Apolobamba trek
Parinacota & Sajama climb
Ausangate trek
Apolobamba
The Cordillera Apolobamba is one of the least explored mountain regions of the Andes. It was considered by many to be the hiding place of El Dorado or Paititi (the city of gold). The mountains of Apolobamba drop precipitously into the rainforests and jungle basin of the Madidi National Park, home to the indigenous Toromona tribes.
Apolobamba is one of the world's most unique mountain and rainforest ecosystems. It has an extraordinary variety of cultures, and many as yet unclassified species of flora and fauna.
Pelechuco
Our starting point for the trek is Pelechuco.
The name “Pelechuco” comes from the Quechua language. The two words, “Puyo” and “Kucho” translate into "region of fog", which is clearly appropriate as Pelechuco is often under the cover of thick, humid cloud. The average humidity is 80% and the average annual rainfall is 1,000mm.
Pelechuco is a place of extreme beauty and real adventure. It is a colonial town with 1,200 inhabitants and most of the historical information comes from legends and extraordinary tales of men who today would be considered improbable heroes or crazy. One such character is the eccentric British explorer, Colonel J. P. Fawcett.
Proposed itinerary
For 7 days, we make a circuit in the north-eastern area of the Apolobamba mountain range. Our route will take us first up to the Sanches pass at 4,770 m - highest point on the circuit, then down as low as 2,500 m at the Chullu river, and then back up to Pelechuco at 3,200 m crossing several valleys and mountain passes along the way.
The landscapes along the route, with the huge glaciers of the Apolobamba mountains on one side and the sea of clouds lying over the Amazon basin on the other side, are among the most impressive in the Bolivian cordilleras. The biodiversity is impressive also – from the high and very cold Andean valleys to the lower lying hot and humid forests a vast array of life forms are supported.
Because of this biodiversity and the remoteness of the area, there is a great opportunity to spot all sorts of wildlife. In addition to many species of birds (including the Andean condor), we are likely to encounter vicuna, viscacha, deer, and hopefully the Andean black bears known locally as Jucumaris.
Parinacota and Sajama
Extinct, snowcapped volcanoes that rise above the barren, sparsely populated altiplano dominate this area. Here lies Bolivia’s highest peak and a multitude of other accessible technically straightforward climbs. Amidst this dramatic moonscape hot springs bubble, offering the welcome reward of a relaxing soak after some fantastic climbing!
Parinacota
Our first objective is Parinacota, one of Los Gemelos, or the Twins. This peak has been likened to Ecuador’s Cotopaxi with its perfect cone shape. We ascend from the Twin’s saddle over easy slopes.
Then we are off to Sajama! Marking the border between Chile and Bolivia, these volcanoes are also known as the “little brothers” of Sajama. They are technically very straightforward to climb. Parinacota (6,330m) was first climbed in December 1928 by Austrian climber Joseph Prem and Bolivian climber Carlos Teran.
The twin brother of Parinacota, Pomerata (6,222m), was first climbed by the Bolivian mountaineers Edmundo Garcia and Rene Zalles in 1946. These peaks are frequently climbed. Access to the Payachatas has been made easy thanks to the international highway that runs between Bolivia and Chile.
Sajama
Sajama – see this web site for some motivation - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/1476866.stm
Sajama (6,542m) is part of the Cordillera Occidental (western mountain range). It is the highest mountain in Bolivia and was first climbed in 1939, by Austrians Josef Prem and Wilfrid Kuhm, and the Italian Piero Ghigione. The volcano is situated in the Sajama National Park, a protected region. The volcano is only a few kilometres from the customs point at Tambo Quemado on the Bolivia/Chile border.
The Sajama National Park has an extraordinary biodiversity. Despite efforts to keep the area ecologically protected and focused on ecotourism, many species of plant and animal life are in danger of extinction. The park's scenery is stunning. There is a forest of the highest trees in the world, Queñual. There are also thermal springs, historic colonial churches, villages of traditional adobe houses and an abundance of wildlife that includes Andean cats, vicuña, suri (the rhea), condors and a variety of other highland bird species.
After establishing two camps we ascend the mountain’s normal route up straightforward slopes with occasional steeper sections. From the summit we have incredible views of the Atacama Desert to the south and even more volcanoes.
Proposed itinerary
After a good wash and re-stock in La Paz we drive to the village of Sajama, close to the border with Chile. The five-hour drive from La Paz takes us through an arid landscape of high desert and big mountains. We trek into base camp for the climb of Parinacota, with local mules carrying our kit. We continue on up to the high camp, next day, and from there summit and return to base camp. The ascent is up slopes of 20-30 degrees. The symmetrical cone shape of the mountain lends itself to straightforward climbing with no technical difficulties. We then return to the village of Sajama, rest and prepare for the next climb.
Again, with the assistance of mules, we trek into base camp for our ascent of Sajama. Our base camp is at approximately 4,600m. This is about a 3-5 hour walk. Next day we move on up to our next camp at 5,900m, an ascent over easy snow slopes in early season or possibly scree slopes. This is a 4-6 hour climb. We rest, then early next morning head up the northwest ridge over moderate snow slopes and glaciers. Our summit day will be 10-12 hours up and back. The reward, reaching the highest point in Bolivia and superb views of the surrounding peaks. We return to base camp and then to La Paz.
Peru
Peru
Based in southern Peru, this adventure features a spectacular trek in the remote and beautiful Vilcanota Range. The hot-springs, stunning mountain scenery and turquoise lakes make this one of Peru’s finest treks.
From Puno we have a beautiful drive of several hours to reach the starting point of our trek, Raqchi (125km south of Cusco) also known as Wiracocha´s Palace. The site has some of the largest Inca constructions in Cusco with the principal collection of circular storage buildings (approx 200). We will visit the site before heading off with our Peruvian donkeys and their drivers on our trek.
The trek takes us right through the heart of the range and close to the massif of Ausangate at altitudes of between 3800 and 5100 metres. A major provider of snowmelt waters to lake Sabinacocha, and thence to the Sacred Valley, this giant snow peak has for millenia been a highly revered Apu (mountain god). Indeed, during Inca times, the Emperor would bestow huge offerings of gold upon it in order to secure its favours. Today it is the focal point of Qoyllor Riti, the region's foremost Indian festival. The passes take us level with glaciers.
We see large herds of domesticated camelids (llamas and alpacas) tended by the local Quechua-speaking Indians; for centuries they have relied on the camelids for wool, protein, transport and fuel. As we traverse the wilderness, we may well spot some wild Andean fauna too: viscacha (large rodent), fox, deer, vicuña (elusive wild camelid) and the Andean condor, largest land bird in the world.
Qoyllor Rit’i
The spiritual beliefs of most Andean campesinos are more complex than they might at first appear. Native campesino communities tend to follow a syncretic religion in which the ancient worship of nature spirits is overlaid with a Christian veneer. At the pilgrimage of Qoyllor Rit’i, perhaps the most impressive Indian fiesta of all, veneration of Christ and of the sacred peak, Ausankati (Auzangate), have become mythically intertwined.
At a breathtaking 4,750m above sea level, three massive glacial tongues reach down to the desolate Sinakara valley. On a scree slope sits a stone chapel enclosing a rock outcrop on which is painted a figure of Christ crucified. This is the miraculous Señor de Qoyllor Rit’i (Lord of the Snow Star), the Cusco region’s most important Indian shrine and the scene annually, between the Christian feasts of the Ascension and Corpus Christi, of an explosion of colour, noise and ritual as 25,000 pilgrims (predominantly Quechua-speaking highland Indians) converge.
The elaborate pageant of timeless devotion has its official origins in a Christian miracle of 1783. Legend tells of a mysterious pale-skinned stranger, Manuel, who befriended Mariano, a native shepherd boy, and was one day transformed into the figure of Christ crucified upon a nearby Tayanka shrub. Mariano witnessed the miracle, died suddenly and was buried beneath an adjacent crag. Churchmen from Cusco looked on as the Christ figure then disappeared, leaving behind a crucifix where the bush once stood.
Mariano’s crag, later embellished with the painted Christ figure and surrounded by a chapel, today forms the focal point of devotion, while a copy of the cross (crucifix of the Lord of Tayankani) plays an important but secondary role.
However, there is a lot more to Qoyllor Rit’i than a simple Christian mythohistory. Anthropologists and historians recognise that this ancient pilgrimage, like many other Andean fiestas, was hijacked by the Catholic church at a time of rising Indian unrest.
The roots of Qoyllor Rit’i lie firmly planted in the ancient animistic religion of the Andean people; and more specifically, in the veneration of Auzangate, the 6,350m snowpeak in whose shadow the festival unfolds. The region’s highest mountain, and its foremost apu (mountain deity), is still seen as the primary weather creator of the Cusco area; an ambivalent god whose power can blight crops or bestow health and fertility. His devotees come to appease him, as did the Inca who regularly made offerings of gold.
The central day of the pilgrimage is Trinity Sunday, by which time most of the devotees are gathered at the Sinakara shrine having trekked the 8km from the village of Mawallani, connected by road with Cusco.
A scattering of city-dwelling Peruvian pilgrims and a few foreigners attend, but it is the sea of colourfully-dressed campesinos which dominates the scene. Village dance groups or comparsas come from far and wide to render homage to the taytacha (little father) through formalised choreography. The ch’uncho groups, representing jungle ancestors who long ago migrated to the highlands, wear bright, feathered headdresses, while the q’apaq qollas (symbolising llama herders) wear flat embroidered hats and carry rope whips. And liberally scattered about the heaving crowd are the ubiquitous ukukus, or bear-men, sporting brightly-coloured woollen masks.
Disorderly and anarchic, they speak in bizarre falsetto tones, yet they are the guardians of order. The whip each ukuku carries is not merely a prop, but will be used summarily to punish any devotee found flouting the strict alcohol ban.
The dancing continues throughout the day and most of the night. In the early hours massed ranks of ukukus set off to ascend the glaciers, prepared for battle with the malevolant spirits of the damned thought to dwell on the icy slopes. The ukukus plant giant candles, retrieve a cross left there a few days earlier, and return to the valley at first light laden with blocks of ice sawn from the glacier with their whips. This, when melted, will provide a supply of holy water through the coming year.
On Monday morning, a final mass is held as dancing resumes. Throughout the day, a stream of people returns home. But a significant number remains for the overnight pilgrimage which, to the accompaniment of music, retraces the mythical steps of Mariano and Manuel on a 25km trek, interspersed with of ritual dance, via Tayankani to the town of Ocongate.
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