Huaraz
Huaraz is the capital of the Áncash region and your basecamp for exploring the Cordillera Blanca.
It’s very much a mountain town, almost as high as Cusco at just over 3,000 meters (9900 ft). This is your destination in Peru if you want to do everything from climbing and hiking, to mountain biking and skiing. The town made Matador Network’s list of The World’s Top 10 Hiking Towns.
This small city has plenty of restaurants and options for lodging. Since tourism is relatively new, many of these options are quite basic. That also means that the market is full of amazing food rather than trinkets.