Outline
Dessert, mountains and jungle makes up the amazing natural diversity of Perú, this bike ride explores all of them – 1666 km from the coast to the jungle and back, crossing the Andes twice. The ride starts in Lima, Peru, crosses the Andes via the Ticlio pass in 4800 m, drops to La Oroya. Then follows the high plains at ca 4000 m altitude for 120 km, before dropping down to Huánuco and Tingo Maria, where the vegetation starts to become jungle-like. Crossing the Cordillera Azul, after which it is flat through pure jungle to Pucallpa which is as close to the Brazilian border one can get on asphalted roads.
Going back, I will cross the sourthern tip of the Cordillera Blanca and once at the coast, through the dessert to Huaral where the family waits with Pisco Sour and freshly grilled Guinea Pig.
Day 1 – 3: Lima —> Pucallpa
Day 1: La Molina, Lima —> La Oroya
Distance: 170 km
Elevation: 5250 m
Expected time: 9 – 10 hrs
Overnight stay:
Starting from La Molina in Lima, it is just following the Carretera Central for 170 km. The first 35 km are relatively flat. From Chosica (ca 30 km from Lima), the roads starts ascending, and it does not stop ascending until ca 90 km later. The gradients are never too bad. I ascended the pass back in 2020 in 8:40, and expect to do it in around 9 hrs this time due to added weight.
Above 3000 m one starts to feel the lack of oxygen, and one really need to focus to avoid taking “unplanned” breaths or doing anything requiring extra oxygen – there is none – in the worst case one can pass out.
The Oroya is a mining town – according to Wikipedia it was one of the worlds dirtiest towns i the early 90’s.
I stay in La Oroya to acclimatize to the altitude. It is by no means ideal to go to this altitude without spending a few days acclimatizing.
Day 2: La Oroya —> Tingo Maria
Distance: 355 km
Elevation: Ascend 3840, descend 6950
Expected time: Ca 11 – 12 hrs
Overnight stay: Shushupe Hotel,Av. Alameda Perú 362, Tingo María 10131, Peru
Big question mark! Is how I feel on the 2nd day (see plan B1 below).
Depending on the weather, the 2nd day will either be amazing or the worst I have ever experienced. It can be cold, raining/slush and headwind for 120 km before starting the descend – in that case it will be quite bad. The weather can also be dry and accommodating in which case this might be the biggest experience on the trip.
The day starts with 120 km at around 4000 m altitude on the Altiplano. The is expected to take 5-6 hrs.
After this there is a 130 km!!!! descend. Again the gradients are not what we know from alpine climbs, but I do expect it to be done in ca 4 hrs.
What looks like a small bump is a 1000 m climb (it looks small compared to the rest, but is comparable to a big alpine climb). It should be done in about 90 min, after which is a nice 75km descend into Tingo Maria (ca 2 hrs).
Day 3: Tingo Maria —> Pucallpa
Distance: 250 km
Elevation: Ascend 2500, descend 3000
Expected time: Ca 10 hrs
Overnight stay: Hotel Costa del Sol Wyndham Pucallpa
I am now at the foothills of the Cordillera Azul and the nature has completely changed to tropical jungle.
After ca 20 km, the ascend of the Cordillera Azul starts, The Cordillera Azul is a single ascend of about 1000 m, into high-altitude-jungle i.e. cloud forest (that I look really forward to).
After the descend it is flat as a pancake all the way to Pucallpa. As we are in the jungle I do not expect any wind, but it will likely be raining, 30C and very high humidity, so by no means easy.
Day 4: Rest day, Pucallpa
No plans
Lunch:
Day 5 – 7: Pucallpa —> Huaral (return)
Day 5: Pucallpa —> Tingo Maria
Distance: 250 km
Elevation: Ascend 3000, descend 2500
Expected time: Ca 10 hrs
Overnight stay:
Starting slowly after one days rest. There is only one road out of Pucallpa, so this will be a replicate of the previous day.
If possible I’ll try to make it to Huánuco.
Day 6: Tingo Maria —> La Union
istance: 260 km
Elevation: Ascend 7150, descend 4600
Expected time: Ca 12-13 hrs
Overnight stay:
This is going to to be a very, very tough day. And, this area is very rural and sparsely populated, so not many options for finding places to stay overnight.
Day 7: La Union —> Huaral
Distance: 370 km
Elevation: Ascend 4190, descend 7300
Expected time: Ca 13 hrs
Overnight stay: La Casa de Huaral
La Union is in 3200 m altitude, so from here the day starts by climbing to 4600 (getting warm, as I am sure I’ll be freezing). The top of the pass should be reached after ca 3-4 hrs (50 km). Then a 30 km descend, and another 700 m climb after which the descend towards the coast starts.
After a 120 km descend the coast is reached. Now back in the dessert.
From here it is 150 km pancake flat to Huaral. This will be the most boring part of the entire tour. Long straights in a dessert on a highway. I just hope the wind will come from north.
- In case I wake up on the second day and the altitude is a problem, plan B is to go to Tarma and descend directly. In that case there is only 27 km at high altitude on day, followed by a “short” 90 km descend.
Already in the jungle there is only another ca 1000 m of climbing.
The issue with this route is around 70 km gravel, which will not be an issue in dry conditions, but as rain is almost guranteed, I’d like to avoid this option.
https://www.komoot.com/tour/1375961176?ref=wtd&share_token=a8UcgpsSZioYszW3K8XACxqzDlRD3SSf2FYQe9fzlNwo8Vq2EH ↩︎
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