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As well as the place to experience a traditional Peruvian community, Huaraz’s mammoth mountain range is a haven for trekking, birdwatching and canoeing.
Most people come to Huaraz to see and do, with the emphasis on mountains. The focus may be on trekking or climbing, horseriding or mountain biking, parapenting or hang gliding, river rafting or canoeing, but it’s all possible and all exceptional in the Cordillera Blanca, the 240km long mountain range to the east of Huaraz. Not all activities are extreme or excessively physical though, and there are also some superb day walks, traditional communities and interesting archaeological sites around the mountains, which rise to form an impressive array of ridges, spires and summits. There are more than 50 peaks here higher than 5,700m – to put this in context, there are just three in North America and none in Europe.