The 18 best Peruvian legends (and their meaning)

Peru is one of the most historic towns in all of Latin America due to its cultural and civilizational changes that have occurred since ancient times, becoming an important part of the Inca empire. It also has one of the greatest biodiversity and natural resources in the world, while it rises up all over the high and majestic Andes.

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That is why its legends are so rich and captivating, since it not only preserves the beauty of its nature, but also the experiences of those who lived in their lands until today, do you want to know any of they? Well, do not miss the following article where we will talk about the best legends of Peru and we'll explain where each one comes from, and its meaning.

Best Peruvian legends and their meaning

From supernatural aspects to historical stories that are part of Peruvian culture. Without further delay, let's get to know the legends of Peruvian culture.

1. The Tunchi

This legend refers to a being who is the protector of the Amazon jungle in Peru, he is a spirit that was formed from the souls that have lost their lives in these forests. It is said that he shows up to stop humans with evil hearts from destroying the place.

Thus, the Tunchi appears whistling a contagious and specific melody, and waits for an answer, when hears the whistle back, he attacks the people he considers, they have bad intentions with the nature. But if you have respect for the place, then the Tunchi will leave you alone.

2. The town of Narihualá

This refers to an ancient town that has been the home of different indigenous groups, called Narihualá. legend has it that when the last resident tribe learned of the Spanish conquest, they decided to take drastic action: bury himself alive alongside his valuable possessions and treasures, so that they could not be looted. However, the Spanish managed to find a huge and beautiful golden bell that was hanging in a temple, when taken, it collapses and is buried in the ground in such a way that it could never be returned to watch.

Some time later, people assured that every Good Friday a man from the old makes an appearance tribe, which carries a small bell and a lamp, to guide the settlers to where their treasures. But yes, if an outsider in his greed wishes to seize these, he will have to carry a curse with him.

3. Cuniraya Huiracocha

This is the story of a god named Cuniraya Huiracocha, who one day decides to disguise himself as a beggar to walk quietly through the fields. On his walk he meets a beautiful pure and virginal woman named Cahuillaca, in an attempt to get closer without being Of her discovered, she becomes a bird and makes a fruit fall near her so that she eats it, when he does, she becomes pregnant of the god.

Cahuillaca raises her son alone for a year, but not knowing who her father is, she decides to summon the gods, who enthusiastically they are presented with the best clothes of her so that she chooses them as the father of her son, which is not it happens. To which she, placing her son in a deep sleep, asks him to go in search of her father. This went directly to the tramp who was actually Cuniraya, after this discovery the woman takes her little girl in her arms and throws them both into the sea, already that he is disappointed in the vagabond and miserable man, transforming himself into the two islets that are found on the beach in Pachacámac, without knowing that he was a valuable god.

4. The stone that cures lovesickness

It is said that this legend has the most effective remedy to cure love sickness, it begins with a protective and loving father, but that she did not believe any man worthy of the love of her daughter, therefore in a fit of anger, she decides to poison the suitor of is. Noticing the deep sadness and disappointment of her daughter, she regrets her actions and heads for the hills of Quito in the Ecuador to search for a mythical enchanted stone that had fallen from the skies, which had healing properties unimaginable.

He led her to the Cotacocha lakefrom her, where her daughter took refuge and prepared a mate with her, by drinking it, the young woman heals from her emotional wounds and forgives her father. They say that the stone is still in that lake, but that it has been worn away with its use to heal the pains of broken hearts.

5. The cry of Huacachina

A young woman named Huacay China fell in love with a brave young warrior whom she married later, but he had to leave for war and at the time she learned that her love had died in battle. Disconsolate, Huacay went to the place where she met her husband and she cried non-stop for days until she realized that her tears had formed a small lagoon.

One day, a young warrior heard the cry and went to her, but scared, the young woman threw herself towards the lagoon for hours until the warrior gave up and left. When she came out, she noticed that she no longer had legs but a big fish tail, she had turned into a mermaid, she says the residents that since then, every full moon the young mermaid leaves the lagoon to continue crying to her loved.

6. The rise of humans

This legend tells how it was that humans came to populate the earth, developed in the Valley of Jauja, in which there was a large rock in the middle of a lake, where a monster named Amaru lived. The god Tulumaya, believing that he was alone, decides to create another monster to be his companion, but they detested each other and fought continuously.

Tired of the fights, the god Tikse intervenes and decides to eliminate them both, which collapsed into the lake but their weight was so great that they made the water drain, creating the Jauja Valley. Upon learning of this, the humans who had been hiding forever, decide to leave since they do not feel threatened by the monster and thus be able to walk freely on the earth.

7. The Flame Warning

This legend can be compared to the story of Noah's ark in the Bible. It is said that one day, a man led his llama to graze as usual, but this time the llama fervently refused to eat. When the worried man asked her what was wrong, she replied that she was very sad because in five days a catastrophic event would take place, the sea would rise in all its power and sweep away all beings living.

With the alarm ringing inside him, the man asks what he can do, the flame responds that he must collect enough food and go to the Villa-Coto mountain. Once done, man discovered that there were animals of all species, sheltered to avoid the disaster that he devastated humanity, except for the man who listened to his flame.

8. The legend of Lake Titicaca

Thousands of years ago, humans lived in peace and harmony in a fertile and beautiful valley where they lacked nothing, it was a land where goodness, peace and humility ruled. They lived guarded and protected by the Apus gods, who forbade only one thing: never to climb the mountains where the Sacred Fire burned.

No one questioned this order, but the devil, an evil being full of envy and resentment, hated that humans lived in eternal happiness, so he decided to sow discord in it and challenge his courage to those who went to seek the Fire Sacred. The weak-hearted accepted the challenge, but did not reach their goal as the gods released thousands of cougars to raze the town as punishment for their disobedience.

Upon seeing the massacre, the sun god Inti wept in pain over the valley, flooding it and drowning the pumas who turned into stones. Titicaca means ‘the lake of stone pumas’.

9. The Peña Horadada

This legend shows us a strange rock formation that is located in the middle of the so-called Barrios Altos de Lima, the It has an angular shape that becomes narrower at the tip and at its base it has a medium hollow that runs through it. Almost nothing is known about its origin, but it is the source of inspiration for many theories and a myth that has endured over time.

He himself says that, one day, the devil was walking quietly through the streets of Barrios Altos, until he observed that he was coming towards him, a procession of the Lord of Miracles and behind him, a procession of the Virgen del Carmen, with consecrated hosts and water blessed With nowhere to escape and scared, he stumbles over a stone which opens a hole through which he escaped into the depths of the earth. For what it is also known as 'the devil's stone'

10. The Huega

This myth occurs in the town of Ica, where a beautiful woman with long blonde hair lived who was She delighted in looking at herself in the mirror constantly and that she loved to spend the day in the middle of the dunes and the palms. One day, a traveler got lost in these places, who decided to go down the dunes to take a break and resume their journey, but as he went further, he could notice a beautiful woman who was alone in the scenery.

Curious, he decided to approach carefully to ask what she was doing there, but he made a noise that alerted the young woman to her presence, who she was scared by the unknown presence of her and she ran away in terror, leaving the mirror abandoned, which when it touched the ground became the lake of the Huega.

11. The Legend of Pachamama & Pachacamac

The story goes that millions of years ago, two brothers who lived in heaven: Pachacamac (the creator god) and Wakon (god of fire and chaos) and both fell in love with a beautiful young woman who was the representation of nature (Pachamama), both decided to conquer her, but it was Pachacamac who married her and had two twins with her: the wilka. But his happiness was envied by Wakon and thus unleashed a series of tragedies that almost managed to devastate the earth.

The outraged creator god, he decides to fight his brother and by defeating him, he ends up ruling alongside his family in a short period of peace. Which ended abruptly because Pachacamac drowned in the sea and his body became an island and the world was covered in darkness.

Desperate, Pachamama tried to flee with her children until she reached the Wacom Pahuin cave, when a man He gives them hospitality, without suspecting that he is Wakon in disguise and with a single purpose: to seduce Pachamama. So he dispatched her children asking them to go for water, but his conquest did not have As a result and in a fit of anger, he murdered Pachamama, whose spirit became the mountain range of The Andes.

Confused, the children waited for their mother along with the deceptive Wakon, but the animals around them warned them of the danger they were in, so they escaped a fateful fate. After seeing their fight, the spirit of Pachacamac took pity on them and offered him a rope so that they could both meet him in heaven. and thus they became the sun and the moon, always offering a light so that the world would never fall into darkness again.

12. The condor and the girl

It is said that a long time ago there was a young shepherdess who was visited by a charming young man in a white shirt and a black suit, who became her friend. One day in an afternoon of games, the young man tells her that she can fly, incredulous and amused the young woman makes a gesture of flying and when she stays in the air she discovers with surprise that she is flying, but in reality he was being carried by his friend who now had wings instead of arms and was taking her directly to his nest because in reality he was a condor disguised as human.

In time the youngsters stayed together in the nest that was now their home and had even fathered a child. But the young woman, she missed her father so much that she was about to lose her mind since the condor refused to let her see her father. One day, she took advantage of the presence of a hummingbird who always visited her to send a message to her father to rescue her and hers, her son.

The hummingbird warned him that he needed a donkey to distract the condor and two toads to trick him into believing that they were his partner and his son. While the condor devoured his prey (the donkey), the young woman and her son escaped. Some time later, the hummingbird warns him that his family has been bewitched by an evil being, transforming them into toads, the condor felt so sorry that he decided to stay wandering alone for the rest of the eternity.

13. The enchanted child

The story goes that once, a twelve-year-old boy accidentally lost his food ration and ran crying in dismay towards a lake, from which a charming woman emerged who asked why He cried. The boy explained her situation to him and she consoled him by assuring him that she could supply him with plenty of food, she took him by the hand and they plunged into the depths of the lagoon and from where they never left.

The boy's parents searched desperately for him for days, believing that he had drowned until they reached Huayanqui cave and she saw her little one plunged into a trance accompanied by a young woman who seemed to levitate. She approached him and to break her charm, she wrapped him with a vicuña scarf, when she woke up, her father asked her how she had gotten there to what the child he replied that his friend had taken him to the bottom of the lake where she had a palace with fine curtains and lots of delicious food, then she led him down a passage to that cave.

14. The tunche

Known for being a dark spirit that lives in the Peruvian jungle, which is in charge of keeping at bay anyone who decides to go deep into it. It is said to be the banshee of a man who died in a tragic and violent way or who ended his life.

Both accounts agree that the man lived tormented by evil, since he had a heart full of hatred and a soul impure, which is why it now roams the forest attracting people with its intense hiss which is actually a sentence of death.

15. The mysterious lagoon

This is a lagoon that is located near the city of Cañete, which is believed to enjoy a divine blessing because, every time the river fills with water and overflows, this small lagoon keeps its water level calm, being surrounded by flowers and beautiful trees. Legend has it that at the San Juan festivities you can see a beautiful leg that walks with her ducklings, which is an omen of good luck.

16. The mysterious little boat

The ancient fishermen of the cove of Cabo Blanco mysteriously did not return from their fishing activities and there were no signs of them, more than the small boat that always reached the shore intact but alone after days of the disappearance of its crew members. Legend has it that the loss of the fishermen was due to a curse from a pirate whose soul had been condemned and to avoid eternal punishment, he killed every crew member of the boat.

One night a heartbroken woman heard a voice coming out of the little boat assuring that if they granted as a sacrifice to an unbaptized and sin-free toddler at midnight, the charm is she would break. So he took her little girl who was a hopeless baby and threw her into the sea, then a light appeared and blew up the little boat, who was never seen again.

Although there are those who assure that at Easter they can see this little boat at midnight and it instills fear in those who observe it.

17. The Nurse in the Blue Cloak

It is said that a long time ago, a sweet nurse got engaged to a doctor from her own hospital, who just wanted to have a happy life, however this dream is broken when after an accident, the dying man arrives at the hospital to die in the arms of his loved. The pain after the loss of her love drove her to madness and in an act of desperation she climbed to the roof of the hospital to kill herself.

Since then it is said that he roams the corridors of hospitals wearing a blue cape and he dedicates himself to taking care of those serious accident victims and covering the shifts of the nurses tired. Ensuring the recovery of all the patients he visits and as a form of candles for those who could not in his life.

18. The Lord of Chacos

One day, a young pastoral woman hears the loud and incessant blow of a hammer that came from the workshop of an old carpenter from her locality, she asked her curiously what she was doing to which she replied that she was building a cross for herself Himself, seeing her effort, the girl offers him food but he rejects it and instead asks her to take him many flowers.

When the young woman returns to the workshop with the flowers, she finds the carpenter dissected and crucified on the cross for no apparent reason. Then the villagers of Chacos tried to move the carpenter's body to the town, but each time they moved it, it would reappear in its original place. So later the carpenter was called as the Lord of Chacos, who was attributed numerous miracles in the town.