Callejón de Huaylas
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The Callejón de Huaylas ("Alley of Huaylas") is a valley in the Ancash Region in the north-central highlands of Peru.
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[edit] Location
The Callejón de Huaylas in its total length of 150 km is run through by the Río Santa in a north-westerly direction, and is bordered by two mountain ranges, the snow-covered Cordillera Blanca (White Mountain Range) to the northeast and the Cordillera Negra (Black Mountain Range) to the southwest. Huascarán (6,746 m), the highest peak of Peru, is located in the Cordillera Blanca. The valley has an elevation of 4,000 meters above sea level in the south and less than 2,000 meters in the north where Río Santa leaves the Callejón de Huaylas.
[edit] Population
The population of the Callejón de Huaylas consists of a Quechua-speaking native population, most of them peasants living in the mountain villages, and Spanish-speaking Mestizos in the small towns along the Santa river. The Mestizos dominate politically and economically, but migration, education and tourism have brought changes in the life of the population over the recent decades.
[edit] Climate
The climate in the valley is subtropical and dry, the rainy season lasts from October to April. The yearly average temperature is 16.6°C in the daytime and 12.6°C at night.
[edit] Significance
In the Peruvian history, the valley was the cradle of the preliterate Chavín culture which spanned 900 BCE to 300 BCE and had established an outstanding trade network and developed agriculture. Today, the valley is still very rich in agriculture and at the same time an excellent tourist destination for mountaineering, skiing , paragliding and rafting.
Center of the "Callejón de Huaylas" is the city of Huaraz, capital of the Ancash Region. Other important towns in the region are Recuay, Carhuaz, Yungay and Caraz.
