Riding and Exploring in Northern (and Central) Peru: Part 2

After a couple nights of rest in Trujillo, we decided it was time to start heading west toward Huascarán National Park. We had heard there was some pretty epic riding in and around the park, and we were excited to get back on the bikes.

The flat, sea-side landscape quickly turned into winding mountain roads. As we climbed up in elevation, we were rewarded with stunning views of the surrounding mountains.

We stopped for a snack at one of the few roadside stops on the way where we met Coco (pictured below). Coco is a super sweet man who chatted with us for a while, telling us about his family and life in the canyon, including that he had been without running water for over a month due to a construction error up the road (one of many sad examples of the often poorly run infrastructure in a lot of South America).

A few hours into the ride, we finally reached the infamous Cañón del Pato. The road through Cañón del Pato is said to be one of the more dangerous stretches of road in Peru as the road is only wide enough for about one and a half cars and is comprised of numerous one-lane tunnels in which horn honking is a must to avoid a collision with oncoming traffic. We encountered a few vehicles on the other end of some of the tunnels, but overall the ride and the views were spectacular.

Once through this thrilling stretch of road, it was only about 10 more kilometers before we arrived at our destination, Caraz. We stayed at a hostel we found on iOverlander (an excellent app for finding lodging, restaurants, and other tips and tricks from fellow overlanders), and it just happened to be the same hostel a guy who goes by the name “Round the World Paul” was staying at. Although I had no idea who this celebrity was upon first sighting, Brian was quick to inform me he is well-known in the adventure riding world. He has been traveling by motorcycle for the past eight years, visiting something like 86 countries, and would come to be an excellent resource for our trip planning over the next two days.

The following day, we took a trip to Huascarán National Park and embarked on what would become the best day of riding thus far. We rode a stretch of road called the Punta Olimpica Pass, which included 47 hairpin turns in 27 kilometers and one of the world's highest tunnels at 15,538 ft. The views of the glacier and Cordillera Blanca mountain range were absolutely breathtaking as we wound our way up the mountain. Once we passed through the tunnel, we were able to see the other side of the glacier and couldn't resist flying the drone to further take in the scenery. All too soon, it was time to head back down the mountain, taking hairpin after hairpin turn back toward Caraz.

The next day, we left early to visit Laguna Llanganuco before heading further south to Huaraz. It was about three hours of off-road riding round-trip to the laguna, but we were so happy we did it. The water was unlike any water we have ever seen – bright aquamarine. We spent a good bit of time taking in the scenery and flying the drone before our dying drone battery and the soon to be rainy weather convinced us it was time to leave.

For the second time this trip, Brian offered a local a ride home on the back of his bike. After dropping him off, we made the ride back into Caraz to grab our belongings (it is always best to off-road with the least amount of weight), and then head south to Huaraz.

Huaraz is a popular destination for tourists due to its proximity to so many outdoor activities. Unfortunately, we were there in the off-season and most of the mountaineering and hiking outfitters were not operational due to rain and warmer temperatures. Thus, we took advantage of the numerous tourist-focused coffee shops and restaurants to get our fill of pancakes, good espresso, and non-Peruvian food. In the evenings, we were able to see some gorgeous sunsets from our hotel rooftop.

After three nights in Huaraz, we rode east through Huascarán National Park one last time before turning south toward Huánuco where we planned to get some work done on the bikes. The 55 kilometers through the park involved some of the most intense and difficult riding I have ever encountered as we made our way up to and down from 16,404 ft through mud, loose gravel, and hail at times. Along with the difficulty, however, this route also provided some of the most incredible views.

Coincidentally, both of our bikes decided to have problems within the course of an hour at 4,500 meters on the completely deserted mountain road. After stopping for a photo, my bike suddenly wouldn't start and required a bump/push start to get it going. Soon after, Brian's chain came off of his bike after hitting a large pothole, making his bike completely immobile.

That morning he had commented on how the chain looked a bit loose, but since we were planning to get a whole new drive train in two days we didn't think much of it and rode on. What's the worst that could happen, right?

Fortunately, we were stranded on a road surrounded by gorgeous scenery, and after stacking some large rocks under the skid plate and having me hold the front of the bike down so the rear wheel was off the ground, we were able to adjust the back wheel to create enough slack to get the chain back on the rear sprocket. We were then able to ride the rest of the way down the mountain and out of the park.

After arriving in a small town called Huallanco, Brian did some investigating and it turned out the negative terminal on my battery had come loose - an easy fix. We spent the night in Huallanco before heading to Huánuco where we had arranged to get some work done on the bikes (anyone else notice how all of the surrounding towns have confusingly similar names?).

Even though Brian had communicated exactly what we needed done with the owner of the shop prior to arriving and the owner had assured us we would be able to get everything done without a problem, after two days we came away with only two of our five items completed. We had especially wanted new tires that are more suited for off-road riding, but we ended up having to put the same tires back on the bikes (and would later come to notice the shop workers put Brian's rear uni-directional tire on the wrong way).

Once the work was done, we headed into the high plains toward Huancayo for a night before attempting to make our way to Ayacucho the next day. As luck would have it, we would encounter yet another obstacle, but more to come on that in the next post. :)

Cheers,

Erin and Brian