| |
Amidst
the high Andean pastures and cropfields that make up the department
of Ancash, one can almost always find a small church or village
of red-tiled roofs with a fragrance of freshly-baked bread
on the air. These are the everyday wonders of the Peruvian
Andes. There, in all its ancient glory, lies the Callejón
de Huaylas. This wide valley, some 200 km long, is split by
the Santa River and fringed by a picturesque group of towns
and villages, among them Recuay, Huaraz, Carhuaz, Yungay and
Caraz. It is a land where time appears to have stood still.
Wedged between two soaring mountain chains -the Cordillera
Negra and Cordillera Blanca- the Callejón de Huaylas
gave rise to the ancient Chavín civilization, who have
left a legacy in the Chavín de Huántar temple
just hours from the city of Huaraz, the capital of the department.
Ancash, however, is a vast department that includes not only
the highlands, but also stretches as far as the coast where
one can find cities like the fishing port of Chimbote or Casma,
a tranquil town by the shores of the Pacific. Possibly Ancash's
geographic and climactic diversity has made it one of Peru's
premier tourist destinations. Huascarán National Park,
named after the 6,768 meter-high Mount Huascarán, offers
opportunities to practice just about every adventure sport
under the sun, from rafting down the Santa River to climbing
up the Pastoruri snowfields. Mountaineering Week is one of
the major events in the region. Also famous are Lake Llanganuco
and the pre-Hispanic stone temple of Sechín. These
and many other attractions are reasons enough to explore one
of the most beautiful and rugged parts of Peru.
|
|
