inca, a thermal bath complex between Callalli and Sibayo. *Choqueshisha, a ritual site inside of Callalli where local women thank

Pachamama Pachamama is a goddess revered by the indigenous peoples of the Andes. In Inca mythology she is an " Earth Mother" type goddess, Dransart, Penny. (1992) "Pachamama: The Inka Earth Mother of the Long Sweeping Garment." ''Dress and Gender: Making ...

for the gift of water with a sacrifice of

Llama The llama (; ) (''Lama glama'') is a domesticated South American camelid, widely used as a List of meat animals, meat and pack animal by Inca empire, Andean cultures since the Pre-Columbian era. Llamas are social animals and live with othe ...

fat, corn and other local products once a year. * Puente de Pachachaca, colonial bridge built with ashlars made of volcanic material and boulder. On the road from Cápac Ñan that runs from

Cusco Cusco, often spelled Cuzco (; qu, Qusqu ()), is a city in Southeastern Peru near the Urubamba Valley of the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cusco Region and of the Cusco Province. The city is the list of cities in Peru, seventh m ...

Arequipa Arequipa (; Aymara and qu, Ariqipa) is a city and capital of province and the eponymous department of Peru. It is the seat of the Constitutional Court of Peru and often dubbed the "legal capital of Peru". It is the second most populated city ...

and on the

Colca River Colca River (possibly from Quechua ''qullqa'' deposit) which downstream is called Majes and Camaná is a Peruvian river in the Arequipa Region that flows deep in the rugged Andes of southern Peru. It originates south-east of the village Janq'u Lak ...

. The bridge is featured on the upper right part of the coat of arms of Callalli. * Iglesia Callalli de San Antonio de Padua, a Catholic parish church under the patronage of

San Antonio de Padua San Antonio de Padua, or plainly Padua, is a city in the Greater Buenos Aires, in Argentina. It is located in Merlo Partido. The city has an area of and a population of around 38,000. The name commemorates the village founded by Francisco de Me ...

, built in an

Andean Baroque Andean Baroque (Spanish: ''Barroco andino'' or ''arquitectura mestiza'') is an artistic movement that appeared in colonial Peru between 1680 and 1780. It is located geographically between Arequipa and Lake Titicaca in what is now Peru, where rul ...

style, located in the town center of Callalli. It features a cross-shaped blueprint and a baptistry, two symmetrical towers on the sides and a vaulted roof. Inside are artworks depicting the miracles of San Antonio. *Chulpas Tahuaya, an above-ground, Pre-Inca grave site featuring four small stone buildings that contain well-preserved bones and skulls. *Llapa Yanahuara, an Collagua-Inca-Colonial town, with a church built on top of a pre-Hispanic

Huaca In the Quechuan languages of South America, a huaca or wak'a is an object that represents something revered, typically a monument of some kind. The term ''huaca'' can refer to natural locations, such as immense rocks. Some huacas have been asso ...

. *Ventana del Colca, a rock formation in the form of a window as a natural entrance to the valley and

. *Choqolaqa, a large rock formation about 2 hours outside of Callalli, belonging to the district of Tisco, featuring white towers of eroded rocks. A road leads up to an altitude of 4700m; the rock formation itself can be reached after a short hike at an altitude of 4950m. File:The Callalli church, Iglesia de Antonio de Padua.jpg, Iglesia Callalli de San Antonio de Padua File:Colca-canyon-rock-formation-callalli.jpg, Rock formation a few minutes outside of Callalli File:Alpaca-herding-Mollepunko-caves-callalli.jpg, A herd of alpacas grazing outside of the Mollepunko caves close to Callalli File:Condor flying over the Colca canyon in Peru.jpg, A

Condor Condor is the common name for two species of New World vultures, each in a monotypic genus. The name derives from the Quechua ''kuntur''. They are the largest flying land birds in the Western Hemisphere. They are: * The Andean condor (''Vult ...

flying over the

File:Enchanted Castles of Callalli los castillos encantados.jpg, The "Enchanted Castles of Callalli" above Callalli File:Callalli-peru-mountains-city-aerial-view.jpg, Callalli as seen from the air File:Callalli-church-san-antonio-de-padua-iglesia1.jpg, The Callalli Church with rock formation in the background File:Mollepunko-caves-callalli-cave-paintings-carvings-6000bc-colca-canyon.jpg, Mollepunko Caves outside of Callalli in the Colca Canyon

Ethnic groups

The people in the district are mainly

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

citizens of

Quechua Quechua may refer to: *Quechua people, several indigenous ethnic groups in South America, especially in Peru *Quechuan languages, a Native South American language family spoken primarily in the Andes, derived from a common ancestral language **So ...

descent.

is the language which the majority of the population (62.06%) learnt to speak in childhood, 37.48% of the residents started speaking using the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

language (

2007 Peru Census The 2007 Peru Census was a detailed enumeration of the Peruvian population. It was conducted by the Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática on Sunday, October 21, 2007. Its full name in Spanish is XI Censo de Población y VI de Viviend ...

).inei.gob.pe
INEI, Peru, Censos Nacionales 2007, Frequencias: Preguntas de Población: Idioma o lengua con el que aprendió hablar (in Spanish)

References

{{coord, 15.5073, S, 71.4462, W, source:wikidata, display=title Districts of the Caylloma Province Districts of the Arequipa Region