Vilcabamba, Ecuador

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Vilcabamba is a village in the southern region of Ecuador, in the Loja province. Located in a historical and scenic valley, it is a common destination for tourists, because it is widely believed that its inhabitants grow to a very old age. Locals assert that it is not uncommon to see a person reach 100 years of age and it is claimed that many have gotten to 120, even up to 135, which would make it an area with the oldest inhabitants in the world. It is often called the Valley of Longevity.

The reasons for this apparent longevity are not very clear. Some claim that the inhabitants have a tendency to exaggerate their age, and this is difficult to verify because of the lack of a proper birth certificates. Medical researchers have confirmed that the retinas of 100 year-old residents are often comparable with those of 45 year-old city-dwellers. [1] Others suggest that the climate in the region, or the mineral content of its drinking water is particularly healthy and explains the advanced age of its inhabitants.

Canadian journalist Tony Burman raised the profile of Vilcabamba in the early 1970s, with a series of photos that appeared in The New York Times.

According to The Bewildering History of the History of Longevity by Peter Laslett, "geographical variation in the incidence of long life is no doubt a reality but better general survival does not demonstrably raise the probability of extreme ages and systematic, sceptical analysis of these confidently asserted propositions has condemned them as entirely baseless." That is, statistical analysis of Vilcabamba's inhabitants shows that longevity there is no greater than the general population.

The testimony of some of the tourists who had visited Vilcabamba can be useful and should be found in Technorati.

[edit] Reference

• Neil G. Bennett and L.K. Garson, Extraordinary longevity in the Soviet Union: fact or artefact, The Gerontologist, 26, 4, 1986, 358-61

[edit] See also

• Longevity myths