Peru - Lonely Planet Publications [264]
To reach Vischongo, backtrack to the crossroads (Ayacucho-bound buses leave from Vilcashuamán’s plaza several times daily, taking about one hour). Locals here refer to Ayacucho city as Huamanga: buses will be marked accordingly. From the crossroads, marked by a handy green sign, it’s 2km to Vischongo. It’s quicker to walk from here than wait for a bus.
In Vischongo, no-frills rooms at places like Albergue Ecoturistico de Vischongo, a block from the plaza, cost S10 per person. Ask at the Albergue about renting horses to surrounding sights. You can hike 1½ hours from here up to a Puya raimondii forest (Click here). Largely redundant as the Sendero Luminoso is these days, their power base is reportedly in this area. You’re unlikely to experience problems, but proceed with caution.
From the crossroads you can also hike on a well-defined path to an Intihuatana ruin (admission S1). If returning by bus to Ayacucho from the crossroads, you may wait some time for a vehicle with space: check times beforehand.
You can do a day tour with agencies in Ayacucho for about S60 per person.
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NORTH OF TARMA
North of Tarma the highway passes through some of the more visually stark and tropically lush scenery in Peru in relatively short succession. Climbing high on to the altiplano, you pass through Junín, perched on the southern edge of the eponymous lake, before lurching upwards to Peru’s highest town, the breath-sapping mining town of Cerro de Pasco. The road then plunges downwards in a series of twists and turns towards thriving Huánuco before dipping down again to the ceja de la selva in lush, tropical Tingo María.
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JUNÍN & AROUND
064 / elev 4125m
An important independence battle was fought at the nearby pampa of Junín, 55km due north of La Oroya. This is now preserved as the 2500-hectare Santuario Histórico Chacamarca, where there is a monument 2km off the main road.
In Junín village, basic cold-water hospedajes charge around S15 for basic rooms; there are simple restaurants around the Plaza de Libertad.
About 10km beyond the village is the interesting Lago de Junín, which, at about 30km long and 14km wide, is Peru’s largest lake after Titicaca. More than 4000m above sea level, it is the highest lake of its size in the Americas and is known for its birdlife. Some authorities claim that one million birds live on and around the lake at any one time. These include one of the western world’s rarest species, the Junín Grebe and, among the nonwinged inhabitants, wild cuy. It’s a little-visited area and recommended for anyone interested in seeing water and shorebirds of the high Andes. The lake and its immediate surroundings are part of the 53,000-hectare Reserva Nacional Junín. Visit by taking a colectivo 5km north to the hamlet of Huayre, from where a 1.5km path leads to the lake. Otherwise it can be quite hard to actually visit or even see the lake as it is mostly surrounded by swampy marshlands and no main highway gets within eyeshot of the lake itself.
The wide, high plain in this area is bleak, windswept and very cold, so be prepared with warm, windproof clothing. Buses ply the route via Junín quite often: watch for intermittent herds of llama, alpaca and sheep.
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CERRO DE PASCO (CERRO)
063 / pop 66,860 / elev 4333m
With its soroche- (altitude sickness) inducing height above sea level and its icy, rain-prone climate, this dizzyingly high altiplano mining settlement is never going to be a favorite traveler destination. First impressions however are still striking: houses and streets spread haphazardly around a gaping artificial hole in the bare hills several kilometers wide. The Spanish discovered