Cordillera Blanca 2013

About the Cordillera Blanca

The Cordillera Blanca is an incredible destination for trekking and climbing.  It has abundant native flora and fauna, is culturally rich, has fascinating ruins of several pre-Inca cultures, and preserves some remnants of Inca infrastructure as well.

The Cordillera Blanca range, located in the north of Peru, has a tremendous concentration of 6000m peaks. The mountains run roughly north to south and are easily accessible from the Callejon de Huaylas (Huaylas Valley), which lies to their west.

In 1975, the Cordillera Blanca or Yurak Janka (in the Quechua language), “The highest tropical mountain range in the world”, was declared Huascaran National Park. In 1977 and 1985 UNESCO declared this protected area as “Biosphere Reserve” and “Natural Heritage” respectively.

Between the dramatic peaks of the Cordillera Blanca the valleys are dotted with stunning turquoise glacial lakes. Most treks follow these valleys, which run west to east through the mountains. Among these mountains and valleys is where most of the adventure travel and tours in the Peruvian Andes and in the Cordillera de los Andes in South America take place; activities like: trekking, hiking, mountaineering, climbing, mountain biking, horse riding and others.