Cordillera Blanca
The Cordillera Blanca is the world’s second highest mountain range – bested only by the Himalayas – and home to over 663 individual glaciers and almost 269 lakes. From icy peaks that turn fiery in the setting sun to bustling hillside villages, multicolored flower farms and plentiful ancient ruins, this mountain range offers visitors a glimpse of a dynamic natural world and the pulsing heart of Peruvian culture.
The enormous fluted ice peaks and turquoise lakes of Peru’s Cordillera Blanca have long made it a world-class destination for trekking. More than 70 summits here top 18,000 feet, including Huascaran (22,204′), Peru’s highest peak, and Alpamayo (19,506′), an extraordinary pyramid renowned as one of the most beautiful mountains in the world.
The Cordillera Blanca is one not to be missed! The spectacular mountain views, glacial lakes and challenging trekking make this a truly unforgettable hiking experience.
What to Do & See in the Cordillera Blanca
The majestic Cordillera Blanca and the Huascaran National Park is a true Eden for adventure lovers; where the protected natural area sits, becoming one of the most important scenarios in the world for the practice of adventure sports such as: Climbing, Trekking (hiking), Camping, Snowboarding, Boating and Kayaking.
For nature lovers, the park, also offers the possibility or bird watching, since it has been recognized as an IBA Import Bird Area.
If you like to go back to the past, the park preserve, until today, fossilized traces of pseudopod dinosaurs, recently found in 2007, are preserved in the Conococha road route – Antamina this visit will enrich your trip even more.
Climate and Season in Cordillera Blanca
The climate is marked by two stages during the year, this depends on two major factors:
The humid and warm winds from the Amazon basin, which generate abundant rains during the months of December to March and a marked dry season between May and October, with sunny days that reach 25 ° C and nights of intense cold in which frosts and temperatures below 0 ° C are frequent.
Huascaran National Park
The Huascaran National Park is a Natural Patrimony of Humanity and Biosphere Reserve, for its exceptional beauty formed by the Cordillera Blanca, lagoons of glacial origin of intense turquoise color, as well as a great variety of Andean flora and fauna.
Location
Huascaran National Park is located in the department of Ancash, in the central highlands of Peru. North of Lima.
Extension
It has 340,000 Hectares (occupies part of the provinces: Huaylas, Yungay, Carhuaz, Huaraz, Recuay, Bolognesi, Huari, Asunción, Marshal Luzuriaga Pomabamba).
Altitude
From 2,800 to 6,768m.s.n.m. (Huascaran Mountain is the highest and most tropical mountain in the world).
Climate
The minimum temperatures occur in the high parts of the mountain range, reaching an annual average of 0 ° Celsius and the maximum around 7 ° Celsius as altitude drops, temperatures rise and the weather becomes more pleasant.
Creation
It was created on July 1, 1975, by supreme decree N ° 0622-75-AG.
Biodiversity
Huascaran National Park is known not only for the beauty of its ecosystems but also for its biodiversity. In addition to the 901 species of High Andean flora, among which the emblematic puya Raimondi stands out for its largest inflorescence in the world and hundreds of medicinal plants, more than 210 species of fauna find home in this jewel of our Andes.
The Taruca, a mammal larger than the deer and difficult to find, gracefully crosses the ravines of the park, she is accompanied by the Andean cat, the spectacled bear, the puma, the vizcacha, the vicunas, the Andean condor, among others.