Ayabaca Province 2.43

Ayabaca or Ayavaca is one of the eight provinces of the Piura Region, in northwestern Peru. It borders Ecuador on the north and northeast, Huancabamba Province and Morropón Province on the south, and the Piura and Sullana provinces on the west. This province is located in the western Andes and its capital is the town of Ayabaca, which is the highest in the whole region.Two bus companies cover the route Piura-Sullana-Ayavaca. The trip takes from 5 to 6 hours approximately. The province has a large border with Ecuador, and the oriental branch of the Pan-American Highway crosses the Suyo district, at the north of the province, connecting Piura, Sullana and Las Lomas with the Ecuadorian cities of Macará and Loja.EtymologyThe name Ayabaca, also written as Ayavaca, derives from two Quechua roots: aya, related to death, but also to immortality; and huaca connected to sanctuaries and sacred places. Some local monographs have limited its meaning to that of "grave and ancient tomb of the dead" ("tumba de muertos"). They believe this meaning suggests the name was derived from a site with ancient bones and primitive weapons found near the zone where the Spaniards gathered the native population in 1571, when they founded the first "Pueblo de Indios de Nuestra Señora del Pilar de Ayavaca" or missioni Ayavaca Vieja. Such bones and weapons may be the "remains of hordes fallen in combat against the expansionist advance of the Incas".