Intro
I pulled out of Yanama at 08:15 this morning, my legs still heavy from the previous days in the Cordillera Blanca. The sun was engaged in a cold war with the clouds, casting a flickering light over the loose gravel road that pointed straight up into the mountains. Today was a transition from the rugged, broken earth of the high passes to the paved speed of the lower valleys, but the Andes didn’t let me go without a fight.
The Vertical Start and the Summit Shift
- Leaving Yanama felt less like a roll-out and more like a vertical scramble. The first eight kilometers were a grueling uphill grind that didn’t offer a single flat meter to catch my breath. I could hear the gritty crunch of granite gravel under my tires with every slow rotation of the cranks, a sound that has become the soundtrack to this trip. By noon, I finally crested the 8km summit. The weather up there was indecisive, oscillating between a cold mist and sharp bursts of sunlight that illuminated the valley floor far below.
- From the top, the descent looked like a long, winding ribbon of gray cutting through the green. I could see a tiny cluster of buildings at the far end of the visible valley—my target for the afternoon. The descent spanned 28 kilometers, and as I dropped elevation, the sun finally won its battle with the clouds. The air warmed up, and the gritty crunch of granite gravel transitioned from a slow grind to a high-speed spray as I picked up pace through the interconnected valleys.
The Human Bridge at the Rockfall
- The rhythm of the descent was shattered about midway down. I rounded a corner and found the road had simply ceased to exist, replaced by a four-meter-high wall of jagged boulders and gray earth. A massive rock avalanche had choked the pass. On the other side, I could hear the low thrum of idling diesel engines from the heavy excavators trying to claw a path through the mess. A woman standing near the edge of the slide looked at my bike and shook her head, telling me three times that it was impossible to cross.
- I wasn’t turning back. I stood there staring at the debris until two construction workers climbed down from their machines. The low thrum of idling diesel engines vibrated in my chest as they signaled for me to hand over the bike. We formed a sort of human chain, hauling the loaded rig up and over the precarious mounds of rock. It was a chaotic 5 minutes of pushing and sliding, but I made it to the other side of the impassa. I took a quick banana break on a lonely wooden bench overlooking the valley shortly after, just to let the adrenaline subside before the final drop into Acochaca.
Picarones and the Paved Sprint
- I rolled into Acochaca at 15:30, and the first thing that hit me wasn’t the sight of the town, but the sweet, heavy smell of frying dough. A street vendor was working a large pot of bubbling oil, and I didn’t hesitate. I fueled up on a plate of fresh picarones, the squash-and-sweet-potato rings dripping in syrup giving me the sugar hit I needed for the final leg. That sweet, heavy smell of frying dough stayed with me as I kicked into my pedals for the last ten kilometers.
- The change in surface was a shock to the system. After days of vibrating over rocks, the road to Chacas was smooth, dark pavement. I put my head down and hammered. I covered the final 10km climb in record time, reaching Chacas just two hours after leaving the picarones stand. The final street up to the Hotel Mirador Lodge was a cruel, steep joke, but the reward was a room for 60 soles with a massive mural of the village on the wall and a window looking directly across the canyon.
Overnight
I’m staying at the Hotel Mirador Lodge in Chacas. I managed to negotiate the price down from 70 to 60 soles. The room is great—it has a painted mural of the village and the beds are actually comfortable, which is a luxury out here. The view from the window of the opposite canyon wall is the perfect backdrop for the pizza dinner I just finished.
Reflection
Paved roads after a week of mountain gravel make you feel like a professional athlete, even if it’s just the sugar from the picarones talking.
Route summary
- Date: 2026-04-30
- Distance: 47.42 km
- Elevation gain: 1281 m
- Elevation loss: 1337 m
- Duration: 9 h 16 min
- Time in Motion: 4 h 42 min
- Average Speed: 10.1 km/h