The unpaved road to Abra Huarcaya

Abra Huarcaya is a high mountain pass at an elevation of 5.057m (16,591ft) above the sea level, located in the Cotahuasi Subbasin Landscape Reserve, in the Arequipa Region, Peru. It's one of the highest mountain roads of Peru.

Abra Huarcaya

The road to the summit is totally unpaved. It's called AR-105. There are some sandy sections and the road features some hairpin turns, pretty dangerous. Watch out for sudden loose-gravel breaks. After rain, even a single rainfall, conditions of the road can be challenging. The unpaved sections of the road can be impassable when wet. The climb is simply terrible, with a notorius lack of oxygen that tests the organisms and a high degree of steepness. It has a well-deserved reputation for being dangerous because of unpredictable snowstorms and blizzards, and driving under these conditions, can be extremely challenging. A few mine vehicles use this road.