CONDORIRI – ZONGO

CONDORIRI – ZONGO

Driving across the Altiplano, Condoriri is one of the most striking mountain groups in the Cordillera Real. The three highest peak together look like a condor lifting its wings before takeoff.

This excursion is really beautiful and fascinating, as we pass from the icy mountains of the condoriri to more than 5100 masl, descending as we advance at an altitude of 4600 masl. We descend even more … And even more, to finally reach the natural valley of Zongo, which has a beautiful nature, plants.

One can breathe fresh air, but above all enjoy the quality temperature, the almost total absence of noises that we can commonly hear in the cities.

Acording to legend, that largest and most ferocious condors of the Andes live around Condoriri. Peasants leave their babies there to be fed and brought up by the condors. These babies then grow up to be human-condors.
The area was first explored by the British mountaineer Sir Martin Conway (who in 1898 became the first person to climb Illimani).

He said that as night fell, “clouds” of condors appeared. While the condors are not nearly so numerous nowadays, it is normally possible to see one or two circling high above the mountains of the Condoriri group.

This trek crosses the Cordillera Real near its midpoint.

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