If you are planning to walk the Andes, Peru, it is likely that your trip will take you to Huaraz. Capital of the Ancash region, in northern Peru, Huaraz is known as the gateway to the Cordillera Blanca mountain range and is often nicknamed “Switzerland of Peru”.
This town of high altitude has become the ideal basis for hiking heads for Huascarán National Park to travel some of the 50 recognized rails of this UNESCO world heritage. But when you stay here, what you can lose while fueling snacks and adapts to altitude is the neighboring city of Yungay.
Just an hour and 20 minutes of Huaraz’s bus (56 km), Yungay was once the original capital of the region, home of about 20,000 people and known as the “Huaylas Corridor Pearl” (name given to this spectacular valley). Today, it’s easy to go through her without taking a second look.
It looks like any other small agricultural town in the Andes, with modest houses aligned on the steep streets and corn fields that extend toward the mountains. But Yungay keeps one of the most moving stories in Peruvian history.
In 1970, a devastating glacial avalanche came down from Mount Huascarán, burning the city of Yungay and the neighboring villages under millions of tons of land.
“In three minutes, it disappeared. In three minutes, the whole city of Yungay ceased to exist,” says Juan Márquez Sánchez, a local guide from Campo Santo, a memorial and outdoor museum that marks the place where the ancient city was.
From the capital to catastrophe
On May 31, 1970, just at 3:23 PM, a strong earthquake hit the Ancash region in Peru, causing a catastrophic avalanche of Mount Huascarán, covered with snow. What followed is considered the most deadly landliness in history.
From the summit of Mount Huascarán, the highest peak of Peru, a huge portion of glacier and rock detached, triggering a wave of ice, rock and mud that ran toward Yungay at speeds of over 290 km/h.
“They say it moved faster than a high -speed car, a roar like thunder, but much higher, shook the earth under its feet. The avalanche swept it all in its way,” says Sánchez.
Yungay was directly on Avalanche’s trajectory and the city was buried for about 50 to 100 million cubic meters of debris, covering houses, sports rooms, churches and thousands of lives.
The exact number of the dead remains uncertain, as the records were incomplete and many victims have never been recovered, but official estimates suggest about 18,000 deaths.
Studies and reports from survivors suggest that only about 400 residents have escaped from Huascarán’s avalanche in Yungay.
The only survivors in Yungay at the time of Avalanche were 92 people who visited the cemetery at the top of a small artificial hill above the city. As the mud current climbed the valley, other people managed to climb to the same hill, one of the few places spared the devastation below.
Sánchez’s father was among those who managed to safely reach that hill. “He told me how they ran to save their lives, rising as high as they could while the mountain roared behind them,” he says.
“People in that hill were lucky, but they had to see the city disappear below them. The mud was like moved sand, so the survivors had to be up there, exposed to cold and hunger.”
Over the next three days, Peruvian army helicopters and emergency services have been repeatedly flew to deliver food, water and medical products. Help was also sent from neighboring Bolivia and the United States.
They managed to rescue those who were too weak to move alone, becoming a salvation board for the homeless until the rescue teams could reach them.
Fortunately, about 300 city children survived because they were watching a circus at the local stadium, which was on higher ground on the outskirts of the city. Local residents say it was the clown who took them to a safe place.
Sánchez’s mother also survived the landslide when she was only nine years old. “She doesn’t like to talk about it. It’s a very delicate subject. We even have a saying that when a picture of Huascarán, the mountain gets embarrassed. She knows what happened and doesn’t want to be shown. Sometimes she hides behind the clouds, as if she was embarrassed,” says the guide.
Nova Act
Yungay Nuevo, or “New Yungay”, is positioning itself as a base for adventure tourism (Rochelle Beighton)
Today, the place of the old Yungay remains motionless. After Avalanche, the Peruvian government designated the entire area as a national cemetery, declaring it untouchable and prohibiting reconstruction or housing. Only family members of the victims are allowed to build head chips in memory of their loved ones.
In 1982, the place was formally open to visitors such as Memorial and Tourist Zone Campo Santo. What remains are fragments of life before disaster.
When walking through Campo Santo, he will find four original solitary palm trees still standing in the center of what was once the city square. They were protected by the Yungay Cathedral, once a grand colonial structure; Now its fragments are scattered around the place. Only fragments of its stone walls remain, with a simple cross marking the place where the altar was.
“During the landslide, a wedding was taking place. The priest ran to the porch shouting for people to enter the church, because he believed it was safer inside. But the avalanche arrived and about 2,000 people died right there without survivors,” says Sánchez.
A few kilometers north of the place is Yungay Nuevo (New Yungay). Founded in July 1970, a few weeks after Avalanche, the city was deliberately rebuilt on safer terrain, about 2 kilometers north and protected from future glacus risks.
Over the past five decades, he has gradually became a new village with paved roads, open spaces and improved public services. One of its most significant milestones is the inauguration of a new regional hospital.
Inaugurated in January 2025, the four -story regional hospital was built with earthquake -resistant -resistant technology, including an advanced drainage system designed to deal with heavy rainfall and the effects of El Niño.
The city is also positioning itself as a base for adventure tourism, with the natural wonders of the region at its door. In addition to staying at the HUASCARÁN foot, it is also close to the Turquoise Lagos de Llanganuco.
From here, you can easily access hiking at Huascarán National Park, including the popular Laguna 69 and Santa Cruz rails. The pre-inconcess ruins in Chavin de Huátar, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, are also a few hours caring on the other side of the national park. With fewer tourists than Huaraz and more affordable accommodations, Yungay offers a quiet and practical alternative to visitors.
In addition, the money from your entry ticket to Campo Santo goes directly to local development projects, helping to bring Yungay back to life as the vibrant city that was before.
“Tourism is very important for Yungay. It helps us survive and recover. Every visitor who comes to the Holy Field helps the community rebuild and remember,” says Sánchez.
