Huayllay Stone Forest

The Huayllay sanctuary sits on the high puna of Pasco at over 4,000 metres, protecting several thousand hectares of rock formations left by volcanic deposits and glacial erosion. The rocks stand in loose groups across open grassland, weathered into shapes that local naming has assigned to animals and figures, and marked circuits of different lengths link them together. Between the towers the ground is coarse ichu grass grazed by sheep and alpacas, with small lakes and springs, some of them thermal, in the folds. There is very little shelter and nothing between you and the sun or the wind. Vicuñas and Andean geese are regular.

What you actually see

• The rock circuits - marked routes of different lengths through the main groups of formations.
• The puna grassland - open ichu grass with grazing alpacas and sheep between the towers.
• Thermal springs - small hot pools at Calera and nearby, used by people from the villages.
• Vicuñas and highland birds - wild vicuña herds and Andean geese on the open ground.

When to go

May to September is dry and clear but very cold at night and often windy by day. The wet months from December to March bring hail and lightning onto exposed ground, which matters when the terrain is open rock. Morning light works best on the formations. Anyone arriving straight from Lima will feel the altitude sharply within the first hour.

Honest expectations

At over 4,000 metres this is high enough that walking uphill feels hard even for fit people arriving unacclimatised, and headaches are common. There is almost no shade, the wind is constant and the sun burns fast. Facilities are minimal and food options nearby are limited. Several of the named rock shapes require considerable imagination.

Nearby

Cerro de Pasco is the nearest town, and Lake Junín lies south on the same plateau.