Peru tours
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Area map
Huaraz
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Information Huaraz Peru
Huaraz Peru offers you a unique opportunity to add to your Peru travel
experience. if you are looking for adventure sport, overwhelming
nature, picturesque villages, colorful expressions of Andean
culture and astonishing mountain panoramas you are on the right
spot in Huaraz. If you have ever been to Nepal or Zwitzerland
and you loved it, you will probably like the area of Huaraz
even more. Huaraz is one of the beautiful towns in the Callejón
de Huaylas, west from the Parc National Huascarán.
The Callejón de Conchucos is on the east from
the National park. The Cordillera Blanca is
in the National park and the Cordillera Negra
(Black Mountain Range) lie between Huaraz and the Pacific coast.
These mountains (some over 5000 meters) have no snow on them
and are dry most of the year. The Santa River
flowing powerfully between the two, watering the fields of the
picturesque chain of villages ranged along the length of its
banks. Another mountain range, Cordillera Huayhuash
is located south from the National Park Huascarán. The Parc
National Huascarán was declared as such in 1975, because of
its incomparable beauty. A decade later, UNESCO awarded it with
the status of Natural Patrimony of Humanity.
The area of Huaraz: a unique opportunity for hiking and camping
With incredible trails and scenery, the camping and hiking opportunities are numerous. The countless hiking trails wind through beautiful valleys and passes reaching 4,700 m.a.s.l., where the best of the flora and fauna can be seen first-hand. The impressive mountains, lakes, waterfalls and rivers in this area coincide with the trails and campsites, leaving behind a life lasting experience. Among the well known routes are: Santa Cruz - Llanganuco, Olleros - Chavin, Ishinca valley, Churuplake, Los Cedros valley, Quilcayhuanca valley, Cojup valley. The circuit around Cordillera Huayhuash is considered as one of the most beautiful in the world. There are several possibilities of day hikes around the city of Huaraz. Beside hiking and camping there are interesting opportunities for mountain biking, rafting, ice climbing, fishing, horse riding and paragliding.
Towns in the Callejón the
Huaylas
Recuay is known
as the doorway to the Callejón de Huaylas. It is built on
the banks of the Santa River. Here you can enjoy the old colonial-style
mansions and buildings of mud bricks with tiled roofs. The
hot springs of Conococha, Pachacota, Pumapampa, Burgos and
Utuco are in the area of Recuay.
Huaraz or Huarac
Koyllurk, Quechua for "morning star", is the capital of the
Department of Ancash. Only the Centenario section still retains
some features of local traditional architecture. The rest
of the town has a different look: straight streets and houses
with large rooms as a result from a total rebuilt of Huaraz
after the violent earthquake of 1970. About 70.000 people
lost their lives during this disaster. Interesting place to
visit is the Archeological Museum on the Plaza de Armas, exhibiting
remnants of the Chavín culture which was considered as the
origin of all the cultures that ever flourished in ancient
Peru. Other interesting places to visit are: Rumacayán Hill
and the ruins of Huilcahuaín located on 6 kilometers from
the city. Punta Callain gives you a fascinating panorama of
the Cordillera Blanca and the Callejón de Huaylas.
Carhuaz is named after
the yellow broom flowers that cover its neighboring hills.
The ancient Peruvians called it Cca Huash or "Yellow". Carhuaz
is a popular, hospitable city and is the starting point for
the route to the beautiful Ulta valley that crosses the Cordillera
Blanca via the Olimpica pass (4950 m.a.s.l.). The opposite
side offers access to the towns of the Callejón de Conchucos.
The Plaza de Armas, with its bronze fountain, rose garden
and tall palms swaying in the wind, is the heart of the town
with its mild climate and tranquil atmosphere. Here you can
enjoy a 'raspadilla' , fruit-flavored shaved ice made with
natural ice brought from the foothills of the Cordillera Blanca.
Yungay was wiped off
the map in a matter of seconds during the earthquake in 1970.
Nothing could be done against the avalanche triggered by a
huge chunk of Huascarán that broke off as a result from the
earthquake. Two palm trees and the cemetery were all that
withstood the fury of the landslide. It took many years to
heal the wounds. The memory of the tragedy is still latent.
A cemetery has been built on the vanished Plaza de Armas,
watched over by an image of Christ the Redeemer who with a
gesture full of kindness and peace seems to control the fury
of the cordillera. From Yungay you can see the magnitude of
the mountain, Huascarán, the highest peak of the Peruvian
Andes at 6768 m.a.s.l. It also offers road access to the beautiful
Llanganuco lakes. The Chinancocha (Female Lake) whose waters
are a dazzling turquoise; the Orconcocha (Male Lake) and Huahuacocha
(Baby Lake) that lies between the two others.
Caraz is surrounded
by the snowy peaks of Huandoy, Santa Cruz, Alpamayo, Aguja
Nevada and others, reflected in the huge mirror of Lake Parón.
The people of Caraz are expert weavers. They hold skills handed
over through the centuries and their nimble fingers create
handsome wool rugs and ponchos. The local people of Caraz
also know how to prepare desserts of fruits and "manjarblanco"
(creamy beaten milk and sugar), which they call "cuarteado",
whose delicious taste makes them famous throughout the region.
This friendly, warm city still holds onto its unique urban
characteristics present since its beginning. Caraz is the
starting point for the routes to Paron lake, Cashapampa, the
famous hiking trail to the Santa Cruz and the Cedros valley.
Here lies the glorious Alpamayo Mountain, also known as the
most beautiful mountain of the world.
Chavin de Huantar is
a place of interest in the Callejón de Conchucos. It is a
pre-Hispanic citadel with narrow corridors, gargoyles and
monolithic steles. This area is considered as the origin of
many cultures in Peru. The archaeological heritage is formed
by numerous buildings, terraces, platforms, squares etc. Most
significant remnant is the castle that, according to some
archaeologists, was one of the main religious-cultural centers
of the western hemisphere. The walls were built from enormous
granite blocks, with the interior containing a series of mysterious
passageways to form the labyrinths where the famous Lanzon
de Chavin is set up. There are also numerous stones, carved
in the form of heads.
Cordillera Blanca
The Cordillera Blanca, where the sky goes orange when the sun sets, is located almost in it's entirety in the Huascarán National Park, extending over about 180 kilometers. It has a total of 663 glaciers (26 of them at 6,000m.a.s.l. or higher) 269 lakes and 41 rivers. These rivers and lakes are an important hydrological resource and provide water to the basins of the Santa, Pativilca and Marañon rivers.The Cordillera Blanca is a favorite place to be for mountain climbers from all around the world. 35 peaks are over 6,000 meters high. Mount Huascarán is with its 6,768 meters, the highest snow capped peak in Peru and the second highest in the Americas after Aconagua, in Chile. Another famous mountain of the Huaylas Valley, Alpamayo (6,210m) is known as the "most beautiful snow-capped mountain in the world". Other giants in the Cordillera Blanca are: Huandoy center 6,395 m., Chopicalqui 6,354 m., Hualcan 6,122 m., Chacraraju 6,112m. and Pucahirca 6,046m. These mountains are located in the north of the National Park. Mount Pastoruri, 5200 m.a.s.l. is located in the south, close to the village of Chiquián. On the way that leads to Pastoruri, you can observe the gigantic Puya Raimondi. This is the only plant of this gender in the entire world, it is calculated that these plants have up to 18 thousand inflorescences, six million seeds and can measure up to 12 meters high. They bloom only once in their life, around the age of 28 years.
Cordillera Huayhuash
Usually the hike around the Cordillera Huayhuash begins in the city of Chiquian (3400m.a.s.l.), 111 km south of Huaraz. Although this route is not very well-known, it belongs to the most beautiful and impressive ones. The route takes approximately 2 weeks and winds through an impressive mountain range with mount Yerupaja 6,634 m.a.s.l. (The second highest in the Peruvian Andes), Jirishanca 6,094m, Siula grande 6,344m, Rondoy 6265 m., Ninashanca 6115m. and Rasac 6,017m as the highest peaks. This trail passes breath-taking lakes of crystal clear water and tiny villages seemingly out of touch with the rest of the world; an entire recompense for those willing to venture along these paths.
Fauna and weather
You can notice the presence of wild ducks in almost all the
lakes. If you are lucky, you will be able to observe condors.
The Quebrada quilcayhuanca offers this possibility. if your
stay is long enough and have patience, you may see foxes,
vizcachas, pumas, deer, etc. in the high mountain valleys.
The area has two defined seasons: a dry season from May to
September and a rainy season from October to April.
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