High Elevation Adventures

Boy herding alpaca at 4,900m in elevation in the Andes.

It’s been a while since I’ve contributed to the blog! Rick arrived on January 4th and we’ve been working in Tambopata National Reserve and Puerto Maldonado (lowland rainforest) until last Sunday. It’s been a busy time and we returned to Cusco for only a night before leaving for the the highest point on the Interoceanic Highway (4,800 meters elevation). We received an invitation from Interoceanica SUR (iSUR) to visit their highland projects and were taken on a 4-day tour of the communities they work with between the cities of Marcapata and Urcos on the highway. We are back in Cusco for a few days and I will be catching up on my posts. For now, here are a few favorite images from my adventure yesterday along the old highway between Cusco and Puerto Maldonado! This part of the highway peaks at 4,950 meters and is all gravel and dirt. The trip between Cusco and Puerto Maldonado on this highway used to take up to 15 days depending on the season. The trip takes 10 hours on the new highway.

Over the next few days I’ll be posting images from:

• My second journey by car along the Interoceanic Highway
• Andean villages along the Interoceanic Highway
• Tambopata National Reserve
• Brazil Nut Concessions

Waterfall at 4,500 meters along the old highway (before the Interoceanica SUR).

Woman watching her alpacas at 4,700m in elevation along the old highway between Cusco and Puerto Maldonado, Peru.

Lichen covered rock by the highway near Marcapata, Peru (Eastern Andes)