Huaraz & the Cordilleras

Ground zero for outdoor-adventure worship in Peru, the Cordilleras are one of the preeminent hiking, trekking and backpacking spots in South America. Wherever you throw your gaze, perennially frozen white peaks razor their way through expansive mantles of lime-green valleys. In the recesses of these prodigious giants huddle scores of pristine jade lakes, ice caves and torrid springs. The Cordillera Blanca is one of the highest mountain ranges in the world outside the Himalayas, and its 18 ostentatious summits of more than 19,685ft (6000m) will not let you forget it for a second.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

  • Stone mask on the ancient temple at Chavin de Huantar in Peru

    Chavín de Huántar

    Huaraz & the Cordilleras

    In most people's minds, Chavín is less a town and more a set of ruins – not any old ruins, but the erstwhile ceremonial center of one of Peru's most…

  • Wooden boats anchored on Paron lake in Cordillera Blanca.

    Laguna Parón

    Cordillera Blanca

    The largest lake in the Cordillera Blanca — a snowcapped range of the Andes in west central Peru — and a gorgeous natural reservoir, Laguna Paron is a…

  • Santuario de Mama Ashu

    Santuario de Mama Ashu

    Huaraz & the Cordilleras

    Chacas’ showpiece building, dedicated to Our Lady of the Assumption, is not just a work of art but an admirable rehabilitation project, courtesy of a…

  • Lagunas Llanganuco

    Lagunas Llanganuco

    Cordillera Blanca

    A dirt road ascends 1350m from Yungay, winding over 28km to the Llanganuco Valley and its two robin-egg blue lakes, which are also known as Laguna…

  • Pastoruri Glacier

    Pastoruri Glacier

    Cordillera Blanca

    Still hanging on by the skin of its teeth high up in the Cordillera Blanca, the rapidly retreating Pastoruri glacier is one of the few remaining glaciers…

  • Cañón del Pato

    Cañón del Pato

    Huaraz & the Cordilleras

    If you continue north from Caraz along the Callejón de Huaylas, you will wind your way through the outstanding Cañón del Pato. It’s here that the…

  • Monumento Nacional Wilkahuaín

    Monumento Nacional Wilkahuaín

    Huaraz

    This small Wari ruin about 8km north of Huaraz is remarkably well preserved, dating from about AD 600 to 900. It’s an imitation of the temple at Chavín…

  • Laguna Purhuay

    Laguna Purhuay

    Huaraz & the Cordilleras

    In a scoop of a valley 8km above Huari and just inside the Parque Nacional Huascarán, this idyllic lake is well set up for day excursions, but is…

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History

Inside Yungay, the Peru town that disappeared 48 years ago

Dec 19, 2018 • 3 min read

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Huaraz & the Cordilleras and beyond

Beyond Huaraz & the Cordilleras
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