Aguas Turquesas Millpu

Aguas de Huancaraylla

Useful Information

Location:	Community of Circamarca, near Huancaraylla, Ayacucho. 30 min hike.
Open:	no restrictions. [2008]
Fee:	free. [2008]
Classification:	Gorge
Light:	n/a
Dimension:	A=3,600 asl.
Guided tours:
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address:	Aguas Turquesas Millpu, Aguas de Huancaraylla, 05410 Huancaraylla, Tel: +51 951 793 895 Geöffnet bis 20:00 huancaraylla.com.pe
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History

Description

Aguas Turquesas Millpu (Turquoise Waters of Millpu) is a series of pure white rimstone pools with turquoise water in a gorge. At the upper end of the gorge is a deep pool where the limestone rich water emerges from a cave below. Flowing down the gorge it produces the rimstone pools by precipitating the limestone There is no growth of plants so des limestone is deposited in the form of travertine, not tufa. The pictures often shop people in bathing suits standing in the pools, which gives the impression this is a bathing spot. Actually the water is quite cold, a result of the high elevation, and it is harming the pools to enter them. The dirt, sweat, and oil on our skin will destroy the pools slowly.

The name Millpu is derived from the word Millpo, which means throat or gullet in the Quechua language. According to local legend the water of the pools emerges from the throat of the devil. The pools were not often visited by locals in the past because of fear of the devil.