Cumbe Mayo is at an average altitude of 3,500 meters above sea level and 20 kilometers southwest from Cajamarca. Towering above the Cumbe Mayo, are Los Frailones, the Stone Monks. Los Frailones are massive volcanic pillars, some stretching as high as 60 feet(18 m). The stone forests suddenly appear from the landscape, starkly contrasting the flat, grass-covered plains around Cajamarca. The erosive forces of wind and rain likely carved out the pillars.
Many of the pillars, carved by wind and rain have taken on new shapes, resembling hands and even animals, and allowing the mind to wander in the pristine Peruvian setting. Their impressive and rare geological formations, where some will identify the shapes of monks forming part of procession. For this reason, this stone forest located in Cumbemayo is known as Los Frailones(The Friars).Although the stone forests and ancient ruins of pre-Incan society give the area a beautiful and almost spiritual dimension, it is hard to overlook Cajamarca’s tragic history, as the location where Spanish forces slaughtered the Incas, thousands of years after Cumbe Mayo was constructed.
Photo Source: Collected from Internet
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