Cordillera Blanca Traverse
- A magnificent trek amongst Peru`s biggest peaks
- End to end, through the most famous of Andean ranges
- Eight major pass crossings and fantastic views
- Stunning lakeside camps
- Get close to Alpamayo, the world`s most beautiful peak
The Cordillera Blanca is the foremost of the Andean mountain ranges, with more than thirty 6000 metre peaks and truly spectacular scenery. It has some of the best and most popular trekking routes in South America, as well as the potential for breathtaking new routes - such as this one. After acclimatising for 2 nights in the colourful market town of Huaraz, we travel to the famous pre-Colombian ruins at Chavin de Huantar in the south-eastern corner of the range. From here, we trek for 15 days through the heart of the cordillera, passing close to dramatic peaks such as the mighty Huascara. We also get close to Alpamayo, in the far north-west, which is a contender for the title of the world's most beautiful peak. This 3-week adventure promises superb trekking and some of the best views in the Blanca. Well-travelled members of previous KE groups in this region have suggested that the mountain scenery of the Blanca rivals anything that can be experienced in the Himalayas.
This trip is one of our ‘Explore More' range of outstanding trips which we are running in conjunction with our friends at Allibert (France's leading adventure travel operators). The trips we have chosen for this range are undoubtedly some of the finest adventures on the planet, but they are also ‘specialist' and will appeal to those who have ‘been there, done that' in many parts of the world, and are now looking for something new and truly adventurous. This kind of trip will not appeal to everyone, and with this in mind, we recognised that by combining our forces we could gather the numbers of adventurers required to make these extraordinary adventures viable. The cosmopolitan nature of the groups will be an important part of the Explore More experience!
Is this holiday for you?
This adventurous trip offers a variety of trekking conditions, ranging from good trails between villages in the sparsely inhabited high valleys on the edge of the Cordillera Blanca, to steep paths across scree on the approach to the highest passes on our route. It is possible that the highest passes may have a light covering of snow. Overall, the trekking is straightforward and mostly on good trails with the occasional steeper slope of scree or loose rock, but it should be noted that trekking at altitude is challenging of itself. We have set this trip towards the upper end of our DEMANDING grade, on account of the overall length of the trek and the fact that there are at least 8 high passes on our route. We have a couple of days for acclimatisation, prior to setting off on trek and there are 2 rest / exploration days built into the itinerary. The trip is suitable for regular hillwalkers with a good level of fitness.
You may also be interested in...
Mount Kenya and Kilimanjaro - Kenya, Trekking 15 days
Annapurna Circuit Trek - Nepal, Trekking 18 days
Summits of the Canadian Rockies - Canada, Trekking 14 days
