A mythical destination in Peru, its ancestral temple and the White and Black mountain ranges

With its ancient history and located north of Lima, Ancash It is a region not so well known by travelers but that will allow them to connect with the spirit of the Peruvian Andes.

There, lovers of mountaineering and trekking will be able to enjoy an unforgettable trip: from the mythical Huaylas Alley to the shocking Llanganuco Lagoonfrom the Chavín Archaeological Monument (a ceremonial center more than 3,000 years old) to the Huascaran National Park with its incredible landscapes. And there is also Chacasone of the best tourist towns in the world.

To get to the place you have to fly just over an hour from Lima to the Anta airport, located in the province of Carhuaz in the Áncash region.

Thanks to the new Lima-Ancash air route, visitors reach this destination in the north of the Peruvian capital more easily.

And once they arrive at the Comandante FAP Germán Arias airport, in Anta, they usually travel half an hour to the city of Huaraz, the capital of the region, since it has a varied range of hotels and tourist services.

Despite its rugged geography, it is not difficult to get to the Áncash region: you can go by bus, by private vehicle (takes about 8 hours of travel) or by plane (one hour of flight) to Huaraz.

Another characteristic that makes this destination attractive is that it has access to the sea, where the city of Casma stands out, for its beaches and archaeological sites such as Sechín, Chanquillo, Las Haldas and Mojeque, or Chimbote with its important port.

However, The treasures of Áncash that attract the most attention are hidden in the heights, between the mountains.

For example, the Huaylas Alley It refers to what at some point was one of the routes along which the Inca empire moved.

Meanwhile, the also known as Santa Valley It is a narrow and elongated path that took its shape thanks to the route of the Santa River, which is born from the waters of the Conococha lagoon.

Sheltered by the Cordillera Negra to the west and the Cordillera Blanca to the east, this mountain range offers adventure sports lovers an ideal place for trekking.

And while travelers hike, they will be surprised by the large accumulations of earth and stone with touches of snow on the summits, the vegetation and the wildlife. At the same time, this area also has pre-Hispanic remains, such as the Huilcahuaín archaeological siteone of the administrative centers of the Huari culture.

As for the waters of the Áncash lagoons, they seem like an extension of the sky, since they function like large mirrors.

Both distinguished as World Heritage Sites, the Huascaran National Park It is known for having in its territory 20 snow-capped peaks that exceed 6000 meters and 660 glaciers, and the enigmatic archaeological complex Chavin de Huantar It was a religious and administrative center of the Chavín culture: there the famous nail heads (sculptural lumps that apparently acted as mythological guardians of the temple) or the Monolithic sand eelconsidered a sacred idol for the Huari ethnic group.

The Chavín culture had its central development in the Áncash region, in the province of Huari, between the years 1200 and 200 BC, and was characterized by carrying out work based on stone.

The Chavín de Huántar archaeological complex is a labyrinth of underground passageswhere the visitor can feel like a true explorer and tour the places that were used for initiation and cult rites thousands of years ago.

There you can also see a stone sculpture that represents the main deity of the Chavín, an anthropomorphic being with feline fangs, hands and feet with claws, and hair transformed into snakes.

Usually the visit to the archaeological monument is complemented by a tour of the Querococha lagoon and the Chavín National Museum, which presents a collection of ceramic and stone pieces from this pre-Inca culture.

SThe town where this archaeological monument is located is called Chavín de Huántar, and in 2023 it was highlighted by UN Tourism as one of the “Best Tourist Towns in the World”, like Chacas, a charming town in Áncash that is also worth visiting .

It is a place that captivates tourists with its houses with colorful balconies, colonial architecture, its 16th century church and the Andean landscape.

On the recent Lima – Ancash route, the LATAM Peru airline offers a daily flight starting this month, as the destination is growing in popularity and the air terminal is prepared to receive new visitors.

From Argentina there are 61 weekly flights to Peru between five airports: Aeroparque, Ezeiza, Mendoza, Córdoba and Salta.

Once you arrive at Anta airport, you travel for 30 minutes to the city of Huaraz, the capital of the region, which has a wide range of hotels and tourist services.