Perú's High Andes

Before we could revel in the Cordillera Blanca’s grandeur, we first had to get there, and riding through the ever-higher ‘’foothills’’ (i.e. peaks <5,000 m) was our final training, exposing us to long climbs and descents, each with dozens of switchbacks, and many of them on dirt roads, which we have found to be quite challenging on our heavily-laden, smooth-tire recumbent bikes. Second only to growling packs of dogs, unconsolidated sand and gravel is our biggest nemesis, forcing us to move quite slowly, even downhill, to avoid having our bike’s front wheel dig into soft soil and threaten to topple us. The week of riding to get to the Cordillera Blanca did much to increase our skills in this regard, while also testing our fortitude, yet the challenging conditions were more than rewarded by the ever-changing and ever-more-dramatic scenery, and a big sense of accomplishment at the end of each day. The most challenging day was a brutal descent on a steep, rutted-out-to-powder road into Angasmarca, but we forgot all about it, as we entered the village just as school was getting out, and throngs of children engulfed us as we made our way through the town.

We ended up getting waylaid in Pallasca for a day due to Clark’s first bout with “intestinal malaise” (we both ended up getting it twice by the time we left Peru), but then we embarked on our longest descent ever, in all of our years of bike touring (including our ride in the Himalaya) - 3,200 m (10,500’) down to Chuquicara at elevation 530 m, just 60 km from Peru’s Pacific coast. The ride was extraordinary, as you can see in the video, with huge vistas from a cliff hanger of a road, all the way down through millions of years of colorful geology to the river below. We had to do this to get to the Río Santa, which became our roadside companion for the next few weeks.

The Río Santa is the dividing line between the Cordillera Negra (“Black Range” {or without snow}) to the west, and the Cordillera Blanca (“White Range” {or with snow}) to the east. The river is fed by the melting snow and 722 glaciers that cover the Cordillera Blanca. (Note: climate change caused the area of permanent ice cover to shrink by about one third, from 1970 to 2006!) This river became the geographic constant for us for the next month of our riding and hiking in the region - we would return to it after each foray into one of the cordilleras, and we traversed it from near its base (Chiquicara) all the way to its headwaters at Laguna Conococha.

Once we were back above 1,000m we started to see multiple large-scale farms of big prickly pear cactus which (we think) are for two different crops: first, the cactus “pears” are sold as a tasty fruit throughout Peru, second, the cactus is the breeding ground for cochineal, a special bug that lives in a fluffy white wax on the prickly pear pads. The bugs are bright red when you squeeze them, and are the base for natural red dye used in peruvian weaving and food. Peru is the world’s largest exporter of cochineal.

The switchbacks led us up to Cañon Del Pato, considered to be the point where the Cordillera Negra and Blanca meet, and where the road is carved out of (and through) almost solid marble. The road has 35+ tunnels (a feature that is not usually a plus for cyclists) but the tunnels were mostly short, lightly trafficked and afforded new and exciting views each time we exited one, making for another extraordinary day of riding! Water is also tunneled through the rock to multiple hydroelectric facilities.

For those of you who think we are adventurous, check this out: In Caraz at the supermarket, Clark met a French family of six (with four children between the ages of 5 and 12) traveling on 3 fully-loaded tandem bicycles! They stop at village schools where they have a cultural exchange with the students, and camp for the night. You should definitely check out their website to learn more about their truly amazing adventure!

This day began with 37 switchbacks up to Punta Olímpica with clear, unobstructed views of of all of the peaks around us as we headed up the beautiful paved road, eventually finding ourselves parallel with nearby glaciers. At elevation 4,732 m the paved road dives into a 2 km tunnel through the mountain, but we instead turned onto the old, abandoned dirt road and pushed our bikes up and over the actual pass (elevation 4,950 m, 16,240’). At the top, we pushed through the pad of snow in a small, anti-climatic notch, coming out on the other side to yet another spectacular view of peaks, glaciers, turquoise lakes and wait for it… 36 switchbacks down the next valley to the lovely town of Chacas, which is distinguished by Italian woodworking adorning many of the buildings in the town.

The next day, when we were supposed to be riding up to Portachuelo Pass, we awoke to steady rain and a cloud ceiling that was all the way down to Yanama - not the conditions we were hoping for to tackle the last big pass of the circuit. It was now clear that the Andes’ rainy season was arriving, making our riding here much more challenging, and frankly, less fun and rewarding. The weather forecast for the coming days was pessimistic at best, so we made the painful decision to hire a van to take us over the last third of the circuit and back to Carhuaz to regroup. Even socked in by clouds, the drive over the pass was dramatic, but seeing the wheel tracks in the rutted dirt road full of running water, cascading down through 34 switchbacks, confirmed that this day was not a good day to ride.

We also met up with Jan (an old friend from our Ultimate Frisbee days in Boulder, CO) and her husband Rick, who became our travel companions for the next week. We started by taking another drive up into the Cordillera Negra, but this time we got dropped off at the pass above Huaraz and we walked down a 14 km section of an Inca trail back to Huaraz, passing through farm fields, pastures and small villages, all the while enjoying amazing views of the Cordillera Blanca across the valley.

Finally, we took an all-day tour of the Chavín de Huantar archaeological site, yet another stunning, extensive example of how Perú seems (to us) to be a kind of ‘cradle of civilization’ for the Americas. The sheer number and scale of sophisticated civilizations that existed here leading up to the apex of the Inca continues to boggle our minds!

Rain slowed us down and prevented us from making it to the national park entrance before dark, so we stopped at a local’s house and paid her 2 Peruvian Soles (65 cents) to fill up our 6-liter water bag for a night of camping. The rain subsided and we made our way up the river valley to camp in a cow pasture, just 50 meters from the road. We woke again to building clouds, knowing that meant a day of climbing a dirt road in the rain, but we also knew that these cordilleras are dramatic even when shrouded in clouds.

The scenic drama continued the next day as we rode a long, high traverse to another pass, complete with 360-degree views of both cordilleras at our lunch stop! Mountain after mountain illustrated extraordinary geologic history in colors and rippled layers, with beautiful valleys stretching in all directions. Our decision to squeeze out one more week of mountain riding was validated on this day!

This descent through pelting sleet proved to be the darkest, wettest and coldest of the trip, so we were ecstatic to find the only guesthouse in the mining town of Pachapaqui had two free beds in their (rather spartan) dorm room, which we accessed via their very muddy stable yard in the back!

This descent was even bigger than our last record out of Pallasca, this time going downhill, continuously for 4,100 m (13,500’) over 122 km (75 miles)! We’ve never had a day like this before and guess we never will again. The ride was memorable, going through many different ecotones and dramatic changes in climate and geology. We finished in the coastal town of Barranca, sad that we have left Perú’s Andes behind us, yet excited that just days away is Lima, from which we will fly to Santiago, Chile, to begin the second phase of our trip, down through Patagonia, hopefully to the southern tip of the continent!