We started our trip to Huaraz, which lies between the Cordillera Negra and the Cordillera Blanca at about 3500m, in Chimbote in the home of Blanca Gutierrez and her brothers.
Her brother, Vico, was a big help.
I have taken 300+ pictures of this part of the trip so if you want to see more I have them.
Soon after leaving Chimbote on the coast we began to follow a river. We never left it for long.
The countryside was dryish; dependent on irrigation. The mountains in the distance seemed to stay just there, in the distance,
but bit by bit they got closer.
What is amazing is the level of erosion. I have tons of pictures showing this kind of washout.
People along the road eek out a living hoping travelers will stop and buy something
In very few places you could cross the river
Sometimes it was only a foot bridge and somethings a cable chair.
We came across the first of over 40 tunnels
The valley we were in got much narrower.
And we got closer to the edge of the road
Not a lot of room for two buses.
Some people still try to survive.
but it is rather bleak
We came across our first construction roadblock. As you can see they were tarring the road.
We literally saw workers every 2 miles. Without constant repair the road simply wouldn't be safe.
Those that do survive want cable tv though. This is a photo of the roof of a house
Our next blockage; fallen rocks needed to be removed.
Here you can't help but appreciate rocks.
This looks like an abandoned coal mining operation. Very small scale
It gets narrower
and narrower
Now we get into the part with a lot of tunnels all along this gorge.
None of this looks particularly stable but it holds.Our bus is a normal big bus.
This is a scary as it looks
Coming out of a tunnel
The rocks are beautiful
We had to push this microbus but it was fine with our bus.
It went on for hours. The whole trip took 7.5 hours and at least 5 of those hours were in this wild country. We were climbing all the time. We topped at 3600m.
To keep the water rushing down the mountain to by right from washing out the road, re-enforced culverts were being put in frequently
These cactus grow wild and produce a fruit you can buy in Shoprite (called tuna here).
We are topping out in the Cordillera Negra and will start a slow descent. We continue to follow the same river
It also starts to get greener, at least for a while.
We are now high up and there is the river down below
Lower down now, on the other side of the mountains, the colours are amazing. We are still a long way from the continental divide even though we have gone over a mountain range.
Small town, everyone has satellite tv.
We come across an electricity generation station. The engineers, at least, have nice housing.
Wow, those rocks.
More tunnels, this time on the way down. The road is now paved.
It gets greener as we get lower but we are still following the same river.
We arrive in Caraz and change to a microbus to take us to Huaraz.
I didn't take any pictures of Huaraz. It had the misfortune of being destroyed by an earthquake in the late 70s and was rebuilt in a very utilitarian way; not very attractive. It was beautiful in its day.
The next day we took a tour across the next mountain range - the Cordillera Blanca. This is the continental divide. We stopped at a lagoon - Laguna Querococha - along the way. In the distance you can see a wee bit of a glacier. It is a shame so much has been lost
But even when you use the outhouse (very clean) you still have a great view. No door, you see.
This is the altiplano; very bleak and wind swept. Lots of sheep being raised
There is the continental divide
This beautiful paved highway disappeared on the other side but the countryside was still beautiful.
It got greener as we got lower and you can see that the entire surface of that far mountain is farmed
We arrive at the archaeological site we were heading for. This is a replica of a "knife" the is found underground at this site. It is 3200 years old and one of few such objects in the world to be left where it was found. Perhaps because you would have to remove an entire temple to get at it.
That is the handle at the top. The point of the blade sticks into the ground.
This is the temple
The place is called Chavin if you want to look it up.
An earthquake destroyed the local town but this wall was not harmed. The layering of large and smaller rocks is the reason.
This is the temple entrance
Me with our guide
These rocks are amazing. Did I say that before
Her brother, Vico, was a big help.
I have taken 300+ pictures of this part of the trip so if you want to see more I have them.
Soon after leaving Chimbote on the coast we began to follow a river. We never left it for long.
The countryside was dryish; dependent on irrigation. The mountains in the distance seemed to stay just there, in the distance,
but bit by bit they got closer.
What is amazing is the level of erosion. I have tons of pictures showing this kind of washout.
People along the road eek out a living hoping travelers will stop and buy something
In very few places you could cross the river
Sometimes it was only a foot bridge and somethings a cable chair.
We came across the first of over 40 tunnels
The valley we were in got much narrower.
And we got closer to the edge of the road
Not a lot of room for two buses.
Some people still try to survive.
but it is rather bleak
We came across our first construction roadblock. As you can see they were tarring the road.
We literally saw workers every 2 miles. Without constant repair the road simply wouldn't be safe.
Those that do survive want cable tv though. This is a photo of the roof of a house
Our next blockage; fallen rocks needed to be removed.
Here you can't help but appreciate rocks.
This looks like an abandoned coal mining operation. Very small scale
It gets narrower
and narrower
Now we get into the part with a lot of tunnels all along this gorge.
None of this looks particularly stable but it holds.Our bus is a normal big bus.
This is a scary as it looks
Coming out of a tunnel
The rocks are beautiful
We had to push this microbus but it was fine with our bus.
It went on for hours. The whole trip took 7.5 hours and at least 5 of those hours were in this wild country. We were climbing all the time. We topped at 3600m.
To keep the water rushing down the mountain to by right from washing out the road, re-enforced culverts were being put in frequently
These cactus grow wild and produce a fruit you can buy in Shoprite (called tuna here).
We are topping out in the Cordillera Negra and will start a slow descent. We continue to follow the same river
It also starts to get greener, at least for a while.
We are now high up and there is the river down below
Lower down now, on the other side of the mountains, the colours are amazing. We are still a long way from the continental divide even though we have gone over a mountain range.
Small town, everyone has satellite tv.
We come across an electricity generation station. The engineers, at least, have nice housing.
Wow, those rocks.
More tunnels, this time on the way down. The road is now paved.
It gets greener as we get lower but we are still following the same river.
We arrive in Caraz and change to a microbus to take us to Huaraz.
I didn't take any pictures of Huaraz. It had the misfortune of being destroyed by an earthquake in the late 70s and was rebuilt in a very utilitarian way; not very attractive. It was beautiful in its day.
The next day we took a tour across the next mountain range - the Cordillera Blanca. This is the continental divide. We stopped at a lagoon - Laguna Querococha - along the way. In the distance you can see a wee bit of a glacier. It is a shame so much has been lost
But even when you use the outhouse (very clean) you still have a great view. No door, you see.
This is the altiplano; very bleak and wind swept. Lots of sheep being raised
There is the continental divide
This beautiful paved highway disappeared on the other side but the countryside was still beautiful.
It got greener as we got lower and you can see that the entire surface of that far mountain is farmed
We arrive at the archaeological site we were heading for. This is a replica of a "knife" the is found underground at this site. It is 3200 years old and one of few such objects in the world to be left where it was found. Perhaps because you would have to remove an entire temple to get at it.
That is the handle at the top. The point of the blade sticks into the ground.
This is the temple
The place is called Chavin if you want to look it up.
An earthquake destroyed the local town but this wall was not harmed. The layering of large and smaller rocks is the reason.
This is the temple entrance
Me with our guide
These rocks are amazing. Did I say that before
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