Fotos de Chacas & Punta Olympica

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CHACAS & PUNTA OLYMPICA

The most beautiful village near Huaraz is rustic Chacas, famous for its lovely Plaza de Armas, its woodcut art and its crazy bullfight festival in which everyone can participate. The busride from Huaraz over Punta Olympica is one of the most spectacular in Peru.

en castellano...

If you are not a mountaineer but still like to get an idea of how it is to be up high amongst the highest mountains of the Cordillera Blanca just take a bus from Huaraz to Chacas over the 4890 meter high pass Punta Olympica.
The bus will take you north to Carhuaz and from there enters the Quebrada Ulta gorge to the east right next to Mt. Huascaran, the highest mountain in Peru (6768 m).

At the end of the gorge which is part of the Huascaran National Park, the road slowly curves up to reveal a magnificant view over the valley and the surrounding mountains, piramid shaped Mt Ulta being the closest.
In the rainy period the road is sometimes covered with meters of snow. But even in the dry periods you will be surrounded by snow at Punta Olympica.

If you want to make some pictures on the way just ask the busdriver. He probably let you get off to make some shots from the scenery.
Especialy beautiful are the Lagunas Cancaraca just after the Olymipca pass in the Quebrada Potaca valley and, a bit further down, Laguna Yanaraju. All the lakes have a different color, from light greenish to deep blue.

The whole ride from Huaraz to Chacas will take between 3 and 4 hours. There are only a few buses a day going the route. Transvir is one of them and leaves early in the morning. Buy your ticket a day in advance to check the exact time.
The road is unpaved and goes along scary cliffs but the bus drivers usually take their time so it is not too scarry.

Your final destination Chacas is a lovely peaceful town famous for its 'Spanish' customs, the most notable its bullfight in the Plaza de Armas on August 17 and 18.

The central plaza seems to be designed especially for the festival with a large grass field in the middle. The ditch between the field and the surrounding street comes in handy if you need to escape a bull running behind you.
Inside the lovely church is an interesting huge painting of the people involved in its construction.

'If somebody dies it is a good year, if everybody stays alive it is a bad year'´, a local of Chacas told me with a smile about the dangerous bull festival.
Only one person got seriously hurt when I was at the Chacas festival which starts on the 16th of August with colorful dances and processions. The processions are organized by Italians working for the Catholic organization Don Bosco. They are also responsible for a lot of the wonderful woodcutting art which can be seen on every balcony on the Plaza de Armas, and in the church.

A very nice hotel to stay in Chacas is Hostal PILAR
which you will find immediately if you turn left on the street in front of the church. It is an old restored family house turned in to a pleasant hotel with a wonderful view over the west side of the Cordillera Blanca.

Especially in the late afternoon when the sun sets behind the 6000 meter high peaks of the Cordillera the light is fantastic so make sure you stay at least one night. There are nice trek possibilities from Chacas in the Callejon de Conchucos and if you have time you should continue the road to Pomabamba.

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