a 1500km stage across the roof of the central Peruvian Andes

Gabriel and I left Huaraz on the 11.04.'06 and we made our way up through the Cordillera Blanca (the highest region of the Andes in Peru). It was the end of the wet season (summer) but it was still raining and the roads were somewhat muddy! The going was hard on the dirt road as we cycled up to Pastorurri. The scenery was fascinating with the rare 'Puya Raimondii' plants (which flower only once in a lifetime but disperse up to 6000000 seeds!). The plant is only found in very few places of the Andes and only at very high altitudes (around 4000m.a.s.l.)

left: our camping spot at 4250 m.a.s.l. It was a good place to camp before heading up over the high Cordillera Blanca. It was going to be a challenging and slow day of cycling at a high altitude!

12.04.'06: On the way up in the Cordillera Blanca, one passes typical straw huts (here at 4400m.a.s.l. It is amazing how people live up here to let their sheep, lamas and alpacas graze at this altitude! The Alpacas grazing up at these altitudes  produce the perfect warm alpaca wool!!!

12.04.'06: The going was getting really slow the further up we went, here at 4650 m.a.s.l., cycling up towards the Pastorurri pass. We needed a rest about every 2 km, the lack of oxygen in the lungs, and pulling our heavy 50kg load made it really hard.

right: Gabriel and I, standing on top of our first high pass, Pastorurri pass at about 4750m.a.s.l. after cycling all the way from sea-level. The going had been very slow on the last 10km but the mountain scenery with the towering glaciers was amazing!

left: Gabriel near our highest point of the day (4810m), looking across to the Cordillera Huayhuash.

13.04.'06: After descending hundreds of metres down into the Rio Marañon valley, the temperature was much warmer again and so were the smiles of the local quechuan girls!

left: The main road (the Carretera de Sierra, highway Nr. 3), through central Peru. Other than the Pan-American highway along the desert, this is the only alternative road from north to south! Sometimes impossible for trucks and buses but ok on a bicycle, even if it meant pushing and shoving the bike through thick mud. Somehow we always got through! 

15.04.'06: Gabriel cycling down the long downhill to Huánuco. Our bikes needed a good wash after the 250km of dirt and mud road.

Camping next to the Marañon (Amazon) river. The Marañon river is the main tributary feeding the Amazon. Here it is still a small river. The Marañon river begins about 200km upstream in the Cordillera Huayhuash, the highest watersource of the Amazon. The water comes from the glaciers on the slopes of Nevada Yerupaja (6634m).

left: Gabriel cycling past the 'Corona del Inca' (the Inca's crone). The sandstone formation looks like a crone.

right: a typical lunch break along the 'Carretera de Sierra'. For lunch we usually have coca-tea, water, avocados and bread, followed by biscuits or chocolate, then a 10 minute sleep before riding on.

After a days rest in Huánuco (well, we spent all day cleaning our bikes!), we cycled on. After Huánuco we had a 120km uphill to Cerro de Pasco (this section was on a tar road... wow!!) A climb from 1900 m to 4330 m. It took us nearly 2 days to get to the top. Once at the top one reaches the Peruvian altiplano (highlands) with the beautiful Lago de Junín at 4100m.

The scenery on the altiplano is great. On the side of the road one will find alpacas and lamas grazing! The road here is tared and in great condition (due to mining in the area). There is hardly any traffic up here, making the cycling in Peru just great!

left: Gabriel cycling along the altiplano at 4150m, unfortunately with head wind!

right: The road follows the worlds highest railway line (the railway line reaches a height of over 4700m), along a beautiful valley. From here, it was a gradual (170km) downhill to Huancayo at 3270m.

20.04.'06: Gabriel and I met Marc and Hirsch (2 cyclists from the USA). Hirsch has been cycling from Canada and as we found out, he has always been roughly a few days ahead of me. It was great to cycle with 2 other cyclists for a few days. As we rode into Huancayo, we first went to the clinic to visit a doctor. Gabriel and I had been suffering from stomach pains and diarrhoea for nearly a month, even though we tried medication which was recommended to us by 2 other chemists, the diarrhoea did not go away and it weakened me to a point which was getting unbearable. The doctor was able to give us the right medication and a few days later we somehow got rid of all the worms and other bugs which were crawling around inside our intestines! What a relief! Aaaa, one feels so much better without diarrhoea! After Huancayo the four of us rode on (Marc. Hirsch, Gabriel and I), after 60km of tar road, the most difficult section of the entire trip was to begin. About 600km of dirt road and numerous deep cut valleys and canyons lay ahead! On the same day, Marc was hit by terrible diarrhoea and was feeling ill, 2 days later we decided to split and meet up in Ayacucho because he needed rest.

24.04.'06 Following the Rio Mantara was amazing. We followed the river for about 200km, sometimes cycling up over the canyon walls, other times dropping down into the valley which reminded me much of Arizona with the cactuses and red rocks.

25.04.'06: High above the Rio Mantara canyon, the road passes little Quechuan settlements. It was no problem to pitch the tent in the village. The kids obviously found it amazing how we sleep and cook.

COOKING: Cooking is an extremely important part of our daily activity. Our 'MSR Dragonfly' multifuel stove usually goes full blast for at least 2 hours in the evening. We burn anything available: diesel, cerosin, petrol...  First we make 2 litres of boiling water for our manzanilla tea (camomile), then we boil water for choclo (corn) and our noodles which we prepare with tomatosauce, onions, carrots and olives. After that our stomachs are full and all we need is a hot chocolate/milo mix, sometimes with a little rum... after that it is a matter of seconds and we are fast asleep. For breakfast we usually have a litre of coca tea made from coca leaves, together with porridge (oats with salt and raisins). This usually gives us a good start in the morning!

25.04.'06: Gabriel riding through the 'desert like' landscape of one of the tributaries feeding the Amazon. This region is extremely beautiful and very remote! rarely visited by foreigners.

The landscape is amazing and luckily bridges have been built across most of the rivers!

We arrived in Ayacucho on the 25.04.'06. This is my favourite city in the Peruvian Andes. The beautiful plaza is surrounded by colonial buildings. Not frequently visited by tourists, it reflects a real Andean city in Peru, the local Quechuan people going about their daily business, always friendly and with a smile. Gabriel and I loved the place, also because we met some interesting and nice quechuan students. So we ended up staying 2 days. We also met up with Hirsch and Marc again.

right (in Swedish): sota flickor. men det var mest for den svenska flaggan i bakgrunden som jag tog bilden!!!!! (comment from Gabriel)

After leaving Ayacucho, Gabriel and I made our way along the hardest stretch so far, the stretch to Cusco. The 600km stretch across the most rugged terrain imaginable took us 9 days of cycling and a total of 12000m in altitude gain, we cycled up numerous passes over 4000m, then dropping down over 2000m into the valley before going up again.

In the central cordillera, the road is used more by goats, donkeys, pigs, sheep and cattle than by cars. Every morning the Quechuan farmers can be seen taking their livestock to grazing pastures on the steep slopes of the Andes, in the evening they walk home again.

The roads pass through extremely remote areas. This was our favourite stretch! High up at 4000m.a.s.l the views across the deep cut valleys (deeper than the Grand Canyon) are amazing, sometimes one could see the road and it's hairpin bends on the other side of the valley, showing us what was coming up ahead!!! Sometimes a 60km uphill on a dirt road!!

30.04.'06: Gabriel and I standing in the Pampas river valley (the Pampas river is a tributary of the Amazon). While Autumn has arrived in the valleys, the higher areas up at 4000m reveal winter-like temperatures. The condensation on our tent has now been frozen numerous times while camping at 4000m.

01.05.'06: From the river valleys it is always a hard and long ride up to 4000m which can take a day or even longer with hundreds of hair-pin bends!

02.05.'06: Passing a school at 3300m in the Andes! The kids often followed us and ran next to our bikes for ages! It is something new when 2 'gringos' pass by on bicycles!

On the same day we reached the top of the 'Abra Huallaccasa' pass (4100m), just as the sun was setting. Behind Gabriel (to the left of his head) one can see the distant 6000m high peaks of the Cordillera Villacabamba.

Behind those peaks lies the world famous "Machu Picchu" and the sacred valleys of the Incas. 

Cycling on the main road (the carretera de Sierra) to Cusco, high up on one of the passes.

Gabriel's happy face after reaching another 4000m high pass (about the 10th time in Peru).

High up on the pass, it is amazing to view the Andes in the evening light before the sun sets and the temperature drops below freezing within an hour or two.

The sun has already disappeared at our camping spot but the high peaks of the Cordillera Vilcabamba are still glowing red across on the other side of the valley.

On the 05.05.'06: we reached the Inca ruins of Saywite. I always find it amazing how the Inca's carved out huge rocks. These ruins are seldom visited and so we could pitch our tent next to the ruins on a lovely patch of grass used by the local Quechuan people as a football field.

06.05'06: It was one long 70km  downhill into the 'Rio Apurimac' gorge, then one long 50km, 2000m in altitude uphill on the other side.

A few more ups and downs and we reached the world famous 'Inca capital' - CUSCO, now better known as the world famous 'Gringo City' because of the many tourists coming to this city. It truly is a lovely city situated in a valley at 3350m.a.s.l.

07.05.'06: Gabriel at the Plaza de Armas, surrounded by beautiful colonial buildings. A very hard but most stunning stage had come to an end. It was time to have a rest before moving on to Lago Titicaca at the Bolivian border.

Previous stage, see: Trekking in the Cordillera Blanca, Next stage see: Southern Peru