Lake Parón

Lake Parón is the largest lake in the

Cordillera Blanca The Cordillera Blanca (Spanish for "white range") is a mountain range in Peru that is part of the larger Andes range and extends for between 8°08' and 9°58'S and 77°00' and 77°52'W, in a northwesterly direction. It includes several peaks ove ...

, on the

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

vian

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

, 32 km E from the city

Caraz Caraz is a town in the Caraz District in the southeastern part of Huaylas Province of the Ancash Region in Peru. Political Creation Recent investigations suggest that its political creation happened on 12 February 1821 when General San Martín, ...

, at 4185 m asl. It is nested and surrounded by several snow peaks such as Aguja I 5,840 m, Aguja II 5m888 m, Aguja III 5,775 m,

I 6,025 m, Qaras II 6,020 m, Qaras III 5,720 m,

Artesonraju Artesonraju is a pyramidal mountain peak located near the city of Caraz in the Cordillera Blanca mountain range in the Peruvian Andes. It is located at the Peruvian province of Huaylas and its slopes are within two cities: Santa Cruz and Caraz ...

6,025 m, Parón 5,600 m, Pirámide 5,885 m,

Chacraraju Chacraraju or Chakraraju (possibly from Quechua ''chakra'' little farm; field, land sown with seed, ''rahu'' snow, ice, mountain with snow)Teofilo Laime Ajacopa, Diccionario Bilingüe Iskay simipi yuyayk'ancha, La Paz, 2007 (Quechua-Spanish dicti ...

W 6,112 m, Chacraraju E 6,001 m,

Pisco Pisco is a colorless or yellowish-to-amber colored brandy produced in winemaking regions of Peru and Chile. Made by distilling fermented grape juice into a high-proof spirit, it was developed by 16th-century Spanish settlers as an alternative ...

5,772 m, Huandoy E 6000 m, Huandoy N 6395 m and Huandoy W 6,356 m. It is one of the most popular areas for climbing in Peru, including the so famous The Sphinx 5325m, a granite monolith, offering at least 13 big wall routes. The lake, formed as a natural moraine reservoir, has a catchment area of 44.3 km², it is 3.7 km long (E-W) and average of 700 m width (N-S), the original depth was about 75 m, but today the level was lowered ca. 15 m to prevent the collapse of the moraine. The water from the lake was formerly used for the Cañón del Pato hydroelectric scheme, since 29 July 2008, this condition has ceased. The lake itself is within the borders of the

Huascarán National Park Huascarán National Park ( es, Parque Nacional Huascarán) is a Peruvian national park that comprises most of the mountain range known as Cordillera Blanca (the world's highest tropical mountain range) which is part of the central Andes, in the r ...

. The water level is controlled by a tunnel and underwater gate, to keep water level at 4,155 m asl aiming a double objective: to prevent the overflow and the resulting risk for the downstream population and to manage the river discharge. The high concentrations of dissolved lime give the water of Lake Parón a turquoise color. It is a popular day hike for those willing to acclimatize or even ride a mountain bike downhill (note: there's almost a 2,000 m drop to Caraz). It is possible to camp on the west and east shores, and from the east end, an easy walk can lead to the impressive pyramid or Artesonraju (the Paramount Picture's logo). Lakes of Peru Lakes of Ancash Region Huascarán National Park {{Ancash-geo-stub