Snow peak
Hung with glaciers.
Stefanos Nikologianis — CC BY 2.0 · Petr Meissner — CC BY 2.0 · sergejf — CC BY 2.0 · Ausangateperu — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ollyfant at nl.wikipedia — CC BY-SA 3.0
Ausangate is a mountain in the Vilcanota range of the Peruvian Andes, rising to 6,384 metres. It stands southeast of Cusco, about 85 km in a straight line from the city and only about 12 km from Vinicunca, the Rainbow Mountain. The mountain holds a place in Inca mythology, and its slopes are home to llama and alpaca herding communities, among the few pastoral societies left in the world. They use high mountain trails to trade with farming villages below, and one of these, the «road of the Apu Ausangate», is among the best known treks in Peru. The massive snow peak, hung with glaciers, rises over broad valleys whose rocks are coloured red, ochre and turquoise, scattered with clear blue lakes. Alpacas graze the pastures, and cold streams run between the rocks. The circuit around the mountain is a multi-day trek above 4,000 metres, so do not set out before acclimatising in Cusco, and going with a guide is best. Nights are bitterly cold.
Hung with glaciers.
Clear and blue.
On high pastures.
Vilcanota Range, Cusco Region, Peru
Several days above 4,000 metres.
It is best to go with one.