|
Huamachuco - Ancash
04 days / 03 nigth
......................................................................................................................................
Day 01:
At our arrival to Huaraz city, we will have a big and cheerful welcome, breakfast in a local restaurant, followed by a City tour, where we will be able to appreciate the main attractives of the city, like "El Señor de la Soledad" church , the City Square, the Regional Museum of Huaraz and its traditional places like Belen, Centenario, San Francisco and Huarupampa, that already maintains their attractive enchantments and originality.
Later we will visit our host houses who are farmers from the community of Humacchuco, waiting for us in an Andean welcome, accompanied with a coca tea that will help us to get used to th Andean heights.
During the afternoon we will settle in our lodging houses and the host of the farmer family will take us to visit his small farms and we will participate with him, removing the potato field, activity known as "aporque". Taking a break , we will have lunch elaborated by the villagers.
Supper and rest.
Day 02: Huytapallana
We will rise by the dawn, and we will take a vigorous breakfast, that will help us to initiate a long walk towards the Huytapallana gorge; this route is very useful for height adaptation; although is a very old way, it is in an excellent condition and is used by local people to remove ice from the "M Glacier". We will visit it while trekking:
The Keushu Ruins: archaeological set that dates from the time of the Wari culture, the constructions we will observe were used for the breeding of llamas, alpacas, vicuñas, etc.
Eucalyptuses Forest: the eucalyptuses were introduced to Peru by jesuitas missionaries at beginnings of XX century. At the moment wood for firewood, furniture and beams, moldings and construction doors are extracted from the plantations; infusions are made with leaves for the cough and some laboratories use them to prepare medicinal products.
Andens: These platforms are constructed in the lofty hill bottoms, an incredible work of fine engineering that made possible the pre-Inca agriculturists to seed in those hills, that without those platforms would had been impossible to seed nothing, because of the erosion. These platforms have a complex network of land channels,it would be a great example of hydraulic engineering, and supplies water to these singular millenarian small farms that are still being used, with the same success, until today.
The Chullpas: They were constructions that served as communitarian stone tombs, built with exquisite architectonic technique; here we will be able to see, directly, many human bones. Many skulls are gathered by native because they believe , , that the skulls are excellent guardians that protect them against the robbers, warning them with whistles and strange noises.
Viewpoint and Present Channel: The Keushu zone and the Huarcca and Humacchuco sectors, have an excellent viewpoint from all the colorful typical of the Andean surroundings . The extensive channel, that provides water to the lower part of the population and also irrigates many small farms, has been built about 100 years ago and has a permanent use.
Chacpa Field: It is a forest known as "El Gran Rodal de Chacpá", this one is a bush able to grow under the hardest conditions of climate, . The fiber of its bark is used to make baskets. There are also wide and important populations of bird species.
The Quenual Forest : Under the mountains the Quenual forests grow. They form the most important ecosystem in all the Andes mountain range. They depend on the water that comes from glaciers and helps to conserve them. They provide the habitat and refuge to birds and mammals, among them, bears and deers.
Use of the Ice: From very old times the communers have long walks to arrive at the foot of the glacier and to cut ice blocks of considerable size (30 or 40 kg, 66.15 or 88.2 lbs), load them on the back, and take it back to the town where they sell it, generally in the market of Yungay.
Ruins of Keushu: this stone building dates approximately from 1500 D.C., some sources indicate that the leaders of the old towns of the zone lived in this part of the ruins and celebrated rituals and ceremonies in the town square.
Lodging in the farmers´ houses. Spend the night
Day 03: Laguna 69
After an early breakfast, we will initiate our long walk towards lagoon 69, one of most popular places for the ones who enjoy adventure and is a great opportunity to see snowy mountains closely. The ascent is of 700 mts (2333,3 ft) reaching a height of 4620 msnm (15400 f.a.g), during the tour we will visit the following sites:
Onion Pampas : The grass of the Llanganuco gorge is used by the farmers, who have 150 heads of cattle. By that right of use of the grass, the commoners must participate in annual campaigns of reforestation and maintenance of the breeding grounds.
The Quishuar Forest : Quishuar is a native tree, that grows in a few places, but it´s known that was more abundant in the past. Its wood has been used in the construction and for firewood, but without conservation and maintenance methods, the forests at the moment are in extinction danger and there are already very few left, in all the White Mountain range.
Medicinal Plants "Huamanpinta and Escorzonera": In the most rustic and inclined slopes we can find these medicinal plants, that farmers take advantage of using them like a diuretic and to calm down the cough.
Glaciers and Gorge Formations: These already famous glaciers by the action of Peruvian and foreign andinists, have an age of 20000 years, formed before the last ice age, about 14 000000 of years ago; through its history written in ice, we know that there were many changes in the temperature and precipitations. At the present, the temperature is increasing and rains diminishing, therefore the glaciers, are slowly melting and backing down.
Tzakra (High Grass): In the White mountain range the cattle magnificently adapted to high altitude, pasture, up to 5000 msnm (16666,6 f.a.g.). The predation caused by puma and the fox are remarkable. The cattle shares the grass with wild animals like deer and vicuñas.
Viewpoint of Lagoon 69: It is a high and dominant viewpoint from where we will be able to admire the Lagoon the 69 itself and impressive snowed mountains of Chacraraju, Huascarán, Huandoy and Pisco. We are now at 4620 msnm (15400 f.a.g.). This is the natural habitat of the Andean Cóndor, the most great and powerful flying bird of the world.
Day 04:
Route Chinancocha
We will get up by dawn and after a vitalizing breakfast, we will initiate the long walk by the Maria Josefa footpath, that is a part of the pre-inca route from Yungay to Yanama, located between the magnificent granite walls at the entrance of the Llanganuco gorge. Here we will find approximately 80% of the plant species exist in the Huascarán National Park .
During the route we will appreciate the following sightseeings:
Maria Josefa Viewpoint: we will be able to see how the forest follows the water routes from the snow-covered peaks, being an important habitat and forming ecosystems that lodge a vast variety of birds and animals, and in its noisy small little streams and rivers , lots of delighful trouts.
Quenual Reforestation: Since 1987, the Huascarán National Park programs reforestation activities, and some sectors of the community participate actively, especially the ones that have cattle within the park.
Humid Habitat and Ferns: We will find abundant ferns, plants with the oldest DNA of the world, also it is possible to observe other plants that need special humidity and grounds, like the "Llantén", whose medicinal use is wide. Also we will find the legendary and gorgeous orchids throughout the footpath.
Quenual Humid Forest : Important ecosystems that provides the habitat to several species of birds, some migratory and other stationary. There are some interesting mammals like the "tarugo" or "taruca" (Andean deer), vizcacha (Andean rodent), the huanaco, vicuña that at the moment are protected by organizations of farmers and by the government.
Alder Forest : These important bushes need more humidity, less height and higher temperature, higher than the "quenuales" that provide important refuge for many species of animals and vegetables. During the route we will also observe Epiphytes, the Quenual Dry Forest , the Rumi Chaca (stone bridge), Chacpá and pine plantations. It also has with a good viewpoint (1970´s Earthquake History).
Then we will offer a picnic, supper and will go to the Huascarán National Park , ride the strong and fast "serranos" horses that serve also in emergency cases, have an unforgettable stroll in boat and taste the sensational "pachamanca".
|