A long time ago, two kings named Illimani and Illampu ruled over great kingdoms in what is today the Bolivian Altiplano. Though both were rich and powerful in their own right, each king suffered terrific jealousy at the thought of the other’s prosperity (we believe this is commonly known as “Keeping-Up-with-the-Jonses-Syndrome), and eventually war broke out. In the midst of battle, the two kings inflicted mortal wounds upon each other, and with their last breaths called upon their sons to avenge them. The sons, who were peaceniks and had been against their fathers’ war in the first place, were forced to comply (that whole dying words deal) and went to war, where, in an eerily déjà vu-type scenario, they too inflicted mortal wounds upon each other. Unlike their fathers, the dying sons asked that they be place next to each other, whereupon each forgave his adversary.

That’s when Pachamamma appeared. Telling the sons that it wasn’t their fault, she punished the old kings by causing their stars to fall from the sky, which orbs became Illimani and Illampu, two of the highest mountains in Bolivia. The snow that melts and runs down to the valley is said to be the old kings’ tears of regret, while the tri-colored flower that blooms there symbolizes hope and unity.