The Earth has wonderful landscapes and if we think about how they were formed, through the centuries, with sudden and deadly movements of the crust and tectonic plates, they are even more wonderful.
La Cordillera de los Andes is one of the most impressive mountain ranges in the world and the most extensive then crosses the profile of several South American countries in its wake. One of these countries is Peru and its own mountains with eternal snows have become a tourist destination for the best mountaineering. Let's get to know the snowy mountains of Peru.
The Andes Mountains outline one side of Colombia, part of Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru, Chile and Argentina. The average height of its mountains is four thousand meters but Aconcagua, its highest peak, on Argentine soil, reaches 6960 meters of altitude so it follows him to the Himalayas.
We could say that the Andes are the roof of America and we would not be wrong. In addition, it also saves volcanoes at the highest altitude on Earth and travels a total of 7240 kilometers. When it ends its long journey bordering the Pacific Ocean, it sinks both in the waters of the South Atlantic, at the height of the Isla de los Estados, and, on the other side, almost in the Caribbean Sea.
Geologists say that this American mountain range formed by moving the Nazca plate under the South American plate, towards the end of the Late Cretaceous or Upper Cretaceous, the last epoch of the Cretaceous Period that ended 66 million years ago. It was a subduction movement so the result is that there is volcanic activity along its length.
The so-called snowy mountains of Peru are located in the Central Andes, a sector that includes the Andes of Bolivia, Argentina, Chile and Peru. The Inca named with the word Apus to the peaks with eternal snow and it is they who have become mountaineering, trekking and adventure destination.
Nevado Huascaran
This massif with a snow cap is in the department of Ancash, Central Peru. It is very high then is 6768 meters tall and has a total of three summits with little difference in height between them. The granite mass covered with earth, vegetation and snow was formed just over five million years ago.
It is the fifth highest mountain in America And since everything is a matter of perspective, if the height from the center of the earth were measured, it would be the second highest mountain in the world, that is, almost two kilometers more than Mount Everest.
Two deep valleys separate it from the mountain range, ravines as they are called around here. In the first ravine is located the National park huascaran, with its lagoons and so touristy landscapes. The second is less popular but that is not why it lacks beauty or records: It has the highest car tunnel in the world: 4732 meters.
While one of the peaks climbed to the top in 1908, and it was done by an American woman, Annie Peck, the other peaks would only receive a visit from the man in 1932. The park is a World Heritage Site since 1985, as a Biosphere reserve due to its lagoons and glaciers, which number almost thirty.
Snowy Alpamayo
This is another mountain within the same Peruvian department of Ancash. Measures 5947 meters of altitude and it is a mace of ice and rock that for many specialists holds the title of la Most beautiful mountain in the world.
Looks like a pyramid of great perfection and although it is not the high sea it is so beautiful that the detail is soon forgotten. The closest city to start the adventure of knowing this Peruvian mountain is 467 kilometers from Lima and is Caraz.
Western man, we will never know if someone went that far before, reached the peak in the 30s of the twentieth century. Today the standard route to reach the peak is the one opened by a group of Italian climbers forty years ago, along the southeast face. Not easy and according to what they say, it looks like the Himalayas.
Snowy Huaytapallana
This snowy mountain is located since 2001 is a protected area within the Peruvian department of Junín. It has several peaks and the highest is 5557 meters high while the second is just below 5530 meters. Later, as many peaks with altitudes are added, all above five thousand meters. What a magnificence!
We could define it as a mini mountain range that is located just two hours by car from the city of Huancayo, in turn eight hours from Lima. The base camp to climb it is four thousand meters high and from there climbers can follow two routes.
Snowy Huandoy
This mountain is also found in the department of Ancash and measures 6395 meters of altitude. Up there among the clouds and snow they hide four peaks snowy. It is located north of the snowy Huascarán and the mountaineers arrive from the valley or stream of Llanganuco.
It is within the sector known as Cordillera Blanca, a mountain range of snow-capped peaks that runs alongside the western coast of Peru for about 180 kilometers and in whose interior, like treasures, there are more than six hundred glaciers, many snow-capped peaks and many at more than five meters of altitude, hundreds of lagoons and dozens of rivers.
Snowy Huantsan
It is also one of the snow-capped peaks of the Cordillera Blanca. It has four peaks, the highest of which reaches Meters 6369 closely followed by the other three. The mountaineers who are encouraged by this snowy peak know that they have a very complicated task and that requires a lot of technique, so much so that it was only in the 50s that victory could be claimed.
Tourists come to this snowy peak in Peru from the city of Huaraz, at the foot of the mountain, and many excursions are made in addition to mountaineering trips. You can for example do a mountain bike tour of a whole day that takes you to know the Rajucolta Creek and its lagoon and an altitude of four thousand meters. If you want to enter the national park you have to pay.
The truth is that these are just some of the so-called snow-capped mountains of Peru. There are many more eternal snow mountains in Peru, although it is true that the most fantastic seem to have been concentrated in the department of Ancash.
If you like mountain sports and you need that vision of the world that can only be given to the top of one, then Peru is waiting for you.
Well what can I say, in our peru there are beautiful natural landscapes to be able to know….
It is very beautiful thanks to that I managed to do my vacation homework….
It is very impressive on all the snowfalls of Peru the great wonders that our country has
It is very beautiful and thanks to that I was able to give myself a good grade in my school
Well I want to tell you that thanks to them all of us can find out and do our homework well and it is also very important to know about all the important snow-capped mountains in Peru, thank you very much !!!!
Well, Peru has some very beautiful snow-capped mountains, although I'm not from there, I find them very beautiful
Good page, I would like to know if you have ski slopes in the places or at least if they are temporary
The snow-capped mountains of Peru are best appreciated from the life zones, not standing from a platform of snow or ice, this is how the people of Peru and the entire world appreciate it. It is seen that they do not know the willcacocha lagoon in Ancash or the Switzerland of Cusco with the Nevado Wacaywillque and its lagoons of Piuray and Huaypo. That is the way to appreciate, care for and conserve our snow-capped mountains.