The spectacular Cordillera Blanca

We are hitting the Cordillera Blanca in the raining season and had to make it a short visit, but everything about it was very scenic: the bus ride in through the Cañon del Pato, the day hike up the Cerro San Juan and beyond, the visit to the glacier lakes of Llanganuco, and bus ride out through the cordillera. Raining season means high cloud coverage, i.e. hidden peaks. However, when there is some clearing, all the peaks have snow. The weather forecast would include snow line, e.g. 4200m.

It´s faster to ride a burro up Cerro San Juan, but we prefer our own two feet.


A brief glimpse of a snow-capped peak.


Sun-Ling recovers from a close encounter with a cactus on the way up Cerro San Juan.

Looking down on to the city of Caraz and Huaylas Canyon where we started the day´s hike.


Going up beyond Cerro San Juan, we were surprised to see the mountain flatten with farms, fields, and a small village.


Now we are beyond and out of sight of Cerro San Juan and Caraz. Below is the small village. And we´re still headed up.


We turn around here, after a tasty lunch, with a peak at the narrow entrance to Canyon Paron in the distance.


And the wind began to howl on the way down, with some rain, but I stopped to take one last photo.


The next day we take a day trip to Yungay and the LLanganuco region.

Into the canyon and on to the natural, glacier-fed lakes of LLanganuco in Huascaran National Park.


Lake Chinancocha.


Walking around the shore of Lake Chinancocha.


Looking back down Lake Chinancocha to its natural dam.


Looking back from the second lake, Lake Orconcocha, to Lake Chinancocha in the distance.


Leaving Caraz and the Cordillera Blanca for Lima, there were still plenty of great views of snow-capped mountains, green valleys, and natural lakes out the bus window.




And finally, to see all the photos of the trip in and out of the Cordillera Blanca, click here.