Cordillera Huayhuash, PeruThe
Cordillera Huayhuash is a mountain range within the Andes of Peru. It is located in the boundaries of the regions of Ancash, Lima and Huanuco.
The range is 30 km long and has Himalayan characteristics and its peaks are, morphologically speaking, much more hilly and have more difficult access than those from the Cordillera Blanca. Aligned north to south, the main range of some twenty peaks stretches for approximately 25 km, with a subsidiary range of smaller peaks stretching out to the west for approximately 15 km. Six of the peaks exceed 6,000 m. Included among them are Yerupajá (6617 m), the second highest mountain in Peru (behind Huascarán at 6,768 m), and Siula (6,344 m), made famous by Joe Simpson in Touching the Void.
There are many lesser peaks surrounding those covered by ice, and several passes exceeding 5,000 m. It is necessary to travel a considerable distance from the central range to find ground lower than 3,000 m, even on valley floors, and the range is often taken to include this much larger area. The vegetated areas of the range are part of the Central Andean wet puna ecoregion.
