A Weekend at the Waterfalls of Huancaya
 Falls on the Rio Canete Photograph Matthew Barker 2010 |
by Matthew Barker – Peru For Less
From the arid coastal plains that surround Lima it’s all-to-easy to forget that not far from the capital city begins Peru’s bountiful and diverse landscapes, starting with the foothills of the Andes and ending with the vast wilderness of the Amazon rainforest.
Escaping into the country from Lima is easier than you might think. There are plenty of weekend getaways in the surrounding mountains, many of which offer some of the most spectacular scenery in all of Peru.
One such place is Huancaya, around 8 hours drive south-east from Lima. This tiny village is the capital of Yauyos province, a typical Andean landscape of small agricultural settlements dotted across steep valleys and windswept puna.
But Huancaya’s single biggest attraction is the near endless array of gushing waterfalls that snake through the valley, as the Río Cañete makes its way to the coast. The falls are somewhere between being true waterfalls and river rapids, and they form a continuous trail of foaming water for several kilometers along the valley floor.
In the mountains above Huancaya the river is calmer and leads into a series of enormous lagoons, whose color changes throughout the day. At mid-afternoon with the full force of a hot overhead sun, the lagoons reflect a dazzling, almost unnatural turquoise. This is pure glacial water flowing direct from the snowy peaks of the Andes: perfect refreshment while hiking the steep trails.
At certain points, including at Huancaya and the nearby village of Vilca, the river spreads out into great arcs of white water, creating glorious panoramas and a constant, thunderous din.
Vilca is a small settlement with a long history. It was once the home to former president Alberto Fujimori, currently serving time in a maximum security prison for human rights abuses, and was also the scene of brutal clashes between locals, terrorists from the notorious Shining Path insurgency movement and the Peru’s security services.
These days the region is peaceful and immensely hospitable to visitors. Returning to Huancaya that evening we spent the night around the village fogata, a community bonfire. This is how the locals get their night time entertainment in these parts, and we spent many hours sitting around the fire, listening to women singing traditional Andean songs and drinking a powerful cocktail of pisco, honey and warm syrup.
 Church tower in Huancaya Photograph Matthew Barker 2010 |
Getting there & where to stay
Huancaya is at least an 8 hour drive from Lima, and three or four days is an ideal amount of time to spend on the trip. By far the easiest way to get to Huancaya is on a tour or in hired transport. Take the Panamericana Sur out of Lima until the town of Cañete before heading inland along Route 24. The road into Huancaya is unpaved and dangerous, so care and a reliable vehicle should be taken.
Public transport is possible but infrequent and sometimes unreliable. A San Juan de Yauyos bus leaves the terminal in San Luis, Lima every Saturday at 4pm. Likewise a Bus Reyes service leaves the terminal in La Victoria every Saturday at 6:30pm. Another option is to take public transport to the busy tourist town of Lunahuana before arranging onward transport from there.
There are various basic hospedajes and restaurants in Huancaya, arrange your accommodation when arriving in town.
This guide to visiting Huancaya was written by Matthew Barker, a travel writer and photographer at Peru For Less, specialists in Peru travel and Peru vacation packages.