UJ #9 - Adventure in Peru

TREKKING IN PERU
Eduardo Pedraza
Eduardo Pedraza
Luis Yupanqui
ACLIMATIZATION AND
ALTITUDE SICKNESS
- DO VERY LITTLE
PHYSICAL EXERCISE
ON THE FIRST DAY AT A
HIGH ALTITUDE.
- EAT LESS AND MORE
OFTEN DURING THE
DAY.
- DRINK PLENTY OF
LIQUID.
- DRINK COCA LEAF TEA
AND INFUSIONS OF
MUÑA.
HUAYHUASH:
THE HIGHEST MOUNTAINS
The Cordillera Blanca, in the central highlands in the
Department of Ancash, is the main destination for lovers
of adventure, because of the number of mountains
—several of them over 6,000 metres— glaciers
and treks. This range contains Peru’s two highest
mountains, Huascaran (6,746 metres) and Yerupaja
(6,617 metres), as well as the most beautiful mountain
in the world according to the magazine Alpinismus
(1966): Mount Alpamayo (5,947 metres).
One of the best-known routes is that of the Huayhuash
Range, a demanding trek that crosses high and beautiful
terrain and takes twelve days. The main access
is from Huaraz, from which you travel to Cuartelwain,
the starting point for the trek, in the Cordillera Blanca
range; but some trips also start from the town of Huanuco.
The Cordillera is a mountain chain 30 kilometres
long, which is the source of several rivers that flow into
the Atlantic and others that join the River Marañon and
flow through the Amazon basin; it contains extensive
forests of queuñas, the tree that grows at the highest
altitude in the world, while its glaciers feed nearly fifty
lakes, where some tour operators offer fishing trips.
For all of these reasons the Cordillera Huayhuash has
been declared a Protected Zone within Peru’s system
of natural protected areas.
For the Huayhuash experience, where the average altitude
on the trail and at camp is 4 metres and the
maximum (the Cuyoc pass) is 5,010, you must be in
excellent physical shape and spend some days acclimatising
in Huaraz or Huanuco. The tour operators
also offer shorter treks from four to eight days duration,
for those who do not want to cover the complete circuit
of 120 kilometres, as well as other experiences in
Huayhuash, starting in the highlands north of Lima,
Ancash and Huanuco itself.
During the walk you cross nine mountains passes at
altitudes of 4,300 to 5,010 metres, as well as the Siula
Grande glacier. You spend the night in the Cutatambo
valley and alongside lakes and thermal springs such
as those at Viconga. You also visit communities of shepherds
near the tourist trail, whose members act as
guides, porters and cooks. You will share their lives,
food and medicinal herbs, handcrafted textiles and
cosmovision, all of which originate in the remote past.