When the marquis Don Francisco Pizarro determined to found a city in this province, he did not select the site where it now stands, but chose an Indian village called Guamanga, which is the reason why the city received the same name. The village was near the great Cordillera of the Andes. The marquis left the captain Francisco de Cardenas as his lieutenant here. After some time, and from various causes, the city was removed to the place where it now stands, which is on a plain, near a chain of hills on its south side. Although a small plain half a league from the present city, would have been a site more pleasant to the inhabitants, yet they were obliged to give it up owing to the want of water. Near the city a small stream of very good water flows, at which the citizens drink. In this city the best and largest houses in all Peru have been built, all of stone, bricks, and tiles, with tall towers, so that there is no want of buildings. The plaza is level and very large. The climate is very healthy, for neither the sun nor the air do harm, nor is it damp nor hot, but it possesses an excellent and most salubrious temperature. The citizens have also built houses where they keep their flocks, in the valleys adjoining the city.