In the Lauca National Park, right next to the Lago Chungará and 192km away from the city of Arica, two volcanoes form an impressive backdrop. The Parinacota (6.342 above sea level) and the Pomerape (6.282 above sea level) are to volcanoes with perfectly picturesque flanks, softly inclining by not more than 45°.
Legend has it that the Parinacota and the Pomerape used to be two lovers whose relationship was prohibited. As a punishment, they were transformed into two mountains which are always close, but never able to touch. It is said that the fumaroles and signs of volcanic activity are their way of communicating with each other.
Another story states that the Parinacota and the Pomerape, which reach up to 6.000m above sea level, guard an Inca treasure: golden figures of monarchs that decorated the Sun Temple in Cuzco, silver statues of their queens from the Moon Sanctuary, and many other riches. The Inca treasure, which was saved from Atahualpa, is hidden on the summit. Whenever there is few snow on the peaks, you can spot the stairway which the Inca servants built to bury the treasures of their masters in the crater of the volcano.
In a third legend, the Payachatas also represent a couple: a prince and a princess of antagonized tribes who wanted to get married. To prevent their union, they were murdered. But nature, as a vengeance of love, buried the villages of both tribes, forming the two lakes Chungará and Cota-Cotani. The place where the prince and princess were entombed, nature elevated the beautiful volcanoes of Parinacota and Pomerape.