For a tourist in Huaraz, a visit to the Willkawain and Ichik Willkawain archaeological sites is both easy and educational. To get there just requires a short trip by taxi or combi from the city. Alternatively, you can take a two-hour nature hike from the town of Marian, east of Huaraz, but you’ll need a...
The Peruvian experience applied to similar areas in the Himalayas Glacial water basins in Peru have suffered the impacts of landslides and violent floods whichhave destroyed villages, killed many people and changed the lives of communities in significant ways. This phenomenon, known as GLOF (Glacier Lake Outburst Floods) is considered to have occurred during periods...
From Huaraz, there is a little-known but very worthwhile hike you can make within the Quebrada Quillcayhuanca, about 15 kilometers east of the city and inside the Huascaran National Park. Rather than tiring yourself out from the start with a not-so-interesting hike from town, it’s better to hire a car to take you at least...
I first journeyed to Huaraz and the magnificent Cordillera Blanca range in 1978 as a member of a Canadian expedition to the largely unclimbed Nevado Champera region. I fell in love with Huaraz and the region within days. Huaraz in 1978 was different from today. Eight years after the earthquake, much of the city was...
1. Mountain recreation. Round these parts, playing in the out of doors is likely to involve mountain sports and activities. By any measure, it’s a mountain sport paradise. Rock climbing, mountain climbing, mountain biking and downhill, trail running, hiking, high altitude birding and photography. Paradise. 2. Cultural richness. Cliché perhaps, but who cares? (I’m writing...
We are passionate about travelling by motorcycle and contrary to what many travelers might think we like to ride as a group. The different thoughts and ideas shared with each other are additional ingredients that add to our spirit of adventure. Due to the suggestion by an Ecuadorian Motorcyclist we found our way to Huaraz...
Majestic mountainbiking in mesmerizing mountains! That was what I was looking for and that’s what I found in Huaraz. At 3100m, caught between the Cordillera Negra and the Cordillera Blanca which contain the highest mountains in Peru, this city is the mecca for climbers, trekkers and mountaineers. But Huaraz has a trump card that is...
Throughout history, there have been many types of human disasters with natural causes: volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, tsunamis, monsoons, hurricanes, tornados, floods, droughts, blizzards, etc. The Peruvian Andes are no exception, being an area prone to earthquakes, El Niño floods, landslides, ice avalanches and glacial lake outburst floods. One of the earliest such disasters occurred in...
The Challenge of Hydro-Governance on Peru’s Pacific Slope agua es vida—water is life! You might have seen this phrase on water towers in Lima or, if you listen carefully, you may hear it in conversation with potato farmers here in Ancash. The truism, however simple or cliché it may seem, expresses a grave concern over...
My first date with Jack, 26 years ago, involved a long conversation about Peru and the Andes. I spent a year travelling by myself in Peru and Bolivia in 1981, and he seemed intrigued by a woman who would do such a thing. The fact that I climbed as well…even better! In return, he told...
