Villa Rica District

The Paucartambo River is the southern border of Villa Rica District.

The Cerro de la Sal (Mountain of Salt) is located about 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) north of the town of Villa Rica at 10.683°S 75.267°W / -10.683; -75.267.[6] In pre-Columbian and colonial Peru the indigenous people exploited the salt and transported it downriver by raft to a large number of peoples in the Amazon Basin. The Cerro de la Sal was in the territory of the Asháninka and was also a source of salt for the Amuesha and other peoples in the Amazon Basin.[7]

The Spanish realized the strategic importance of the Cerro de la Sal early in the 17th century.[8] Roman Catholic Franciscan missionaries were attracted to the Cerro de la Sal because of the seasonal congregation of large numbers of indigenous people there. A large number of Christian missions collectively called the Cerro de la Sal missions were established in the region. In 1742, a messianic movement headed by Juan Santos Atahualpa emptied the missions and the Spanish were expelled from Cerro de la Sal for more than 100 years.[9] In the late 19th and early 20th century settlers of European and Andean origin dispossessed the indigenous people.[10]

Villa Rica has a Af (tropical, humid, no pronounced dry season) climate under the Köppen Classification system. However, the climate borders on Aw (tropical savannah with a dry season) and Cfb (subtropical mountain climate, "eternal spring.") Measured by the Trewartha climate classification system the climate is Arbb (tropical rainforest with warm summers and winters). Villa Rica's climate is modified by its altitude which results in lower average temperatures year than low-elevation tropics. The monthly deviation in average temperatures between the hottest and coldest months is only 1.8 degrees C (3 degrees F). The austral winter months of June and July are fairly dry, but precipitation is abundant during the remainder of the year.

• Yanachaga–Chemillén National Park

10.735°S 75.268°W / -10.735; -75.268