Chiguata is a district located in the

Arequipa province Arequipa is a province in the Arequipa Region, Peru. Its capital, Arequipa, is Peru's second most populous province of Peru. It borders the provinces of Islay, Camaná, Caylloma, and the Cusco and Puno regions. According to INEI in the year 201 ...

, 30 km away from the city of

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 ...

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 ...

, on the slopes of the

volcano A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates are ...

Pikchu Pikchu Pichu Pichu or Picchu Picchu is an inactive eroded volcano in the Andes of Peru. It is located in the Arequipa Region, Arequipa Province, on the border of Pocsi and Tarucani districts.escale.minedu.gob.pe – UGEL map of the Arequipa Province (A ...

(where at its summit pre-

Inca 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 ...

worshipped remains and artifacts have been found). The name ''chiguata'' comes from the Quechua words "chiri" meaning "cold" and "wata" meaning "year" (cold all year). Ancient Chiguata was inhabited by the local natives until the arrival of Spanish influence in charge of the emissary Diego Hernández de Córdova in 1540. Soon after, the construction of a small plaza was initiated, and according to the Dominican religious order and local sources, the plaza's ''Templo del Espíritu Santo'' ("Holy Spirit

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

") along with its

domes A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...

and lateral cover was not begun until 1739. The design of the temple is quite interesting, with two angels in feathered nightwear and their arms lifted vertically, separated by twelve fringes of rectangular flowers which add to the whole decoration of the temple.

Cherubs A cherub (; plural cherubim; he, כְּרוּב ''kərūḇ'', pl. ''kərūḇīm'', likely borrowed from a derived form of akk, 𒅗𒊏𒁍 ''karabu'' "to bless" such as ''karibu'', "one who blesses", a name for the lamassu) is one of the u ...

also decorate the circular cornice, along with four saints in full-length reliefs that occupy the "pechinas" of the columns that sustain the temple's dome, which is considered one of the most original works of the colony and now visited by occasional

tourists Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mo ...

. What remains of the population of Chiguata and the villages around is a small group of natives, as the

mestizo (; ; fem. ) is a term used for racial classification to refer to a person of mixed Ethnic groups in Europe, European and Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous American ancestry. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also r ...

people born in the previous generations have moved away, principally to the city of

, returning occasionally for camping activities or to visit the old plaza and temple during holidays. Chiguata celebrated its 465th anniversary on January 23, 2005.

External links

Chiguata's description
Districts of the Arequipa Province Districts of the Arequipa Region {{Arequipa-geo-stub

See also

External links