Cordillera Huayhuash
Encyclopedia
The Cordillera Huayhuash is a mountain range
in the Andes
of Peru
. It is located in the boundaries of the Ancash Region
, Lima Region
, y Huanuco Region
. There are several lakes there including Soltera Cocha, Jahuacocha, Carhuacocha and Sarapococha.
The range is 30 km long and has Himalayan characteristics and its peaks are, morphologically speaking, much more hilly and have more difficult access than those from the Cordillera Blanca
. Aligned north to south, the main range of some twenty peaks stretches for approximately 25 km, with a subsidiary range of smaller peaks stretching out to the west for approximately 15 km. Six of the peaks exceed 6000 m. Included among them are Yerupajá
(6617 m), the second highest mountain in Peru (behind Huascarán
at 6768 m), and Siula Grande
(6344 m), made famous by Joe Simpson
in Touching the Void
.
There are many lesser peaks surrounding those covered by ice, and several passes exceeding 5000 m. It is necessary to travel a considerable distance from the central range to find ground lower than 3000 m, even on valley floors, and the Cordillera Huayhuash is often taken to include this much larger area. The vegetated areas of the range are part of the Central Andean wet puna
ecoregion
The area is barely populated at all, with what hamlets there are being very small and generally only found below 4000 m (the snowline is found at approximately 4800 m). The nearest villages are Chiquián
(3400 m) and Cajatambo
(3375 m). Some mining takes place in the area, so to the north of the mountains there is an unsurfaced road leading up to as high as 4750 m. In 2002 the Peruvian Ministry of Agriculture
declared the Huayhuash a "reserved zone" and prohibited certain economic activities, including any future mining.
Some of the mountains located in the Huayhuash are Yerupajá
(6635 m), Jirishanca
(6126 m), Siula Grande
(6356 m), Sarapo (6143 m) and Rondor (5883 m).
The range has become noted for trekking in the form of the Huayhuash Circuit, which is considered quite a challenge and is undoubtedly far more demanding than the famous Inca Trail in the south of Peru. Fewer people trek the Huayhuash than the nearby Cordillera Blanca
. The circuit generally takes between ten and fourteen days, depending on the route taken.
Most of the walking, and most of the campsites, are above the 4000 m tree line, so the landscape appears rugged and mountainous, affording views over very wide areas. The area is noted for its spectacular glacial lakes. Hot springs can also be found in the area. Condor
s, llama
s, alpaca
s and viscacha
s can be seen. Trekking is almost always undertaken in the dry winter months of May to September, and the cities of Huaraz
and Caraz
over 100 & 167 km away are the usual choice for organizing and hiring camping a/o logistical support. Chiquián was for a long time the "Gateway to the Huayhuash" but nowadays, daily colectivos go deep into the mountains to the village of Llamac (3300 m) and with private transport, as far as Cuartelhain camp, reached both by road built in the late 90s and 2000s, becoming now the new trail heads for starting/ending.
Until the group's effective defeat in 1992 the Cordillera Huayhuash was used as a remote base by the Shining Path
. On July 28, 1988, a group of Canadian and Peruvian climbers were held hostage for 12 hours after a failed assassination attempt on a group of military police. None of the climbers or police were hurt, though one Senderista was killed. In the late 1980s a party of Europe
an trekkers were robbed and ordered to return to Huaraz with the message that future intruders would be killed. The remains of a guerrilla
camp can be seen near Laguna Viconga.
Two foreign trekkers are known to have been murdered in Cajatambo in August 2002, though this is thought to have been motivated by robbery. Four hikers who resisted armed robbery were shot in 2004, one dying of blood loss before rescue.
Since this last incident, the local communities began to charge a "protection" fee for passing in the private properties. Since then, the area is considered generally safe.
Near the north shore of Laguna Viconga, the remains of an old Sendero Luninoso base camp can be still visited, including a shooting range, barracks and a training field.
origin.
Mountain range
A mountain range is a single, large mass consisting of a succession of mountains or narrowly spaced mountain ridges, with or without peaks, closely related in position, direction, formation, and age; a component part of a mountain system or of a mountain chain...
in the Andes
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
of Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
. It is located in the boundaries of the Ancash Region
Ancash Region
Ancash is a region in northern Peru. It is bordered by the La Libertad region on the north, the Huánuco and Pasco regions on the east, the Lima region on the south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. Its capital is the city of Huaraz, and its largest city and port is Chimbote...
, Lima Region
Lima Region
Lima Region, also known as Lima Provincias, is one of twenty-five regions of Peru. Located in the central coast of the country, its regional seat is Huacho....
, y Huanuco Region
Huánuco Region
Huánuco is a region in central Peru. It is bordered by the La Libertad, San Martín, Loreto and Ucayali regions on the north; the Ucayali Region on the east; the Pasco Region on the south; and the Lima and Ancash regions on the west. Its capital is the city of Huánuco.Huánuco has a rough topography...
. There are several lakes there including Soltera Cocha, Jahuacocha, Carhuacocha and Sarapococha.
The range is 30 km long and has Himalayan characteristics and its peaks are, morphologically speaking, much more hilly and have more difficult access than those from the Cordillera Blanca
Cordillera Blanca
The Cordillera Blanca is a mountain range in the Ancash Region of Peru. Part of the larger Andes range, it includes 33 major peaks over high in an area wide and long.-Overview:...
. Aligned north to south, the main range of some twenty peaks stretches for approximately 25 km, with a subsidiary range of smaller peaks stretching out to the west for approximately 15 km. Six of the peaks exceed 6000 m. Included among them are Yerupajá
Yerupaja
Yerupajá or Nevado Yerupajá is a mountain of the Cordillera Huayhuash in west central Peru, part of the Andes. At 6,635 m/21,768 ft it is the second-highest in Peru and the highest in the Cordillera Huayhuash...
(6617 m), the second highest mountain in Peru (behind Huascarán
Huascarán
Huascarán or Nevado Huascarán is a mountain in the Peruvian province of Yungay, situated in the Cordillera Blanca range of the Western Andes. The highest southern summit of Huascarán is the highest point in Peru, and all the Earth's Tropics...
at 6768 m), and Siula Grande
Siula Grande
Siula Grande is a mountain in the Cordillera Huayhuash, in the Peruvian Andes. It is 6344 m high and has a subpeak, Siula Chico, 6260 m high.-Touching the Void ascent:In 1985 Siula Grande was climbed by Joe Simpson and Simon Yates...
(6344 m), made famous by Joe Simpson
Joe Simpson (mountaineer)
Joe Simpson is an English mountaineer, author and motivational speaker. He is best known for his book Touching the Void and the 2003 film adaptation of his book.-Early life:...
in Touching the Void
Touching the Void
Touching the Void is a 1988 book by Joe Simpson, recounting his and Simon Yates's disastrous and nearly fatal climb of the 6,344-metre Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes in 1985....
.
There are many lesser peaks surrounding those covered by ice, and several passes exceeding 5000 m. It is necessary to travel a considerable distance from the central range to find ground lower than 3000 m, even on valley floors, and the Cordillera Huayhuash is often taken to include this much larger area. The vegetated areas of the range are part of the Central Andean wet puna
Central Andean wet puna
The Central Andean wet puna is a montane grasslands and shrublands ecoregion in the Andes of Peru and Bolivia.-Setting:This ecoregion occurs above and consists of high-elevation, wet, montane grasslands amid lakes, plateaus, valleys, and high mountains. It is bordered on the west by the Sechura...
ecoregion
Ecoregion
An ecoregion , sometimes called a bioregion, is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than an ecozone and larger than an ecosystem. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and contain characteristic, geographically distinct assemblages of natural...
The area is barely populated at all, with what hamlets there are being very small and generally only found below 4000 m (the snowline is found at approximately 4800 m). The nearest villages are Chiquián
Chiquián
Chiquián is a town in central Peru, capital of the province Bolognesi in the region Ancash....
(3400 m) and Cajatambo
Cajatambo
-Population:The population of Cajatambo was estimated in 1896 to be roughly 6,000 people, although the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica puts the population at closer to 4,500.-Industries:...
(3375 m). Some mining takes place in the area, so to the north of the mountains there is an unsurfaced road leading up to as high as 4750 m. In 2002 the Peruvian Ministry of Agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
declared the Huayhuash a "reserved zone" and prohibited certain economic activities, including any future mining.
Some of the mountains located in the Huayhuash are Yerupajá
Yerupaja
Yerupajá or Nevado Yerupajá is a mountain of the Cordillera Huayhuash in west central Peru, part of the Andes. At 6,635 m/21,768 ft it is the second-highest in Peru and the highest in the Cordillera Huayhuash...
(6635 m), Jirishanca
Jirishanca
Jirishanca is a mountain of the of the Cordillera Huayhuash in west central Peru, part of the Andes. At 6,126 m m/24,118 ft it is the tenth highest in Peru and the third in the Cordillera Huayhuash...
(6126 m), Siula Grande
Siula Grande
Siula Grande is a mountain in the Cordillera Huayhuash, in the Peruvian Andes. It is 6344 m high and has a subpeak, Siula Chico, 6260 m high.-Touching the Void ascent:In 1985 Siula Grande was climbed by Joe Simpson and Simon Yates...
(6356 m), Sarapo (6143 m) and Rondor (5883 m).
Trekking
Cordillera Blanca
The Cordillera Blanca is a mountain range in the Ancash Region of Peru. Part of the larger Andes range, it includes 33 major peaks over high in an area wide and long.-Overview:...
. The circuit generally takes between ten and fourteen days, depending on the route taken.
Most of the walking, and most of the campsites, are above the 4000 m tree line, so the landscape appears rugged and mountainous, affording views over very wide areas. The area is noted for its spectacular glacial lakes. Hot springs can also be found in the area. Condor
Condor
Condor is the name for two species of New World vultures, each in a monotypic genus. They are the largest flying land birds in the Western Hemisphere.They are:* The Andean Condor which inhabits the Andean mountains....
s, llama
Llama
The llama is a South American camelid, widely used as a meat and pack animal by Andean cultures since pre-Hispanic times....
s, alpaca
Alpaca
An alpaca is a domesticated species of South American camelid. It resembles a small llama in appearance.Alpacas are kept in herds that graze on the level heights of the Andes of southern Peru, northern Bolivia, Ecuador, and northern Chile at an altitude of to above sea level, throughout the year...
s and viscacha
Viscacha
Viscachas or vizcachas are rodents of two genera in the family Chinchillidae. They are closely related to chinchillas, and look similar to rabbits...
s can be seen. Trekking is almost always undertaken in the dry winter months of May to September, and the cities of Huaraz
Huaraz
Huaraz is a city in Peru. It is the capital of the Departmento de Ancash and the seat of government of the Provincia de Huaraz . The urban agglomerations population is distributed over the districts of Huaraz and Independencia. It was estimated in 2007 to exceed 120,000...
and Caraz
Caraz
Caraz is a town in the Caraz District in the southeastern part of Huaylas Province of the Ancash Region in Peru.-Political Creation:Recent investigations propose that it's political creation was dated on 12 February 1821, when Grl...
over 100 & 167 km away are the usual choice for organizing and hiring camping a/o logistical support. Chiquián was for a long time the "Gateway to the Huayhuash" but nowadays, daily colectivos go deep into the mountains to the village of Llamac (3300 m) and with private transport, as far as Cuartelhain camp, reached both by road built in the late 90s and 2000s, becoming now the new trail heads for starting/ending.
Safety
Shining Path
Shining Path is a Maoist guerrilla terrorist organization in Peru. The group never refers to itself as "Shining Path", and as several other Peruvian groups, prefers to be called the "Communist Party of Peru" or "PCP-SL" in short...
. On July 28, 1988, a group of Canadian and Peruvian climbers were held hostage for 12 hours after a failed assassination attempt on a group of military police. None of the climbers or police were hurt, though one Senderista was killed. In the late 1980s a party of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an trekkers were robbed and ordered to return to Huaraz with the message that future intruders would be killed. The remains of a guerrilla
Guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...
camp can be seen near Laguna Viconga.
Two foreign trekkers are known to have been murdered in Cajatambo in August 2002, though this is thought to have been motivated by robbery. Four hikers who resisted armed robbery were shot in 2004, one dying of blood loss before rescue.
Since this last incident, the local communities began to charge a "protection" fee for passing in the private properties. Since then, the area is considered generally safe.
Near the north shore of Laguna Viconga, the remains of an old Sendero Luninoso base camp can be still visited, including a shooting range, barracks and a training field.
List of notable peaks
Only named peaks are included in this list. Most names are of QuechuaQuechua languages
Quechua is a Native South American language family and dialect cluster spoken primarily in the Andes of South America, derived from an original common ancestor language, Proto-Quechua. It is the most widely spoken language family of the indigenous peoples of the Americas, with a total of probably...
origin.
Primary range
North to south:- Ninashanca (5607 m)
- Rondoy (5870 m)
- Mitaraju (5750 m)
- Jirishanca Chico (5446 m)
- JirishancaJirishancaJirishanca is a mountain of the of the Cordillera Huayhuash in west central Peru, part of the Andes. At 6,126 m m/24,118 ft it is the tenth highest in Peru and the third in the Cordillera Huayhuash...
(6094 m) - Yerupaja Chico (6089 m)
- El Toro (5830 m)
- YerupajaYerupajaYerupajá or Nevado Yerupajá is a mountain of the Cordillera Huayhuash in west central Peru, part of the Andes. At 6,635 m/21,768 ft it is the second-highest in Peru and the highest in the Cordillera Huayhuash...
(6617 m) - Siula GrandeSiula GrandeSiula Grande is a mountain in the Cordillera Huayhuash, in the Peruvian Andes. It is 6344 m high and has a subpeak, Siula Chico, 6260 m high.-Touching the Void ascent:In 1985 Siula Grande was climbed by Joe Simpson and Simon Yates...
(6344 m) - Seria Punta (5567 m)
- Sarapo (6127 m)
- Sarapococha (5370 m)
- Carnicero (5960 m)
- Nevada Suerococha (5625 m)
- Nevada Jurau (5674 m)
- Nevada Huaraca (5537 m)
- Nevada Quesillo (5600 m)
- Trepecio (5653 m)
- Sueroraju (5439 m)
- Cuyoc (5550 m)
Subsidiary range
East to west:- Seria Norte (5860 m)
- Seria (5543 m)
- Seria Sur (5230 m)
- Rasac (6040 m)
- Tsacra Chico (5548 m)
- Tsacra Grande (5774 m)
- Huacrish (5622 m)
- Ancocancha Este (5557 m)
- Ancocancha (5560 m)
- Nevada Suerococha (5350 m)