
Laguna Paucarcocha
Peru, south-america
N/A
4,284 m
extreme
Year-round
Okay, adventure junkies, listen up! If you're craving a serious off-road experience in Peru, Laguna Paucarcocha is calling your name. This stunning high-altitude lake sits way up at 14,055 feet!
Getting there? Buckle up for Route 120. We're talking a gnarly gravel track, super narrow, and a mud-fest after any rain. Seriously, a 4x4 isn't just recommended, it's practically mandatory. Keep your eyes peeled for avalanches, heavy snow, and landslides (yikes!), plus sneaky patches of ice that can throw you for a loop. The climb is brutal, and the air gets thin, real thin – altitude sickness is a real possibility. But the scenery? Oh man, the views are worth the white-knuckle drive. Just don't expect a leisurely cruise!
Where is it?
Laguna Paucarcocha is located in Peru (south-america). Coordinates: -9.9633, -74.9174
Road Details
- Country
- Peru
- Continent
- south-america
- Max Elevation
- 4,284 m
- Difficulty
- extreme
- Coordinates
- -9.9633, -74.9174
Related Roads in south-america
moderateWhere is Salar de Uyuni?
🇧🇴 Bolivia
Ever dreamt of driving across a seemingly endless expanse of blinding white? Then buckle up and head to Salar de Uyuni in southwest Bolivia! This place is seriously unreal. Imagine a 10,500 square kilometer salt flat, the biggest on the planet, surrounded by the majestic Andes Mountains. It’s like driving on a frozen ocean...except it's salt! Your destination? Isla Incahuasi, or "house of the Inca." This island is smack-dab in the middle of the salt flat. The "road" to get there? Well, it's pure, unadulterated salt. It's a bumpy ride, but trust me, the views are worth every jostle. Keep in mind that this isn't your typical road trip. We're talking basic conditions and cold weather. Accommodation is in simple refuges. But the otherworldly scenery? Absolutely breathtaking. Just a heads-up: when the rainy season hits and the salt flat floods, Isla Incahuasi becomes off-limits. So, plan accordingly and prepare for an adventure you won't soon forget!
easyPapallacta is one of the highest towns accessible by car on Earth
🇪🇨 Ecuador
Alright, wanderlusters, listen up! If you're cruising around Ecuador's Napo Province, you HAVE to check out Papallacta. This isn't your average pit stop – it's the highest town in the whole country, perched way up at 3,300m (that's over 10,800 feet!). Seriously, you can practically touch the sky. Word on the street is "Papallacta" means "Land of Potatoes" – fitting, right? But the real draw is the ridiculously awesome hot springs. Think steamy, soothing goodness surrounded by mountain views. It's the perfect day trip escape, especially if you're coming from Quito. Getting there is a breeze on the fully paved E20 highway. This 76.7 km (47.65 mile) stretch winds its way from Pifo to Baeza, slicing right through the Andes. Heads up: you'll be climbing! The road takes you up to a breathtaking peak of over 4,000m (we're talking serious views of mountains and glaciers), after you pass through cute towns and tiny villages. You're basically driving from Quito, on the edge of the Amazon jungle, straight into postcard-perfect scenery. Get your camera ready!
moderatePunta Olimpica is the highest tunnel in the Americas
🇵🇪 Peru
Hey adventure seekers! Get ready to experience the incredible Punta Olimpica Tunnel in the Ancash region of Peru. Nestled high in the Cordillera Blanca mountains, this beauty connects the Callejón de Huaylas and Conchucos valleys. We're talking serious altitude here – 4,735m (15,535ft) above sea level! This fully paved tunnel is part of Ruta AN-107 and stretches for 1,384 meters. It's usually open year-round, but keep an eye out for occasional snow closures. Fun fact: it's named after Peru's epic football win against Austria at the 1936 Berlin Olympics! Built under crazy tough conditions, the tunnel opened in 2013 and totally changed the game. It bypassed the old Punta Olimpica Road (now a bit worse for wear with boulders and subsidence, so be careful!) and slashed travel time from a whopping 9 hours to just 2.5 hours for the 80 km distance. For years, it was the highest tunnel in the world! So, if you're up for breathtaking views and a serious adrenaline rush, add this to your bucket list!
extremeThe paved road from Balzas to Celendin in northern Peru is not an easy drive
🇵🇪 Peru
Located in the region of Cajamarca, in the northern part of Peru, the road from Balzas to Celendín tests the skill, and courage, of any driver. Hair raising stuff. There is absolutely no room for mistakes. The road, part of the 8B Road, was recently paved. The surface of the road is in really good condition. It’s 56.2 km (35 miles) long and features more than 200 curves, with 34 hairpin turns. It’s definitely not for anyone suffering from vertigo or a fear of landslides. At times the road is so narrow, with a 1000m drop off on one side and a sheer cliff rising the other, that at the corners the back wheel will be half off the edge. The road is very steep. It starts at Balzas, in the province of Chachapoyas, at an elevation of 854m above sea level and ends at Celendín, capital of the province Celendín, at 2.643m above sea level. It’s incredibly disorienting to look over the edge, or even just to see the valleys a couple thousand feet below you. The elevation gain of the road is 1.789m and the average gradient is 3,19 %, with some sections up to 7%. There are sheer drops virtually along the entire route and enough hairpins to make a whirling dervish dizzy. Road suggested by: Hugh Wilson Embark on a journey like never before! Navigate through our interactive map to discover the most spectacular roads of the world Drive Us to Your Road! With over 13,000 roads cataloged, we're always on the lookout for unique routes. Know of a road that deserves to be featured? Click here to share your suggestion, and we may add it to dangerousroads.org.