From Oroya, terminus of the direct line, there are branches to the north and south over the plateau. To reach the _montaña_ interior, which is more accessible here than from any other point in Peru, one may go by automobile over another range a thousand feet above, and beyond this, down, down, down into the _montaña_. Tarma at 10,000 feet has a delightful climate, and here are trees, perhaps the first seen in Peru, growing as it were of their own accord. The picturesque cañon below is lined with verdure, here and there are entrances to side valleys. Tunnels and romantic swinging bridges formerly lent variety to the ride. The new automobile road opens up a rich and delightfully attractive country. La Merced, altitude 3000 feet, is quite a little town with a pleasant summer climate. A short distance farther is the Perené, a coffee plantation, at 2500 feet, belonging to the Peruvian Corporation. The estate of 5,000,000 acres is not half cultivated, though 1¹⁄₂ million coffee trees had been planted in 1903. At this altitude the country is still in the foothills of the Andes with steep slopes on every hand, a narrow way only extending along the river bank. The Perené is a considerable stream easily navigable, an affluent of the Tambo, which flows into the Ucayali; but the stream goes south a long distance around, and through a region inhabited by savage Indians. It is therefore not used. The Chunchi Indians living close by are fine looking people and friendly, sometimes working on the plantation. This plantation is on the main and mail route from Lima to Iquitos, capital of Loreto, to which with good luck a journey may be made in 15 days. Seven days are spent between Oroya and Puerto Jessup, then one in canoe to Puerto Bermudez, and 5 or 6 in steam launch to Iquitos, where a steamer may be taken to Manaos, Pará, or New York. A branch railway line, American owned, built by the Cerro de Pasco Copper Company, extends north from Oroya to Cerro de Pasco, about 90 miles over a hilly country, past Lake Junín. Along the way many Quichua Indians are seen, the chief population of the plateau region. Cerro de Pasco, the terminus of the road from Oroya, is a town of 15,000 population at an altitude of 14,300 feet. A branch railway leads to Goyllarisquisga, 26 miles, another to Quishuarcancha, 11 miles, to their coal properties.