JACEK'S ADVENTURES
PERU
2009-2012
17 TRIPS
Motorcycle: Honda XR250 Tornado, own. Total distance during my stay in Peru: 30.000 km. This includes two long trips (Ecuador and Bolivia/Chile) and several shorter ones.
Trips in Peru:
1. Huanuco – Huaraz. July 2009
2. La Oroya – Huancayo – Tomas – Lunahuana. August 2009
3. Ayacucho in Central Sierra. November 2009
4. La Marced, Oxapampa. January 2010
5. La Marced - Satipo. April 2010
6. Marcapomacocha. June 2010
7. Cotahuasi Canyon. July 2010
8. Huancaya. August 2010
9. Lima – Dia del Motociclista. December 2010
10. Cajamarca, Kuelap and Tarapoto. January 2011
11. Huarochiri and Mala. March 2011
12. Matara and Chilca. April 2011
13. San Bartolome, San Damian and Antoquia. September 2011
14. Long way to Huancavelica. November 2011
15. Dakar Rally in Peru. January 2012
16. Jicamarca. March 2012
17. Ayacucho – last trip in Peru. April 2012
HUANUCA - HUARAZ JULY 2009
1200 km. 5 days on the road. Route: Lima – Huanuzo – Huaraz – Lima.
My first motorbike trip in South America was a 5-day cruise whose main purpose was to test my new Tornado. The machine was great until about 3500m above sea level. Above that, the bike was showing a major power loss due to low air pressure at high altitude. Despite that I reached 4700m above sea level. The vistas were beautiful.
GALLERY IS COMING......
LA OROYA – HUANCAYO – TOMAS – LUNAHUANA AUGUST 2009
700 km. 2 days on the road. Route: Lima - La Oroya - Huancayo - Tomas - Lunahuana.
2 passes: one over 4800m above sea level, the other one over 4700m. Peru: a perfect place for a motorbike.
GALLERY IS COMING......
AYACUCHO IN CENTRAL SIERRA
NOVEMBER 2009
1600km. 5 days on the road.
I used a 4-day weekend very efficiently. I left for Ayacucho (for Nazca actually that day) right after classes finished at 12:30 p.m. and made it a 5-day weekend. It took me 1-1/2 to get from Nazca to Ayacucho travelling through Central Sierra's many remote villages, passes (up to 4400m above sea level) and valleys (down to 2500m above sea level).
GALLERY IS COMING......
LA MARCED, OXAPAMPA JANUARY 2010
1000 km. 6 days. Route: Lima - La Oroya - La Merced - Oxapampa - Cerro de Pasco - Lima.
The towns of La Merced and Oxapampa (altitude 800 m and 1800 m) are on the other side of the Andes and belong to the Amazon jungle. To get there, you must cross Ticlio Pass (4818 m). Very hard for the moto. The jungle is mountainous and very picturesque.
GALLERY IS COMING......
LA MARCED - SATIPO APRIL 2010
1000 km. 3 days. Route: Lima - Ticlio - La Oroya - Tarma - La Merced - Satipo - Huancayo - Ticlio - Lima.
A 3-day motorcycle trip during the Easter break. Eduardo (a friend from work) rode his 1981 Yamaha XT 500 and I rode my 2009 Honda Tornado. To get to Satipo, you have to cross a 4800 m Ticlio Pass and then go down to the Amazon jungle at 500 m level. Returning west, we took a trocha (gravel) back road through some sparsely populated areas. We also came across an Anti-Drug Special Forces unit which stopped us waving their AK-47's. They looked for drugs - supposedly a popular cargo in this area. Obviously, we did not have any.
GALLERY IS COMING......
MARCAPOMACOCHA JUNE 2010
400 km. 2 days. Route: Lima - Chosica - Marcahuasi - Marcapomacocha - Canta - Lima.
Marcapomacocha is about 150 km east of Lima at 4360 m above sea level. To get there, turn left in Chosica, follow the road towards Marcahuasi. You will have to cross a pass at 4800 m. After Marcapomacocha, the road continues to Canta making it possible to complete a loop around Lima. The views are fantastic. It is always nice to be able to get away from Lima's traffic and clouds.
GALLERY IS COMING......
COTAHUASI CANYON JULY 2010
2400 km. 6 days. Route: Lima - Puquio - Antabamba – Culipampa – Huarcaya – Calacapcha - Cerro Blanco gold mine - Cotahuasi. - Chala - Lima.
A 6-day trip to Cotahuasi Canyon was a lot of fun. There were some additional challenges. For the first night I reached Puquio which is located between Nazca and Abancay. The next day, I continued on this very good, paved road for another 3 hours or so and then turned right, south or south-west. For the next 4 days I was in the high-altitude area between 4000 and 5100 meters. The skies were clear and the temperature in the highest areas was between -10C during the night and 15C during the day.
For the next 3 nights, I stayed in Antabamba, Cerro Blanco gold mine and in Cotahuasi, respectively. To reach Cotahuasi I had to rely on information obtained from locals living in that very sparsely populated area. My GPS didn't show any roads crossing that area.
One of the locals, Freddy, drew a map for me that contained all the necessary details such as: -after Culipampa, look for a road to the right; -in an hour you will reach Huarcaya; -ask for a road to Selena Mine; -take that road and go for about 15 minutes; -that's when you will notice a blue shack; -turn left before the shack; -don't cross the bridge as this would take you to Selena; -the road will ascend for about 2 hours; -keep going straight under the electric transmission towers; -if you don't, you will end up at one of the service roads for the towers and you will get lost; -you will reach Calacapcha; -once there, ask for the road to Cerro Blanco Mine; -by the time you reach Cerro Blanco the day will be nearly finished; -stay there for the night.
The instructions were very good, and I followed them precisely. Jorge in Cerro Blanco gave me another set of instructions for the next day, and they took me all the way to Cotahuasi. And all of that was over 4000 meters above sea level.
The Canyon itself was stunning in its depth, colours, texture, cliffhanger roads, unexpected descends and ascends, its remoteness and indescribable beauty. See pictures!
From Cotahuasi, it took me a day to get to the coast in Chala, crossing again mountain passes over 4500 meters. The last day was just driving back to Lima. The coast was cloud-covered but the areas 300-500 meters above sea level changed to fog forcing the drivers to slow down considerably.
Day 1: Lima - Puquio, 591 km.
Day 2: Puquio - Andabamba, 304 km.
Day 3: Andabamba - Cerro Blanco, 198 km.
Day 4: Cerro Blanco - Cotahuasi, 159 km.
Day 5: Cotahuasi - Chala, 549 km.
Day 6: Chala - Lima, 604 km.
Total: 2405 km. Cost: $100 gas; $45 accommodation; $70 food and other.
GALLERY IS COMING......
HUANCAYA AUGUST 2010
700 km. 3 days. Route: Lima – Lunahuana – Huancaya – Lunahuana – Lima.
Thanks to St. Rose of Lima Day, Monday August 30 was public holiday. It was then a perfect occasion to get away from overcrowded Lima.
Huancaya is 320 km south-east of Lima, high in the mountains (3500 m) and very close to another attraction, Vilca (4000 m). Nearby there is also a little know Canyon Ushka through which a narrow and curvy roads leads.
GALLERY IS COMING......
LIMA – DIA DEK MOTOCICLISTA DECEMBER 2010
Peruvian motorcyclists celebrate their day on the first Sunday of December. In 2010 it fell on Dec. 5. The video clips shows lots of happy faces. Unfortunately, the sound of the clip is blocked as at the time of making the video, I used a song by The Beatles under a copyrights infringement. Fun event. However, very few of these motorcyclists take advantage of the beautiful Andes and limit themselves to driving in Lima.
GALLERY IS COMING......
Cajamarca, Kuelap and Tarapoto
January 2011
2825 km. 9 days. Route: Lima-Cajamarca-Tarapoto-Lima.
Highlights: road Cajamarca-Chachapoyas, Kuelap fortress, Gocta waterfall, road Huanuco-Churin.
Day 1: Lima - Trujillo, 580 km. Day 2: Trujillo - Cajamarca, 320 km. Day 3: Cajamarca - Tingo (near Kuelap), 315 km. Day 4: Tingo - Gocta Waterfall, 165 km. Day 5: Gocta - Tarapoto, 340 km. Day 6: Tarapoto - Juanjuy, 185 km. Day 7: Juanjuy - Tingo Maria, 360 km. Day 8: Tingo Maria - Churin, 335 km. Day 9: Churin - Lima, 225 km.
Cost: $130 gasoline; $70 accommodation; $170 food and other.
GALLERY IS COMING......
Huarochiri and Mala March 2011
340 km. 1 day. Route: Lima-Huarochiri-Mala-Lima.
Huarochiri is a small town in the Andes, west of Lima. (For potential riders - Google maps are here: Lima to Huarochiri (140 km), and Huarochiri to Lima (200 km).) Altogether it was 340 km with the highest point at 4100 m above sea level, just before Huarochiri. It was great to get out of Lima although travelling during the rainy season had some drawbacks: heavy drizzle, muddy, slippery roads from about 3000 m up, and heavy fog (10 m visibility) from 3500 m up.
GALLERY IS COMING......
Matara and Chilca April 2011
250 km. 1 day. Route: Lima-Lurin-Cieneguilla-Matara-Chilca-Lima.
Another one-day excursion. This time along with Kurt and Eduardo. We met up in Lurin then travelled to Cieneguilla, then east up to 3650 meters above sea level (in the clouds). We then visited a small village of Matara, and descended to Chilca on the Panamericana Sur. Around 250 km. A great trip and great company.
Highlight: changing the tube in the middle of nowhere.
GALLERY IS COMING......
San Bartolome, San Damian and Antoquia
September 2011
250 km. 1 day. Route: Lima-San Bartolome-San Damian-Antoquia-Lima.
Another one-day excursion. Yet again with Kurt and Eduardo. We met up in Lurin, travelled to Cieneguilla, then east up to 3650 meters above sea level (in the clouds),
GALLERY IS COMING......
Long way to Huancavelica November 2011
1200 km. 4 days. Route: Lima - Mala - San Juan de Tantarache - Huarochiri (night) - Huampara - Tauripampa (night) - Tomas - Huancayo - Huancavelica (night) - Villa de Arma - Chincha - Lima.
This was a 4-day trip with a bit of a detour. I reached Huarochiri for the first night according to plan. The next morning, I found out that the road that I was going to take towards Huancayo is not a road but actually a trail for domestic animals such as mules. So, I had to turn around. Luckily, I found another way to get to Huancayo: a brand-new road (still under construction) which took me to Tauripampa, a village in the middle of nowhere (as lots of mountain villages are anyway). I spent the night there in somebody's storage - luckily, they had a mattress. The rest was easy: Huancayo, Huancavelica, road #26 to Chincha and back to Lima. Love these mountains.
GALLERY IS COMING......
Dakar Rally in Peru January 2012
This was the 13th stage of the Dakar Rally between Nazca and Pisco. Close and personal. Helder Rodrigues won that stage and Cyril Despres was second, but he (Cyril) was eventually the overall winner of the Dakar in Lima that year.
I tried to follow their route, as far as regulations were allowing me. And I got stuck in sand a few times myself – that was my own Dakar.
GALLERY IS COMING......
Jicamarca March 2012
150 km. 1 day. Route: Lima-Chosica-Jicamarca-Huachipa-Lima.
A 1-day trip. Lima-Chosica-Jicamarca-Huachipa-Lima. Rainy season, so there was a lot of clouds and most of the valleys were overcast. The road was very difficult because of the rain in the mountains. At the time, the Jicamarca-Huachipa bit (50 km) was not used anymore because the garbage-turn-gas company had taken possession of the Quebrada Huaycoloro. As a result, the road was not maintained and just barely passable by motorcycle.
Participants: Jackie (a rider from Montreal currently travelling around S. America), Kurt, Jacek.
The highlight: seeing our little Hondas beating Jackie’s fat-ass BMW 1200GS.
GALLERY IS COMING......
Ayacucho – last trip in Peru April 2012
1200 km. Route: Lima – Ayacucho – Lima.
Ayacucho is a prime destination during Easter in Peru. To get there, you can take a bus (as most of my friends did), or a plane (if you plan ahead – flights get booked up quickly), or – like me – ride your motorcycle. One day on the road, two days having fun in Ayacucho, then one day back to Lima.
GALLERY IS COMING......
