The wild road to Huayunca doesn’t drop below 4.900m for 25km
Huayunca is a high mountain pass at an elevation of 5.115m (16,781ft) above the sea level, located located in Peru in Departamento de Apurimac, on the boundary of Cusco and Apurimac regions. It’s one of the highest roads of the country.
Set high in the Wansu mountain range of the Andes, the road to the summit is totally unpaved. It’s 25.1 km (15.59 miles) long, running west-east from Abra Culipampa to Abra Azuca. This is one of South America’s highest road passes. The scenery is absolutely beautiful and it remains so on the small descents and climbs to the Azuca silver mine. The top section is a huge anticlimax – you have to enter the mine at around 5,000m, register with security, then continue up to the pass at 5.190m. From the actual top the lack of good views is a big disappointment and the descent doesn’t go through particularly nice scenery either. However the initial climb is so nice that this is still a lovely pass. The road surface is good and apart from a few sections the gradients are reasonably gentle. Make sure you’re well-acclimatized before attempting to climb up this.
Pic: jesus escobar machaca