Peru - Lonely Planet Publications [333]
Of the following long-haul companies, the locally owned Movil Tours and Línea are recommended.
Chavín Express (42-4652; Cáceres 338) Has 4am, 8:30am, 11am and 2pm services to Chavín (S10, three hours), going on to San Marcos (S12, 3½ hours) and Huari (S12, six hours). Also has a bus to Llamellin at 9:30am (S15, eight hours).
Chinchaysuyo (42-6417; Morales 650B) Has a 9pm bus to Trujillo (S27, 10 hours) via Pativilca.
Cial (42-9253; Morales 650) Good, midpriced night buses to Lima (S35 to S45).
Cruz del Sur (42-8726; Bolívar 491) Has 11am and 10pm luxury nonstop services to Lima for S70 to S90.
Expreso Ancash (42-5371; Raimondi 835) Has cheap services to Lima at 1:45pm and 8:45pm (S25).
Línea (42-6666; Bolívar 450) Has excellent buses at 9pm and 9:15pm to Trujillo (S35 to S60, 10 hours) via Pativilca and Chimbote.
Los Andes (42-7362; Raimondi 744) Has a 6am bus to Pomabamba (S21, eight hours) via Piscobamba, Yanama, Colcabamba and Vaqueria.
Movil Tours (42-2555; Bolívar 452) Buses to Lima at 9am and 1pm and several night buses between 10pm and 11pm (S35 to S65). Has 9pm and 9:30pm buses to Chimbote via Pativilca (S25 to S35) and on to Trujillo (S45 to S55). The terminal is at Confraternidad Internacional Oeste.
Renzo (42-9673; Raimondi 835) Has a rambling 6am and 7pm service to Pomabamba (S21, nine hours) stopping at Piscobamba, Yanama, Colcabamba and Vaqueria. Another service leaves at 6:15am and 2:30pm for San Luis (S17, six hours) via Chacas (S14, five hours).
Sandoval (42-8069; Cáceres 338) Has buses to Huari (S14) via Chavín (S12) at 4am, 10am, 3pm and 8:30pm. Also has a bus to Huánuco at 8pm (S18, eight hours).
Transport Huandoy (42-7507; Fitzcarrald 261) There’s a bus at 11am to Chimbote via Cañón del Pato (S21, eight hours), as well as 8am, 10am and 1pm Chimbote buses (S21, seven hours) via Casma.
Transportes El Rápido (42-2887; Bolognesi 261) Buses leave at 5:30am and 2pm to Chiquián via Recuay (S9, 2½ hours); 6am, 1pm and 3pm to Huallanca (S14, four hours); and 1pm to La Unión (S18, four hours).
Transportes Río Mosna (42-6632; Calle 27 de Noviembre) Has buses at 10am and 3pm to Chavín (S12, three hours) and Huari (S14, four hours).
Transportes Rodríguez (42-1353; Calle 27 de Noviembre 622) Night buses to Lima at 10:30pm (S23).
Yungay Express (42-4377; Raimondi 744) There’s a morning bus at 7am to Chimbote via Cañón del Pato (S21, eight hours), and a night bus via Pativilca (S21, seven hours).
GETTING AROUND
A taxi ride around Huaraz costs about S3. A taxi ride to Caraz is at least S35. Look for taxis at the bridge on Fitzcarrald or along Luzuriaga.
THE CORDILLERAS
Huaraz lies sandwiched in a valley carved out by the Río Santa, flanked to the west by the brown Cordillera Negra and to the east by the frosted Cordillera Blanca. A paved road runs along the valley, more commonly known as the Callejón de Huaylas, and links a string of settlements while furnishing visitors with perfect views of lofty elevations.
The Cordillera Negra, though an attractive range in its own right, is snowless and often eclipsed by the stunning, snow-covered crown of the Cordillera Blanca.
The Cordillera Blanca, about 20km wide and 180km long, is an elaborate collection of toothed summits, razor-sharp ridges, pea-colored lakes and green valleys draped with crawling glaciers. More than 50 peaks of 5700m or higher grace this fairly small area. North America, in contrast, has only three mountains in excess of 5700m, and Europe has none. Huascarán, at 6768m, is Peru’s highest mountain and the highest pinnacle in the tropics anywhere in the world.
South of the Cordillera Blanca is the smaller, more remote, but no less spectacular Cordillera Huayhuash. It contains Peru’s second-highest mountain, the 6634m Yerupajá, and is a more rugged and less frequently visited range.
Where once pre-Columbian and Inca cultures used the high valleys as passageways to eastern settlements, backpackers and mountaineers now explore and marvel at the spectacle of Mother Nature blowing her own trumpet.
The main trekking areas