National Park Loop road conditions | Warning

Peru

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Verified:
7 days ago
Altitude:
2949.0 masl
Contributor:
lowm01

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Description

If attempting to drive from Yanama to Chacas to reenter the national park and finish the loop back to Huaraz, be aware that in the rain the section of road starting just before here is dangerous. Lots of very slippery mud with long drops off the edge of the road. It looked worse further down. The point marked is a pullout before a few switchbacks. As it was the afternoon and the rain wasn't letting up, we decided to stay here and wait for conditions to improve. If it is raining and slippery and you have any doubts about your car's abilities (we were in a Toyota 4runner and were still having issues) in the mud then we suggest stopping here or in the town before. Locals we met in the morning were friendly and didn't seem to mind us being there.

*update* We made it west to east in a 2WD on a sunny day.

*update 22nd march 2024* road currently not passable due to a landslide.

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We tried to go from Llumpa to Yanama today. We got stuck in a mudpit a couple of kilometers from Llumpa on 20° angle in the direction of the cliff, even though low range and lockers were engaged. Quite scary. We would have made it on the 2nd try but nonetheless we turned around there because a local told us that the road is impassable at the moment. I have put another warning pin there.
From all that we have seen from the road, I would not attempt this road without 4wd at this time of year (rainy season).

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Yungay>Yanama>Chacas>Carhuaz took us about 10-12 total hours in a Toyota Tacoma. Spectacular drive. Doable in almost any type vehicle currently, but as mentioned in other comments, be sure your suspension is up to it.  Conditions as follows: 

Yungay>Laguna 69 - The bumpiest most torn up section, due to all the tour traffic. 

Laguna 69>Yanama>Rio Yuma - Slow, but gorgeous. The high elevations are incredible, and from Yanama down to Rio Yuma was really great agricultural scenery. 

Rio Yuma>AN 107 between San Luis and Chacas - Gravel road, but in much better shape and wider. Could make much better time. 

AN 107 back to Carhuaz - Decent paved road, potholes and damage at times but generally good. Lots of traffic. More gorgeous scenery going over the mountains. 

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Drove the 106 (from Yungay to Yanama to Chacas). Absolutely gorgeous views (especially between Yungay and Yanama). If you’re up for a little off road adventure, we would definitely recommend it. It is very very bumpy though. No 4wd needed (at least not in the dry season), but some clearance will make it easier.

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Did this 106 road in the dry season with our 2x4 Ford Transit. Road condition is VERY bumpy but literally anything vehicle can do this in the dry season. You absolutely don’t need a 4x4 or even high clearance. We saw cars and Nissan vans driving this road.

However, your vehicle’s suspension and tires will take a beating.

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We did this in rainy season in our 4x4 delica. Very slow going. In 4x4 low gear all the way. 10-15km/h. steep mud slopes ascending and descending. Views not as nice as chacas side. But we wanted to close the loop so here we are.

Avoid if you are 2wd and low clearance. Not a good place to get stuck. It’s muddy for about 40 km

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We made it in a sunny day from Yanama to the junction at Rio Yuma with a 2WD normal clearance vehicle. From west to east is downhill. In the opposite direction it might be tougher if you are underpowered. From the river, we turned south in the direction of Chacas and the road quality so far seems much improved.

Like others have said, I wouldn’t recommend this one for a rainy day.

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No issues at this time of the year, however, we do advice to drive with a high clearance 4x4 as the road on the east side of the loop is quite bumpy. Be prepared for small roads and steep drop off. Beautiful scenery though! The whole loop from Huaraz to Caraz took us about 10 hours.

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The loop road from St Louis has completely washed away and doesn’t look like it will be fixed any time soon. There’s an old road better described as a goat track a few kms south that we tried to get up that apparently connects further down towards Yanama. We couldn’t get up 2 up on a moto. Ended up destroying a luggage rack. If you were one up on small bikes you should get through with a bit of luck.

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The night before it rained a lot causing small landslides and a lot of falling rocks. We found out we were the first car going out of Yanama on that day coz only moto tracks could be seen. Managed to pass through from west to east with our 2WD Citroen 2CV but it felt very dangerous.

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If attempting to drive from Yanama to Chacas to reenter the national park and finish the loop back to Huaraz, be aware that in the rain the section of road starting just before here is dangerous. Lots of very slippery mud with long drops off the edge of the road. It looked worse further down. The point marked is a pullout before a few switchbacks. As it was the afternoon and the rain wasn't letting up, we decided to stay here and wait for conditions to improve. If it is raining and slippery and you have any doubts about your car's abilities (we were in a Toyota 4runner and were still having issues) in the mud then we suggest stopping here or in the town before. Locals we met in the morning were friendly and didn't seem to mind us being there.

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