Nevado Pariacaca

Pariacaca rises to about 5,750 metres on the divide between the Lima region and Junín, and it is one of the most important sacred mountains in Andean religion - the deity Pariacaca appears throughout the Huarochirí Manuscript, the early seventeenth-century Quechua text that records the myths of this area and is the single most substantial surviving account of pre-Christian Andean belief written in an indigenous language. The mountain was a major huaca, with pilgrimage routes converging on it. A well-preserved section of the Qhapaq Ñan, the Inca road system, crosses the pass beneath the glaciers at over 4,700 metres, paved and stepped in places with drainage still working, and it can be walked in two to four days between Tanta and the Jauja side. It is high, cold and remote, and the glaciers on Pariacaca have retreated markedly in recent decades.

What you actually see

• The peak - about 5,750 metres of glaciated mountain on the divide.
• The Inca road - a paved and stepped stretch of Qhapaq Ñan over the 4,700-metre pass.
• The Huarochirí Manuscript - the Quechua text in which this deity is central.
• The pilgrimage landscape - routes and sites converging on a major huaca.

When to go

May to September. Two to four days walking with camping above 4,000 metres. Guides and arriero support are arranged in Tanta or on the Jauja side.

Honest expectations

The pass is over 4,700 metres and nights are far below freezing - this needs acclimatisation and proper equipment. No facilities on the route. The Inca road surface is archaeological; walk on it carefully. Weather closes in quickly.

Nearby

Tanta and the Nor Yauyos-Cochas reserve are west; Jauja is east.