It was amazing visiting Cordillera Blanca. Is incredible how normal is here to leave at more than 3000m above sea level.
I will definitely come back one day, carrying less weight so I can reach the top of this incredible mountains. Hopefully they will still be white. Now I’m heading to the South
All the farmers I met on the Cordillera lamenta a decrease in the water coming down the mountains. It’s not only about the glacier retreat but also about rain getting less frequent than it used to be
The Pastoruri glacier is even more popular than Laguna 69, since it is reachable by foot in 30 minutes.
This made it a really crowded spot in the 80’s, when people where coming here to ski.
Today there is not much left. All the brown rock you see in the picture used to be covered by ice 15 years ago. Needless to say the lake wasn’t there
After a really challenging hike I got to Laguna 69 at 4604m. This is probably the most popular lake of the more than 400 that can be found in the Huascarán National Park. In the thaw season, the lake is nourished by a waterfall from the Chacraraju glacier, so it’s a good place to observe how the landscape is changing
Huascarán, situated in the Cordillera Blanca range of the western Andes, is the highest point in Peru (6768m).
As all of the other 660 formations in the area, its glacier is retreating and could disappear in the next 40 years delivering water shortages and catastrophic floods in the nearby towns
In the rural areas of Cordillera Blanca is really common to find Quechua people still wearing traditional clothes, often made by hand. What is striking to me is that they don’t wear them only for special events but every day, even while doing heavy manual work in the field.
Unfortunately younger generations are starting to wear just normal modern clothes
My guide Octavio invited me to visit Caserío de Yarush, the small village where he was born.
His father welcomed us in his humble house and prepared some fresh egg soup using only products from his land
From Lima I took a bus to Huaraz, to explore how the melting glaciers in the Cordillera Blanca are changing the life of the farmers that live in the area
Quick technical stop in Lima, Peru, before heading to the Cordillera Blanca. I had to fix my camera bag and I knew some artisan in Surquillo market area could help me