| Ausangate | |
|---|---|
The western face of Ausangate Mountain |
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| Elevation | 6,384 m (20,945 ft) |
| Location | |
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Ausangate
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| Range | Andes, Cordillera Vilcanota |
Ausangate (Quechua: Awsanqati) is a mountain of the Cordillera Vilcanota range in the Andes of Peru. With an altitude of 6,384 metres it is situated around 100 kilometres southeast of Cusco.
The mountain has significance in Incan mythology. Every year on the north side of Ausangate the feast of Qoyllur Rit'i (Quechua: "snow star") is celebrated before the feast of the Corpus Christi, during which thousands of Quechua pilgrims attend.
The mountain was ascended by Heinrich Harrer in 1953.
The region in inhabited by llama and alpaca herding communities, and constitutes one of the few remaining pastoralist societies in the world, high mountain trails are used by this herders, to trade with the lower elevation agricultural communities, modernly one of this trails "the road of the Apu Ausangate" is one of the most renowned treks in Peru.
The area has 4 major geological features, the Andean uplift formed by Granits, the hanging glaciers and glaciar erotional valleys, the Permian formation with its singular colors, reds,ocre, turcoise and the Creatceous,lime stone forests.