Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
LIMA TO TARMA
San Pedro de Casta & Marcahuasi
Isolated San Pedro de Casta (population 500, elevation 3200m) is the perfect precursor to
your Central Andes adventure. The road from Chosica twists spectacularly upward for
40km around a sheer-sided valley before arriving at this mountainside town clustered
around a ridge and resounding with the bellows of
burros
(donkeys).
People come here principally to visit the little -known archaeological site of Marcahuasi,
a nearby 4-sq-km plateau at 4100m. Marcahuasi is famed for its weirdly eroded rocks
shaped into animals such as camels, turtles and seals, which have a mystical significance
for some people (who claim they are signs of a pre-Inca culture or energy vortices).
Because of the altitude, it's not advisable to go to Marcahuasi from Lima in one day; ac-
climatize overnight in San Pedro. It takes two hours to hike the 2km up to the site; you can
sometimes catch a bus part of the way if it's not engaged on other municipality business
(departing 7:30am from the plaza most days), then hike for 45 minutes. A
Centro de In-
formación
(Plaza de Armas, San Pedro)
has limited information and maps; staff can ar-
range guides for S10. Mules and horses can also be hired for similar prices.
You can camp at Marcahuasi but carry water: the few lakes there aren't fit to drink from.
In San Pedro, accommodations include basic
Gran Hotel Turístico Municipal
(s/d
without bathroom S10/20)
, just off the plaza. Local families have beds (ask at the informa-
tion center). Simple plaza restaurants serve a
menú
(set meal) for about S5.
Getting there entails taking a bus from Lima to Chosica; minibuses to Chosica can be
picked up in Central Lima from Arica at Plaza Bolognesi (S3.50, two hours). Then ask for
Transportes Municipal San Pedro, which leaves from the bus yard by Parque Echenique on
the main drag (the Carretera Central) in Chosica at 9am and 3pm (S6, four hours). The bus
back to Choisica leaves at 2pm.
La Oroya
064 / POP 35,000 / ELEV 3731M
