Circuit of the Cordillera Huayhuash
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Four hours south of Peru's trekking center of Huaraz, the Cordillera Huayhuash is considered one of the finest treks in the world. While the remoteness and time commitment limits the numbers of trekkers, the recent completion of the road to Llamac has made the trek more accessible. Without the road we wouldn't have been able to consider the trek ourselves.
Sira with Senor Pollo - and the rest of our supplies for the nine day trek. We loaded two mules in Llamac and headed up the Llamac Valley.'
Pasture lands in the Rio Llamac Valley.
The clear waters of the Rio Llamac.
On the first night we were welcomed by 10 year old Monica, the niece of our guide. She helped with the cooking and we traded some vegetables for cheese that her family makes.
An incredible sunrise through the clouds on the morning of day 2.
Sira and our guide Huaranga take a break before arriving at our campsite on day 3 just below the peak of Yerupaja, the second highest peak in Peru.
On day 4 we hiked by the base of Yerupaja and Siula. This is another shot of Huaranga. We took quite a few photos of him because we are helping him develop marketing materials for his guiding business.
Day 6 took us over Cuyoc Pass, the highest pass on the trek at 16,400 feet. Yerupaja is the tall peak in the background with Siula to the right.
This is the view of the Raura Range looking south from Cuyoc pass.
Another shot of the Huayhuash range.
A close up of Yerupaja peak.
One of our donkies is already sleeping while Sira is setting up camp after the long hike over Cuyoc on day 6. The photos from the top of Cuyoc pass were taken at the snowline to the right of the peak in the background.
On day 7 we purchased a lamb which provided us with plenty of fresh meat for the remaining days as well as enough to feed a couple families along the way. Huaranga did all of our cooking and he made some excellent steaks that night.
On our last night, Huaranga prepared a traditional Peruvian dinner called "Pancha Manka". The lamb was roasted with potatoes in a pit fire. We also were able to buy some beer from a local woman.
This was our final view of the Huayhuash as we headed out on day 9. The trek took us completely around the entire range of snow capped mountains in the background. In total we went nearly 80 miles at an average elevation of about 13,000 feet.
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