Junín, Peru: Descending into the Picturesque Town of Tarma, the Pearl of the Andes

Views En Route to Tarma, Junín, Peru

Views En Route to Tarma, Peru

Under normal circumstances, getting to Tarma is fairly straightforward. There are regular buses and colectivos (shared taxis/vans) to Tarma from Lima, which makes the five hour journey a perfect weekend escape. It’s also only a few hours from Huancayo, making it a logical stop before heading back to the capital.

But me? I wanted to make things a little more complicated, and, let’s face it, a little more interesting. After leaving Huancayo, I headed to Huánuco to see the ruins of Kotosh. I’d been considering two potential routes onwards: heading into the jungle and making my way to Pucallpa, or heading back to the Cordillera Blanca to Huaraz. In the end, I did neither; I backtracked to Tarma!

The thing about public transportation in Peru is that you can get just about anywhere. And if you travel short distances, there’s usually an easy and quick way around, as long as you’re willing to travel like the locals. And so it was.

To get to Tarma, I ended up taking a colectivo from Huánuco to Cerro de Pasco. One of my biggest photographer regrets is that I did not have my camera easily accessible during this trip. Cerro de Pasco is one of the highest inhabited cities in the world; as a mining city, its buildings are purely functional and are toned in somber shades of grey and darker grey. I can still picture the houses clinging to the hillside as we headed into the city.

The Route to Tarma

Views of Distant Lakes between Cerro de Pasco and Tarma, Junín, Peru

Heading to Tarma from Cerro de Pasco was incredibly easy; I got out of one colectivo and directly into another. In the colectivo lot, drivers shout out their destinations and rush to fill their cars and get back on the roads. This part of the journey was even better.

I was lucky to share the car with several friendly passengers, who were eager to talk to me about what the heck I was doing over here and share aspects of their culture with me. They pointed out the series of blue lakes that we whizzed past – there are some natural reserves over here and it definitely seemed worth exploring at a more leisurely pace.

Monumento a la Maca, Huayre, Junín, Peru

But my favorite part? As we drove past the town of Huayre, we slowed so that I could take a picture of this amazing monument. This statue honors maca, that Andean radish-like root vegetable that is known for its medicinal properties. It’s supposed to enhance your energy, athletic performance, and memory, as well as your, ahem, stamina, if you know what I mean.

As you drive along the highway in Huayre, you have the opportunity to buy homebrewed drinks with maca. One of the passengers encouraged me to drink it, but it was way too chalk-like for me – so I gave the bottle of maca to him. I’ll stick to quinua, thank you very much!

Views En Route to Tarma, Junín, Peru

After coasting along the highway for a couple of hours, we ascended back into the beautiful hills of the Andes. In this section, we passed an out-of-the-way mine and saw very little besides this toasted landscape.

Views En Route to Tarma, Junín, Peru

And, well, these clouds. As an avid cloudspotter, I still can’t bellieve the way the clouds looked at this altitude. Dreamlike and gorgeous.

Descending to Tarma, Junín, Peru

From there, we descended toward Tarma. Three years ago, the roads were under construction which made travel less-than-pleasant, but I’m sure the roads are much better now! Good thing we were descending into my ever-loved foothills. This route reminded me of visiting Matucana and Callahuanca, which is no surprise if you consider that they’re located more or less along the same stretch of the Andes.

Tarma

Views from Tarma, Junín, Peru

Views from Tarma, Junín, PeruFinally, we arrived to Tarma, otherwise known as La Perla de los Andes, or the Pearl of the Andes. Tarma is known for its lovely climate, ideal for growing beautiful flowers. It’s one of the top destinations for Semana Santa (Easter Week) due to the beautiful carpets of flower arrangements that you can observe throughout the celebrations.

Unfortunately for me, I arrived at the end of winter, which meant the flowers weren’t really in bloom yet. So I decided to make the most of my visit by getting to know the town as much as I could and venturing outside Tarma to other nearby destinations.

Cathedral in Tarma, Junín, Peru

Views from Tarma, Junín, PeruTarma is an adorable little town because of its colonial architecture, including the church located on its main plaza. The city is easily accessible by foot, so you can wander through the streets, admiring the colonial balconies and the brightly painted walls.

 

Views from Tarma, Junín, Peru

Views from Tarma, Junín, PeruTarma’s charm also lies in its views, which I found hard to capture with my photos. As you walk through the streets of town, you are surrounded on all sides by the foothills of the Andes. You can see the houses perched up above.

As you can see, Tarma is a good place to get away and relax. Tarma is pretty quiet outside of long weekends and Semana Santa. If I had it to do all over again, I would have visited Tarma when I was living in Lima rather than as part of a more extended backpacking journey. I felt it was more of a place for a peaceful getaway, and after two lonely days in Huánuco, I was anxious to be in the company of other travelers again.

The good news is that Tarma provides access to some very interesting journeys around the region – and after considering my options, I signed up for a tour of the high jungle the next day.

Recommendations for Tarma, Junín, Peru:

  • Tarma is located about 5-6 hours from Lima, and you can take a public bus or shared taxi/van (colectivo). Tarma is about three hours from Huancayo. From other parts of the region (like Huánuco), you’ll want to take a bus or colectivo to Cerro de Pasco or La Oroya, where you can get another colectivo to Tarma. For locals, these routes are pretty standard and it’s easy to get around.
  • There are a number of hostales in Tarma, and if you’re visiting in off-season, I suggest checking out a few to see which one suits you best. Keep in mind that you’re in the mountains, so nights can be quite chilly. The colonial buildings with their high ceilings might not be your best bet. As far as I know, there aren’t any hostels in Tarma and I didn’t see any other foreigners during my visit.
  • Wikitravel lists several options for exploring the area around Tarma. If you read Spanish, Y Tu Que Planes? has detailed suggestions for what you can do in Tarma. In general, there are three tours. First, there’s the Valle de las Flores tour, which takes you to Acobamba, to see a religious icon, Palcamayo for the Gruta de Huagapo, a giant cave, and San Pedro de Cajas, for textiles. Second, there’s a tour that takes you along the Inca Trail (Camino de Inca) which passes through this region (and you can also visit some ruins, of course!). Third, there’s the tour to the Valle de Chanchamayo, heading into the high jungle within easy reach of Tarma. I opted for the latter for a change of pace.
  • If you have any flexibility in your travel plans, try to visit Tarma during the spring, when the flowers are in bloom. Just do a quick Google search and you’ll see why. 🙂
[Tarma, Junín, Peru: August 31-September 2, 2013]

Junin, Peru: Descending into the Picturesque Town of Tarma, the Pearl of the Andes

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