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man. Their naked and barren summits present 

 the most picturesque contrast with the tufts of 

 trees and shrubs, which cover the brinks of the 

 crevice. The small torrent, which has made 

 itself a passage through the valley of Icononzo, 

 is called Rio de la Summa Paz, and falls from 

 the eastern chain of the Andes, which, in the 

 kingdom of New Grenada, divides the basin of 

 the river Magdalena from the vast plains of the 

 Meta, the Guaviare, and the Orinoco. This 

 torrent confined in a bed almost inaccessible, 

 could not have been crossed but with extreme 

 difficulty, if nature had not provided two bridges 

 of rocks, which are justly considered in the 

 country as among the objects most worthy the 

 attention of travellers. In the month of Sep- 

 tember, 1801, we passed these natural bridges of 

 Icononzo, on our journey from Santa Fe de 

 Bogota to Popayan and Quito. 



The name of Icononzo is that of an ancient 

 village of the Muysco Indians, situate at the 

 southern extremity of the valley, of which 

 only a few scattered huts now remain. The 

 nearest inhabited place to this remarkable spot 

 is the small village of Pandi, or Mercadillo, at 

 the distance of a quarter of a league toward the 

 north-east. The road from Santa Fe to Fusa- 

 gasuga, (lat. 4° 20' 21" north ; long. 5 h T 14"), 

 and thence to Pandi, is one of the most difficult 

 and least frequented to be found in the Cordil- 



