AWESOME ANDES XC trip: Peru

Pachacamac was an important place in Inca times. There is a big fortress with impressive constructions that dominates the entire Lurin Valley. We will have the opportunity to discover hidden Inca constructions deep inside the valley and the mountains.

We will pick you up from your hotel at 8:00 am and go directly to Pachacamac, 45 Km. south of Lima and visit Peruvian Mountain Biking legend, Alfonso Roda. We start our ride from his house/farm and immediately take a trail that will take us to different Inca constructions and finally to the top of the ÒEl ChirimoyoÓ Mountain. It is a total of 25 Km. and about 3 hours for our first ride in Peru. The altitude range goes from 250 to 700 masl (820 to 2,296 ft.).

We will have lunch in Pachacamac and finally return to Lima and have the rest of the afternoon free or visit the main Inca site as an option.

Villa Quipan is one of the best trails for mountain biking on the Andes near Lima. We will have breakfast at 6:00 am and leave around 6:30 am. It is a four hour bus drive to get to the start of this amazing trail located North-East from Lima and at an altitude of 3,650 masl (12,000 ft.).

This trail has three different sections: the first one at the beginning is a series of different singletrack trails used by local people and farmers to move from one town to another. It has sections of little uphills and downhills; the terrain is grippy and no loose rocks (just the first 100 meters). We will have impressive views of the mountains and different trails around. The second section of this trail is also a nice singletrack that is used by local people and for a procession of three days every May 5th where more than 5,000 people walk this trail from the bottom to the top and pray to the Lord of Huamantanga. We will find many crosses on the trail and at the end a little chapel with a painting that represents the entire trail to Huamantanga. The last section of this trail is where we reach the bottom of the mountain and we have to follow a dried river bed until we reach the village of Macas at an altitude of 650 masl (2,130 ft.).

It is a total of 40 Km. and an approximate time of 4 hours to complete this great trail that has a vertical descent of more than 3,000 meters, one of the biggest downhills on earth! At the end of the day we will not return to Lima and keep going North toward Huaraz. We will stay at Jose's Farm in Huaral for our next day ride.

Early in the morning, after a nutritious breakfast made of fresh fruits, we will go to the hills located at the back of Jose's farm. We will leave the farms behind and start our way to the hills following nice singletracks on our way. We will reach the bottom of the hills of Huaral and after we border one of its sides, we will start a challenging uphill on ancient trails used by the farmers many years ago. We will have unique views of Huaral and if the day is clear itÕs possible to see the Pacific Ocean. At noon we will return to Huaral for lunch and on the afternoon we will go to the town of Chiquian at the entrance of the Cordillera Blanca and the Callejon de Huaylas.

We'll start early in the morning riding a spectacular trail that will show us amazing views of the Cordillera Blanca and the Yerupaja summit. We'll cross natural places on our ride and reach the village of Pancal where we can get pure and crystal water directly from the mountains! Then we'll return by the same trail to Chiquian and have lunch. On this first trail we'll ride 20 Km. in approximately 4 hours.

In the afternoon we'll ride from Chiquian to the town of Huasta, at the footsteps of the Huayhuash Mountain Range. We'll visit its colonial church and relax for a while on this peaceful town. If we have more energy, we can return to Chiquian on our bikes; if not, the van will be waiting for us in Huasta. In total we'll ride approximately 35 Km. this day.

Early in the morning, after a nutritious breakfast, we are going to leave Chiquian behind and go to Conchucos Valley, at the other side of the Cordillera Blanca. We'll climb with our van to the mountain pass and start riding our bikes downhill until we reach the town of Chavin de Huantar. We'll ride 50% on singletrack and 50% on dirt road and paved road.

We'll have lunch in Chavin de Huantar and then we are going to have all the afternoon to visit the archeological site of Chavin, more than 2,500 years old. We are going to explore the tunnels inside the site and then we'll visit the museum and discover how these people lived in the past. This is an experience that you will never forget! Finally, we'll be transferred to the city of Huaraz where we'll stay for the next several days and ride the best trails in the area.

After a nutritious breakfast, we'll start with a van transfer to the top of the Cordillera Negra to the mountain pass of Callan Punta at an altitude of 4,240 masl (13,911 ft.), where we'll start riding a Chavin trail more than 2,500 years old! We are going to ride our bikes down hill, with amazing views of the Cordillera Blanca, and reach Huaraz at the bottom of the valley, located at an altitude of 3,090 masl (10,138 ft.).

Our van will be waiting for us in Huaraz to make another transfer to almost the top of the Cordillera Blanca at an altitude of 4,100 masl and make another amazing descent that starts near Lake Churup and ends in the center of Huaraz. We'll have incredible views of both the Cordillera Blanca and Cordillera Negra, and of course, the trails are the best in town!

We'll take lunch and after we have a short rest, we'll do an afternoon ride that will take us to the hot springs of Monterrey, where we'll end this day with a refreshing and relaxing swim.

This day we will ride 30 Km. of uphill on the Cordillera Negra until we reach the mountain pass of Callan Punta at an altitude of 4,240 masl (13,911 ft.). We will have spectacular views of the Cordillera Blanca as well as the Callejon de Huaylas. From the top of the mountain we will start riding a Chavin trail that is more than 2,500 years old, descending directly to Huaraz!

We will ride a total of 45 Km. in approximately 4 hours. We will have lunch in Huaraz and have the rest of the afternoon free to visit other areas of the city or return to the hot springs in Monterrey.

Early in the morning, after we take breakfast we will start riding our bikes again from Huaraz. We will start climbing on the Cordillera Blanca and pass different agricultural farms and little villages until we reach the archaeological site of Willkawain at an altitude of 3,400 masl (11,155 ft.). We will have a guided trip here and a short snack before we continue our ride.

After visiting Willkawain we will continue our ride and reach our highest point at an altitude of 3,550 masl (11,647 ft.) before we start going downhill to the hot springs of Monterrey. We will ride a technical singletrack with some sections of rock steps and loose rocks. Finally, we will reach Monterrey and go directly to the hot springs.

We will ride a total of 25 Km. in approximately 4 hours.

Early in the morning after a nutritious breakfast, we will be transferred to the village of Shilla at an altitude of 2,910 masl (9,547 ft.) to start one of the most spectacular trails in Huaraz. We will climb from Shilla to Huaypan and reach the highest point of the trail at 3,550 masl (11,647 ft.). At this point we are going to be at the base of the Huascar? Summit. The view from here is spectacular; the Huascaran Summit looks bigger than ever! From this point we will start the downhill part of the trail riding some singletracks that crosses the dirt road. These singletracks are ancient trails used by the native people of this area. We will cross the villages of Tumpa and Musho and finally reach the Santa River on the location of Ranrahirca.

This day we will enter into the Huascaran National Park and ride our mountain bikes from the mountain pass of Portachuelo LLanganuco located at an altitude of 4,720 masl (15,486 ft.) to the Santa River at an altitude of 2,500 masl (8,202 ft.). We will have spectacular views of the Huascaran summit with its 6,768 masl (22,205 ft.), the highest of Peru and the fourth highest peak in South America! We will ride mostly on dirt roads but with the possibility to take challenging singletracks for those who want to go a little bit on your limits.

We will reach LLanganuco Lake and have a short break to enjoy the scenery on this unique place of the Cordillera Blanca. We can sail for a while on this lake or discover some trails around the lake. After this visit we will continue with our ride down the mountain on singletracks and dirt roads until we reach the town of Yungay. This last part of the trail has excellent sections of singletracks that can be challenging for a normal mountain biker. Without doubt you will improve your mountain bike skills after this last day of riding on the Peruvian Andes.

In the late afternoon we will return to Huaraz and go to the hot springs of Monterrey for another refreshing and relaxing bath.

Early in the morning we'll start our return to the city of Lima, where our trip ends.