My most recent trip to the Cordillera Huayhuash in northern Peru in May 2026 was an overall success. On this second trek I had a group of hardy and adventurous photographers with me. This was an experimental type of photo tour. The northern Peruvian Andes is still a relatively unknown photo destination although trekking is increasing in popularity. I consider this a world class mountain landscape photo destination if you like big, steep peaks surrounded by miles of open country, dotted with jewel like glacier lakes and cascading streams. This area is also a phenomenal dark sky place and contrails here are virtually nonexistent as this part of the Andes is far from popular flight paths for commercial jets.

Sunset on Nirushanca (18,402”) from Campamento Rondoy. With my foreground in deep shadow, I felt the best way to handle this was to use my favorite landscape lens, the 70-200.
Canon R5, Canon RF 70-200mm f/4 L lens
ISO 100, 1/3rd second at f/9
circular polarizer
Benro Tortoise 14 tripod

I wish I would have done more night sky shooting. The stars on the clear nights with no light pollution and at high altitude were nothing short of amazing. From the recommendation of our outfitter, Los Amigos de Huayhuash, our timing for peak wildflowers was spot on! I’m convinced late May is THE time to be there even though peak trekking season is June-August due to more reliable dry weather. Unfortunately, on this trip, the rainy season lingered into late May. Though it rained and we had some mornings below freezing, it was a much drier and clearer trip than our first in early October 2023.

The Milky Way at 9:30 pm from camp at Jahuacocha (13, 300’)looking at Jirishanca. I learned on this second trip what a great dark sky area this is – with the altitude and virtually no towns around, the night sky was crisp and magical. I wish I had photographed more. The big peaks, lit tents and reflections made for nice foregrounds.
Canon R5, Canon RF 14-35mm f/4 L lens
ISO 6400, 30 seconds at f/4
Benro Tortoise 14 tripod

Hiking to Punta Rondoy at 15,600’ with wildflowers everywhere. It killed me to not be able to return here on a nice evening for the best light. The mountains shown are Nirushanca (18,402”) and Rondoy (19,258’) were obscured in cumulus clouds about an hour after this image so there was no time like the present.
Canon R7, Sigma 18-50 f/2.8 lens
ISO 400, 1/125th second at f/10
circular polarizer
hand held

Despite making reasonable and recommended efforts to acclimate, we had a few setbacks with altitude sickness and GI problems. I structured the trip for the easiest possible bail out should problems arise early in the trek. Fortunately, everyone in the group got to see and photograph at least some amazing scenes few other photographers get to see. Working with our guide, we were also able to modify our trek so some could re-join the trip and to remain lower altitudes than the original itinerary without sacrificing some amazing photo opportunities.

This view of the Cordillera Huayhuash is one of the most striking mountain views I’ve seen. This was near our first camp at Carhuacocha at 13,600’. 90% of the success here is knowing where this is and when to be here. Once on location, with simple and effective landscape techniques used, decent shots just fall into place. On the left, is Siula Grande (20, 813’) where the harrowing climbing accident and survival story, “Touching the Void“, took place in 1983. Next is Yerupaja (21,709’) – the highest peak in the Cordillera Huayhuash, Yerupaja Chico (19,997’), and on the right, my favorite peak, Jirishanca (19,993’)
Everyone in our group got to see and photograph this amazing scene.
Canon R5, Canon RF 14-35mm f/4 L lens
ISO 200, 1/100th second at f/4
Benro Tortoise 14 tripod

Two time honored principles of landscape photography certainly became evident here. The first is the principle of finding new compositions over new locations. The more times you visit a target rich area, the better your photos become. I certainly saw and photographed a lot more from this second trip than our first. The second principle that played out was that successful landscape photography is 90% planning and timing and 10% actually taking the picture. Our planning really paid off. Following our outfitter’s recommendations and building on my foundation of knowledge gained from our first visit allowed me to plan an itinerary that maximized photo ops. At our first camp at Carhuacocha I found myself going right back to the composition I did on my first visit in October 2023. However, afterward I began looking for and seeing more great captures and compositions that I didn’t see on the first visit. I definitely saw more image potential this time than the first.

Including people in my landscape compositions is hard wired into my DNA. It makes a nice foreground adds a sense of scale and place. This is on a day hike to an even higher lake, Laguna Chaclan, from our camp at Carhuacocha.
Canon R7, Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 lens
ISO 800, 1/800th second at f/9

I always look for views or things I don’t easily see in other mountain ranges. Here it was this resting horse in a stone corral and this simple adobe home occupied by a local rancher. This home had a Starlink dish for internet – powered by solar panels. On the left, is Yerupaja (21,709’), the highest peak in the Cordillera Huayhuash, and Yerupaja Chico (19,997’).
Everyone in our group got to see and photograph this amazing scene.
Canon R7, Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 lens
ISO 800, 1/400th second at f/14

To my surprise, Photo Pills also ran a tour here around the same time as ours but we never overlapped with that group. I only learned about their trip a few months ago. I thought I was the only one crazy enough to try this physically demanding trek as a photo tour. I guess they also saw the incredible potential this area has to offer and pointing out that there is so much more in Peru to see and photograph than Machu Picchu. Their itinerary had fewer days of consecutive hiking and camping in the Cordillera Huayhuash than ours did. I have no idea how their tour went if it even filled at all. As of this writing, I haven’t seen anything on their Instagram or blog eluding to recent images from the Cordillera Huayhuash.

Wildflowers especially these large bush sized lupines were widespread in some valleys and non existent in others. This hike to Punta Rondoy at 15,600 was filled with lupines. The light is better in the evening, that is, if it doesn’t cloud up. An hour after this shot, these peaks Nirushanca (18,402”) and Rondoy (19,258’) were obscured in cumulus clouds so there was no time like the present.
Canon R7, Sigma 18-50 f/2.8 lens
ISO 800, 1/250th second at f/9
circular polarizer
hand held

I consider myself fortunate, at age 64, to still have the physical ability to explore and photograph remote and beautiful mountain ranges under my own power. I don’t consider myself an athlete or fitness buff by any means and I remain perplexed why more nature photographers aren’t more like me. Why wouldn’t you want the physical ability to reach hike or climb to locations fewer photographers see? Pursuit of remote and beautiful photo destinations is my motivation to staying active and reasonably fit. The fact that this location is not on the photo workshop/tour radar made it more appealing for me to attempt a tour here.

Stray trail dog we named “Buddy” in front of our tent at Campamento Rondoy. He was a young and very friendly dog that pulled my heartstrings. The trekking circuit is full of feral dogs whose survival strategy is to follow groups on 80-100 mile treks living off of scraps after meals. We did our part to help keep him fed. A dog we met and friended in October 2023 showed up again at our last camp. He’s had a hard life but obviously a survivor. Peru has a big problem with stray dogs from big cities to the remote reaches of the Andes.
Canon R7, Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 lens
ISO 800 1/30th second at f/5.6
hand held

I knew I was taking a big risk running a photo tour here due to the remoteness, altitude and the physical effort required to hike from camp to camp even though all we had to carry was day packs with trail camera set ups. Donkeys and mules carried all our camping gear, tripods and our good cameras and lenses we could use while photographing sunrises, night skies and sunsets from camp. For such a remote place the camping was luxury with roomy tents and great meals in a nice dining tent. Camp was always set and taken down for us. All we had to do was pack up our personal camping gear each morning.

Brothers, Adolfo (left), our lead English-speaking guide, and Abner (right) are co-owners of Los Amigos de Huayhuash. They grew up in this area and own a dairy and honey farm. Most of our gear was carried by donkeys and mules. These animals worked about half a day as it only took them a few hours to travel between camps. Once at camp we had no idea where the animals went. We just saw dozens of animals just grazing in nearby meadows and hillsides. Miraculously they just all appeared in the morning for loading. Sometimes they took alternate routes between camps and sometimes they passed us on the trail being faster than hikers. The animals were never tethered. They were guided by Abner on horseback but always seemed to know where to go. Domestic animals are part of the landscape in Peru with other outfitters as well as local ranchers driving and raising livestock all over the Cordillera Huayhuash.
Canon R7, Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 lens
ISO 800, 1/100th second at f/8
hand held

I’m glad I took a chance to see if this style of photo tour would work. I intentionally went directly to local guides and local accommodations. I feel good that most of our money spent stayed in the communities we were in. I love this type of photo tour the most – combining a multi-day, non motorized adventure with inspiring photography. Unfortunately, except under special circumstances, this is a “one and done” photo tour for us. I don’t think we can find enough nature photographers willing to put in this kind of effort to experience and capture imagery from beautiful and hard to reach places.

If you go on your own be sure to contact Anamin at Los Amigos de Huayhuash. She and her brothers own and operate the business. They all grew up in the area and know the Cordillera Huayhuash – the land, the people and culture intimately. They are great guides and speak English.

Our outfitters insisted on serving up a proper gourmet lunch no matter what the weather was. This lunch was after a significant climb of 2700’ up and over Punta Rondoy at 15,600. Cook and assistant cook with 2 donkeys went with us daily to serve a picnic lunch.
Canon R7, Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 lens
ISO 800, 1/160th second at f/9
hand held