Hiking and trekking in the central highlands

During the recent weeks I spent in and around Chavin de Huantar I got to go out hiking several times up some trails on the sides of the Mosna river valley which gave me some great views of the Chavin ancient temple, the modern town of Chavin de Huantar and the distant snow-covered peaks of the Cordillera Blanca.

The Cordillera Blanca.  The second highest mountain range in the world after the Himalayas.  In the forground is the mountain we would have to traverse on the hike from Huaraz.

Chavin temple complex seen during a solo hike I went on.

This is the cross you can see from the Chavin temple on top of the distinctive rock outcropping on the east side of the Mosna valley.  The diagonal path on the left lower side is the trail coming in from Huaraz which we hope to hike at some point.

The Chavin temple complex and behind it is the trail coming in from Huaraz showing where it ends right across from the temple entrance.

Multi-tasking in the Andes.  This woman is knitting as she easfully walks up a steep slope that has me panting and making frequent stops.  Mind you, the Andean people are born and bred for this type of activity and they have more red blood cells than us gringos.

The Church and Plaza de Armas of the town of Chavin de Huantar seen from a hike David and I went on up the west side of the Mosna river valley.

At the end of our stay David Fields and I went by taxi from the city of Huaraz to investigate the trail we had heard about that leads from Huaraz over a mountain pass and down to the temple of Chavin.  We have been told this is a 3-day hike for people in reasonably good physical condition.  David and I would like to do this hike possibly around August of 2017, or if we can't do it then, perhaps May or June of 2018.  If you would have an interest in joining us contact me at   martinstevens@juno.com

Here's David Fields and our taxi driver Isoldo on the beginning of the 3-day trail from Huaraz to Chavin..