B-4.1  Palanda - Valle Hermosa - Fatima - Rio Blanco

Distance         16.8 km          

Time               1.00 hour

Altitude          1185 m – 1665 m

Ascent            700 m

Descent          435 m

Rating             Medium 3/5

Start               Highway turnoff Fatima / Rio Blanco

End                 Pedestrian Bridge Rio Blanco

This Route is a side trip of the Palanda run. Running along & above the Rio Palanda, this was the start of an ancient hiking trail connecting Santa Ana / Palanda across the continental divide and the pass of the winds to the western town of Amaluza, near the Peruvian border. Some locals used to do this arduous, 52 km trek in just two days. Nowadays, the first 17 km are served by a rough gravel road, which ends at a suspension bridge across the Rio Blanco. Within half an  hour hike from the bridge, you can find some Inca ruins. Best to ask a local at Rio Blanco to guide you there.

        

Route:      Some 5.5 km before reaching Palanda town on the B-4.0 route, you find the turnoff into the Valle Hermosa (beautiful valley) to your right, opposite a white bus stop shelter.

Some 8 km along this gravel road, you pass the hamlet Valle Hermosa,  3 km further on you can spot the little waterfall “Fatima” on your right, and at km 14, you get to the few houses of the Barrio “Fatima”. After another 2.5 km you reach the end of the road at the pedestrian suspension bridge crossing the Rio Blanco. A short hike across the bridge and to the left, leads to the settlement of Rio Blanco (or Las Juntas according to the old Maps).