Laguna Choclococha

Choclococha sits at about 4,500 metres on the open puna where the road from Pisco climbs to cross towards Ayacucho and Huancavelica, and it is one of the highest sizeable lakes in Peru at around fifteen square kilometres. The name means maize lake in Quechua. It was dammed and connected by canal to the Ica valley in the twentieth century, part of a long-standing scheme that moves highland water to irrigate the coastal desert, and that transfer has been a source of dispute between the two regions ever since. Trout were introduced and there is a small fishery. Chilean flamingos and Andean geese use the shallows, along with coots and ducks, and vicuña graze the surrounding puna. Most people see it from the road on the way between the coast and Ayacucho, stopping for photographs in cold, hard wind.

What you actually see

• The lake - around fifteen square kilometres at 4,500 metres of open puna.
• The flamingos - Chilean flamingos and Andean geese in the shallows.
• The water transfer - the canal system carrying highland water to the Ica valley.
• The vicuña - grazing the puna around the shore.

When to go

May to September; the road can be snowbound or fogged in the wet season. One to two hours as a roadside stop between Pisco and Ayacucho.

Honest expectations

At 4,500 metres, stopping here on the drive from sea level causes headaches and breathlessness. Fierce cold wind almost constantly. No facilities beyond a few roadside stalls. Flamingo numbers vary and can be zero.

Nearby

Santa Inés is on the same high road; Huancavelica is north-east.