Ashley Burke, Peru 2007

Huayhuash Trek, Peru

21 Jun - 5 Jul 2007


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Day 5 - Day trip from Carhuacocha - The "Lord of the Rings" Day Trip

25 Jun 2007

Today we did a fantastic day walk from our camp site at Laguna Carhuacocha. The day trip took us close to the massive glaciers spilling off Yerupajá, Peru's second highest mountan. We passed by three beautiful lakes before lunch, one of them being choked with icebergs. We returned to our campsite by climbing up to the stunning Laguna Cojóncocha, which I called the "Lord of the Rings Lake". It nestled high among rocky peaks at an altitude of 4650m and had a mystical feel to it.

		At just after 6am the water of the lake is still, creating beautiful reflections as the sunrise catches the peaks.

		Yerupajá Chico at sunrise, Carhuacocha.

		Sunrise at Carhuacocha.

		This photo epitomizes the Cordillera Huayhuash. Houses built out of stone walls and thatched rooves are the homes of local farming communities. Behind, the peaks of the Cordillera Huayhuash are covered in cloud.

		Laguna Siula (4290m) lies beneath a glacier that flows down from Siula Grande.

		Reflections in Laguna Siula.

		Laguna Siula.

		Lorin enjoys a brief ray of sunshine on a rock above Laguna Gangrajanca (4245m).

		We stop for lunch after climbing toward the head of the valley above Quesillococha.

		In the afternoon we reached Laguna Cojóncocha, a beautiful lake at altitude 4650m. We returned to our campsite by heading down the valley that you can see beyond the lake in the photo. To get around the lake we crossed the narrow rocky causeway on the left hand side of the lake. As we crossed this causeway, the lake was on our right while to the left the valley dropped away steeply, providing panoramas of glaciers and mountains. This is what I nicknamed the "Lord of the Rings" lake.

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