The Cordillera Blanca
23 June to 2 July, 2004
After Trujillo, we moved on to Huaraz, 3100m up in the Andes. Huaraz is the climbing capital of the Cordillera Blanca region, an area with some of the highest mountains in South America. Although it is not a particularly beautiful town (it was destroyed in an terrible earthquake in 1970), it is situated in a stunning area, and is a good base from which to organize treks. It also has great nightlife (of the traditional variety) and some good restaurants. In particular, we had some great Pachamanca (a speciality of Peruvian mountain communities) in a restaurant in Monterrey, just outside Huaraz.
Over the next 10 days, we visited the ancient ruins of Chavín de Huantar, visited some sites and villages close to Huaraz, and, after we had acclimatised to the altitude, spent 4 days trekking through the mountains.
On leaving the Cordillera Blanca area, we returned to Lima.
