Day Trips in the Andes - Achanchi & Downtown Andahuaylas

One of our last days in Andahuaylas, a couple of us decided to go on a hike to this mountain a couple hours away. This mountain was called Achanchi. 13,094 ft / 3,991 m It was more than just a mountain to hike. There was a God like presence to the Andes, something about them makes that caveman part of you know your place in the world. This was so much bigger than us. I could feel it in the air and see it with my eyes, this was a sacred trail that commanded respect and admiration. 

Our day started out early, as they always did in Peru. The group of us going went through our usual routine - cold single outdoor sink, chilly kitchen breakfast of coca tea and pita. I may sound cynical, but at this point in the trip we had adjusted. Our daily routines were routine and welcomed. There was no world outside of this, in a way it's similar to camping. Being out in the middle of nowhere, that chill in the air and cool dampness of dew on the ground. Washing up outside to the freezing cold water, there is this moment of peace and beauty. The sun has recently risen and it's casting pinks and soft colors on the sleeping world. Then walking over to the kitchen the birds are chirping in that morning way. I could wake up to this world every day of my life.

Anyway, so the group of us met up in town and jumped in the back of this pick up. To get to Achanchi took a little over an hour. The dirt roads wound up into the mountains, following switch backs with a treacherous cliff beside us. All in the back of a truck. It wasn't as scary as it sounds, it was a rush of adrenaline, excitement and adventure though. Throughout the drive we encountered all sorts of livestock and shepherds in our path. 

As you can see, the variety included sheep, goats, pigs, cows and dogs. By far the best encounter was the two bulls that stopped to fight right in the road ahead of us. So, I stood up in the bed of the truck and leaned over the top to capture the scene. So, we made our way up the mountains and through little creeks and waterfalls. 

In case you think I exaggerate any of these stories, the pictures are my proof and credibility. 

In these pictures below you can see the knife ridge up ahead. That is Achanchi and where we eventually hiked. 

You can also see how it has sub-peaks, which I mention later on in this post. 

You can also see the steep cliff drop off beside us along the way. The grassy area right there - that's the road up ahead of us. The descriptions of this rugged road and terrain is completely non-exaggerated.

When we got to the base of our destination, the air was thin and brisk, but it was stunning. We were in the middle of NOWHERE. 

There was no cell service, no one to come rescue us or a hospital to go to if something happened. 

It was us vs the wilderness, which was a really raw and exciting experience.

So, we started hiking up the knife ridge. The almost non-existent trail we were on was created by the pre-Ican civilization of the Chanka. This was essentially their highway and was littered with fragments of clay pottery and tools. In fact, much of the Incan Trail was built on top of Chanka trails. Most of this part of the Andes have gone untouched and unexplored by modern society. There was so many artifacts protruding from the ground everywhere we looked. Again, I felt the need to be respectful and to honor this place. I was walking along a 1,500 year old highway, littered with artifacts - it felt like their presence was still there. We were visiting their land. It was a very intense and emotional place. Yet so quiet and peaceful.

After hiking quite a ways, I started having my asthma kick in. So, a friend and I stopped to breath while the rest of the group continued on. This is a part my Mother would later scold me for - I can just picture her now. I of course, did not bring my inhaler and we were at such a high altitude that deep breathes didn't do much. So, we just sat down and chilled for a while until it passed. We then decided to take a bathroom break in some cactus bushes. The only thing was giant bees were chasing us. So, we were running around with our pants down, mid-pee, with bees following our tushies. Luckily, our group was kind enough to take picutres of our bee-chase moment. They laguhed and snapped pics while we ran and cried lol.























After this whole scenario we were slightly hysterical and ran for our lives from the bees. We gave Pachamama water and thanks, then continued to hike up. 

The knife's ridge was covered in all different types of cactus, rocks and shrubs. 

The view was endless mountains, sunshine and glacier peaks on the mountains in the distance. 




Once we got to the first peak though, we could not see the rest of our group. So, we continued onto the second peak and still could not see them. I think we both had a moment of panic and that "we're going to die up here" despair. 

We did find our group on the other side of the third peak, to our complete relief. They were looking at an area to the side of the trail that was some sort of burial site. 

What is amazing, is that Luke and Cathryn ended up staying in Peru for the rest of the summer and did this trek every day to this very site. 

They and a team of archaeologists dug up the skeletons of several Chanka people. Cathryn could tell you all about their findings, but I am not an archaeologist, so that's a story for another time. 

If you're interested in learning more about the Achanchi Archaeological Research Project, I found alink online to another archeoligst that was there. This is unrelated to my blog and I don't know this person (as my legal disclosure) - his link is here: http://www.solasunm.org/audio/excavating-burial-remains -at-the-achanchi-archaeological-research-project-site-in-apurimac-peru-beau-murphy. http://core.tdar.org/document/397671/life-at-achanchi-a-high-altitude-chanka-burial-site-from-the-andahuaylas-region-of-southern-peru - this is a link to a detailed article and citation is to the group that Luke and Cathryn were in. 

That is the road ahead - a little heard of livestock of every kind.

 Yep, that's the road ahead. Car sickness anyone?

In case you can't tell, we were sooo tired. It was a quiet journey back down to our site in Andahuaylas. Although we took a different road that was less terrifying, but just as beautiful.

By the time we got home it was dark and we were so ready for dinner. We cozied up in our alpaca sweaters in the kitchen with coca tea and enjoyed a delicious meal prepared for us by our hosts.

We then wandered through the darkness back to our bunks and crashed. Achanchi was our last adventure in Andahuaylas and was fitting in that way.

It pushed our boundaries, humbled us, made us give thanks to Pachamama, brush up against artifacts from an ancient civilization and surrounded us in beauty.