Peru

 

Cradle Of Inca Civilization

 

Peru is home to some of the most spectacular mountains in the world; high, steep granite massifs, rising above twisted glaciers, with beautifully fluted ridges of snow and ice. The Pacific Ocean is only 60 miles from the main crest in some places, and never more than 100 miles.

Peru was first inhabited as far back as 20,000 years ago; the cradle of the most ancient and sophisticated pre-Columbian civilizations in the Americas. Today Peru is synonymous with the Incas, who built the cloud city of Machu Picchu as well as countless other spectacular palaces and temples, and who remain one of the best-documented of all civilizations. Though their empire was relatively short lived – it spanned from about 1200 to 1532 – at its height, the Incas commanded holdings even more far-reaching than that of the Romans.

The rugged Andes Mountains bisect the country from north to south like a jagged backbone of rock and snow. This chain of mountain ranges both large and small – the largest concentration of high mountain peaks in the Americas – molds the landscape and the people who live there.

Our Peru expeditions begin in Lima, a sprawling metropolis in the middle of the country's desert coastline. Lima is a city of contrasts: it attracts great numbers of down-and-out villagers from the highlands who come in search of a better life, as well as adventurous travelers who come to Lima for its museums, architecture, colorful markets and friendly people.

The Cordillera Blanca, the White Range, is one of the most rugged and heavily glaciated mountain systems in the Peruvian Andes, and the second highest mountain range in the world. The Cordillera Blanca lies along the eastern flank of the Rio Santa, in the Callejon de Huaylas, and is the epicenter of Peruvian mountaineering. It embraces the highest and most beautiful snow-capped peaks in the country, and is home to the greatest concentration of tropical-zone glaciers in the world. The Cordillera Blanca is quite arguably one of the most beautiful sections of the entire 4,600-mile-long Andes mountain chain stretching along the West Coast of South America.

Our expeditions to the Cordillera Blanca include ascents of Ishinca (18,138’), Pisco Oeste (18,871), Urus (18,881’), Alpamayo (19,512’), Tocllaraju (19,785’), Quitaraju (19,820), Chopicalqui (20,939’) and Huascaran Sur (22,205).

Click on the links below to learn more about our Peru expeditions, view itineraries, prices and dates, and to submit an Online Application. Join us for an exciting mountaineering adventure in Peru!