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Pasco
The terrain of Pasco is rich and diverse with two well-differentiated eco-regions: highlands characterized by its high mesas and cold mountains and the upper jungle with dense vegetation and high humidity. The capital, Cerro de Pasco (4,338 masl) is located in a predominately mining district. The Huayllay Stone Forest National Sanctuary is just forty-five kilometers from Cerro de Pasco. It is a State protected natural area possessing fascinating rocky formations and beautiful lakes.
It was the nineteenth century German and Austrian colonists who brought their architecture and traditions, still preserved today, to the picturesque town of Oxapampa (1,814 masl) where they live. The Yanachaga-Chemillén National Park (122,000 hectares) is located twenty-five kilometers from Oxapampa, and it is composed of high Andean plains, pasturelands, and tropical and cloud forests where exotic life abounds: almost 350 species of orchids, more than 520 species of birds, and nearly 125 species of mammals like the otter, the jaguar, the spectacled bear, the dwarf brocket deer and the giant rat, every one in danger of becoming extinct. The Yanesha, indigenous people, today live in sixty communities.
Continuing to the north, ninety kilometers from Oxapampa, the town of Pozuzo lies where German and Austrian colonists have lived and worked cultivating fruit trees, coffee beans, rice, and tobacco since the nineteenth century. Another town, Villa Rica famous for beautiful waterfalls, is just seventy-one kilometers from Oxapampa and has distinguished itself in the production of coffee, pineapples, and rocoto peppers.
Tourist Attractions
Province of Pasco
Church of San Pedro de Ninacaca
31 km / 19 miles southeast of Cerro de Pasco (30 minutes by car)
The church, built between 1580 and 1610, combines Andean and Spanish architectural elements. In 1626, it was given the name of its patron saint, San Pedro. The building has only one nave with stonewalls and a straw roof. Its wood altar is covered in gold leaf and the exterior walls feature stone carvings.
Church of the Immaculate Conception in Vicco
Main Square of the District of Vicco, 18 km / 11 miles from Cerro de Pasco (30 minutes by car). Visiting hours: 9:00 A.M. – 3:00 P.M. only with previous authorization from the church officials.
The inhabitants of the district built this stone church in the seventeenth century.
Lake Punrun
37 km / 23 miles southwest of Cerro de Pasco (1 hour and 15 minutes by car)
The 8-km2 lake (3 miles2), situated at 4200 masl (13.776 fasl) has a maximum depth of 200 meters ( 656 feet ). There are five islands in its cold waters, Pumapachupan Island being the most impressive. Around the lake, you find typical vegetation like chilligua grass, feather grass, bladder senna, and highland wetlands. Lake Punrun is also home to many species of birds like the wild duck, the chiloe wigeon, the dark-backed wood quail, the gull, the grebe, the frailisco, the green kingfisher, and the black-faced ibis as well as numerous frogs, trout, carachi fish, and catfish.
Replica of the house of Daniel A. Carrion
Avenida Los Incas, Yanacancha. 2 km / 0.6 mile from Cerro de Pasco (10 minutes by car)
The house, built in memory of Daniel Alcides Carrion, martyr of the Peruvian medicine, is located at the main entrance of the hospital named after him.
Huayllay National Sanctuary
45 km / 28 miles south of Cerro de Pasco (45 minutes by car). Visiting hours: 8:00 A.M. – 5:00 P.M.
It consists of rock formations of various shapes and sizes produced by wind and water erosion and glacier movements. These formations resemble human and animal profiles and form doorways and arches. The forest shelters hot springs , which are believed to have medicinal properties, with temperatures reaching 60º C ( 140ºF ). The place is also the habitat to deer, vicuñas, vizcachas, bobcats, skunks, hawks, and partridges. The flora is mainly composed of pastureland, queñual trees, huamanpinta bushes, putagas, and mata mata trees, or pargashes.
Calera Hot Springs
43 km / 27 miles northwest of Cerro de Pasco (1 hour and 15 minutes by car) or 3 km / 2 miles (45 minutes on foot) from Huayllay.
These hot springs rich in calcium, potassium, magnesium, sodium, chlorides, sulfates, and bicarbonates have temperatures reaching 60º C ( 140ºF ). People attribute curative properties for muscle and nervous disorders to their waters.
Huaguruncho Glacier
Travel 86 km / 53 miles east of Cerro de Pasco (3 hours by bus) to Huachón and then another 6 km / 4 miles to the foothills of the mountain (2 hours by car)
The mountain reaches 5730 masl (18.794 fasl) and is formed by four important glaciers: Jacahuay (5180 masl / 16.990 fasl), Ranrajanca (5180 masl / 16.990 fasl), Carhuaraj (5160 masl / 16.925 fasl), and Incatama (5130 masl / 16.826 fasl). At the base of the mountain, there are numerous lakes, the most important ones being Huaguruncho, Leche Cocha, Suyro Cocha, Talaya, and Pacchapata.
Conoc Hot Springs
District of Pallanchacra, 66 km / 41 miles east of Cerro de Pasco (2 hours by bus)
These hot springs are attributed curative properties. The temperature of the main pool varies from 20ºC ( 68ºF ) to 29°C ( 84ºF ).
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Tours in Pasco
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