HUASCARAN IS THE HIGHEST MOUNTAIN IN PERU AND IN ALL OF THE WORLD’S TROPICS WITH ITS SOUTHERN SUMMIT OF 6,768 M (22,205 FT) HIGH ABOVE SEA LEVEL. THE SECOND SUMMIT OF HUASCARAN NORTE IS LOCATED JUST 114 M (374 FT) BELOW ITS NEIGHBOR.

The mountain was named after a 16th-century Inca emperor, Huascar. The peak, in turn, gave its name to the Huascaran National Park surrounding the mountain and being one of the most popular trekking and mountaineering destinations in the country.

he summit is the second farthest point from Earth’s center, closely behind the Chimborazo in Ecuador, thus making it one of the unique places on the planet with the smallest gravitational force.

The peak of Huascaran Sur was first climbed in 1932 by a joint German–Austrian expedition that followed what would become later the standard route (Garganta route). Climbers normally start from the village of Musho through a high camp in the col that separates the two summits, known as La Garganta. The ascent is moderately difficult and usually takes five to seven days.

THE FIVE HIGHEST PEAKS IN PERU:

Huascaran Sur - 6,768 m (22,205 ft), in Yungay province, Peru.
Huascaran Norte - 6,654 m (21,831 ft), in Yungay province, Peru.
Yerupajá - 6,635 m (21,768 ft), in the Huayhuash mountain range, west central Peru.
Ausangate - 6,384 m (20,945 ft), at the border between the Canchis and the Quispicanchi Provinces, Peru.
Coropuna - 6,377 m (20,922 ft), in the southern Peruvian Andes, Peru.