QUELCCAYA GLACIER CUSCO
Quelccaya Glacier in Cusco
Today, in Cusco, we can not only enjoy the history of our heritage or the great citadels like Machu Picchu and Choquequirao. Cusco also generously gifts us with great natural attractions, such as the Quelccaya Glacier.
The Quelccaya Glacier is located in southeastern Peru, at more than 5,600 meters above sea level and sits atop the Vilcanota mountain range, an extension of the Andes. It is considered the largest in the entire tropical zone of the world. This white giant, also known as the Quelccaya Ice Sheet, is over 17 km long, has a surface area of 44 km², and a layer of ice 200 m thick.
This tourist attraction is of great importance to the region as it feeds the Vilcanota River and the Sibinacocha Lagoon. However, this glacier has shrunk drastically in recent decades due to climate change. For this reason, environmental authorities are working to control this problem.
If you prefer destinations without crowds and long hikes, this snow-capped mountain is the perfect place. Many tourists, mountaineers, professional climbers, and lovers of natural landscapes have already experienced this adventure.
During the route to the Glacier, you can see lagoons and some auchenids, such as vicuñas, llamas, and alpacas. You’ll also find yourself amidst curiously shaped ice walls, elusive stalactites and stalagmites, and you can enter caves of mauve, turquoise, and blue colors.
Beautiful natural scenery that will remain in your memory as an unforgettable experience. It is recommended to be accompanied by a guide to avoid any inconvenience.
Come and enjoy this new experience on the magnificent snowy peak of Quelccaya.
The Andean Communities of Quelccaya
The Quelccaya Glacier in Cusco is a major water supplier, feeding the Macapatilla and Santa Bárbara rivers, whose waters drain into the Vilcanota River. It is also a large aquifer that continuously releases water as it melts.
Today, its waters are a source of life for the communities living downstream, as they use it for drinking and basic hygiene, as well as for irrigation and maintenance of fields and wetlands.
Near the Quelccaya Glacier Tropic, several rural communities live. They, through the knowledge and traditions inherited from their ancestors, strive to preserve this sacred site. According to some of its residents, Quelccaya is of great importance for their rituals of gratitude.
Likewise, during your visit to this wonderful glacier, you will be able to meet and interact with some of these communities and purchase several of their handicrafts made from alpaca. You’ll also have the opportunity to hear the various myths and legends that are part of their oral tradition.
Responsible Tourism in Quelccaya
This magnificent, high-altitude snow-capped mountain is considered a global thermometer for measuring global warming and the melting of glaciers, as it is a research area for those studying the effects of climate change on mountain ranges.
Therefore, environmental authorities have sounded the alarm to combat this phenomenon, making it a protected area.
This territory is of great importance for the water sources that feed thousands of rural families in the region, due to its large water reserves that continuously release water as the glacier melts. It is also a research area for those studying the effects of climate change in this part of the country, as is the case with Professor Lonnie Thompson of Ohio University.
Although Quelccaya’s ice cap has diminished in recent decades, it remains one of the largest glaciers in the world. However, its protection and conservation must be a joint effort. For this reason, if you are going to visit Quelccaya, we invite you to practice responsible tourism.
