Sunday 29 July 2012

Cordillera Huayhuash circuit

It was 12 days and ~140kms. Minimum altitude 4100 mts, maximum 5090 mts. Sleeping at ~4300 mts each night.
The slow acclimatization before hand paid dividends, and we all did very well. Slow but sure oldies!
The area more than lives up to it's reputation as the Himalayas of the Andes - stunning scenery.
The area is inhabited by the Quechua people who speak both Quechua and Spanish.
Although a national park much of the land is privately owned - can't get our heads around that one.
Each night our guide paid a camping fee to the local land owner.
There are many sheep and cattle grazed in summer, so the area is not wilderness as we know it. But the the high mountains are stunning, and the passes breathtaking (literally).
We are on a high - not sure if it's adrenaline produced by altitude, or the litres of coca tea, or the chewing of the coca leaves! (all legal here).
Our guide said he has taken older groups who turned back after the first high pass, so we feel very proud to have completed such a hard trek.








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