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Feminine spirit of the Andean world: ´Apu Mama Simona´

Posted On: 19 March 2024 #TierrasVivas 1213

The hill with delicate shapes of women is located in an area adjacent to the Sacsayhuamán Sanctuary, halfway to the Ccorca district. Apu, according to the Quechua language dictionary, is the tutelary spirit that lives at the top of a hill or snow-capped mountain. In the case of Cusco, the tutelary gods of the city are Apu Salkantay, Apu Pachatusan, Apu Awsangati, Apu Wanakawri, Apu Senqa and Apu Mama Simona. Almost all the apus are male, but one female stands out: the Apu Mama Simona, which is located northwest of Cusco in an area neighboring the Saqsaywaman Sanctuary, located in the projection of the ravine between the area of Killke and Piqchu.

That is to say, the Apu Mama Simona is practically halfway to the Ccorca district. Where does the name Mama Simona come from to a hill and tutelary spirit in Cusco? According to Dr. Ángel Avendaño Farfán, a writer and renowned social science researcher, there are two popular versions that may have some truth. One, that Simona was the name of a hacienda in this jurisdiction whose owner was called that; and the other, that Simona was the name of a “malera” witch who settled her estate in these lands. Regarding the name of Mama Simona, this Cusco scholar offers an interesting interpretation, which establishes that since all apus are masculine, the need to have a complementary feminine element to create life is generated in the collective imagination, generating an identity.

Mama Simona differs greatly from the other apus, since the male hills have sullen, rough and rustic peaks and bushes, while Mama Simona has soft lines similar to the bust of a woman. Avendaño Farfán, in his Encyclopedic Dictionary of Qosqo, tells us that Apu is a tutelary spirit of a community or town that presided over its life, from the Waka that it inhabited, locating itself around the Apu, the Awkis, who were minor gods housed in the surrounding hills. To closely observe the Apu Mama Simona, one has to be located in the main square or at the intersection of Plaza del Cabildo and Santa Teresa Street; From Sacsayhuamán you can access it on foot and at a good pace you can reach it in half an hour. Whatever the name of “Mama Simona”, her presence was highlighted in our city this week, because in recent days this hill woke up snowed after 30 years in a rainy season.

Walk to Apu Mama Simona

The route to the Mama Simona shelter includes approximately two kilometers of walking along a path that heads to the top of this mountain. It is walked from the community of Quiswarchanka in the Ccorca district. The summit of the Mama Simona apu is 4,300 m high, has soft lines and resembles the bust of a woman. The path to reach the top is calm, along the way we connect with nature, with the wind, with the sun, with the animals. From the top you can see the Vilcabamba Mountain Range and the Urubamba Mountain Range. We do a meditation at the top and an offering to the Pachamama.

  • Degree of Difficulty: Medium high
  • Altitude: 4,300 meters above sea level (14,207 feet)
  • Walking time: 4 hours
  • Travel time to the hiking location:
  • Departure: 8:00 hrs
  • Return: 5:00 p.m.

Best Trekking and Tours in Peru

Many are the routes that take you to Machu Picchu, but none is like the Inca Trail tours, the most famous pedestrian path in the Americas. After flying from the capital of Peru, Lima, you will arrive in Cusco to walk for four days along a path through forests and dense fog, millenary stone steps and discovering the ruins of ancient fortifications and Inca cities, and all the time enjoying majestic views.

If you want to visit Machu Picchu, we recommend you to book your Machu Picchu ticket in advance, so you will enjoy your vacation in Machu Picchu without any problem.

Edwin Caviedes Profesional guide

Edwin Caviedes is the founder and manager of Tierras Vivas, a company that benefits native people communities.