Huascaran National Park (HNP) and Andean Raju Expeditions are working together to reach the main objective of conserving several mountain ecosystems in which a huge diversity of plants and wildlife live, among which figure endangered and endemic species. Such is the case with mountain plants and birds associated with the queñual forests. Because of its glaciers and peaks the Park is Peru’s largest reservoir of fresh water.
Under the protection of the Huascaran National Park are 663 glaciers covering a surface area of 693.72 km2, 30 mountains above 6.000 m and more than 200 above 5.000 m, as well as 296 lakes covering a total area of 28.14 km².
There are several endangered species inhabiting the park, like the puya raimondi, spectacled bear, taruca, Andean condor, and queñual tree.
Glaciers and snows of the Blanca Cordillera, located within the confines of Huascaran National Park, are the last source of fresh water for towns in the Callejon de Huaylas and the Conchucos area. They produce water for irrigating crop fields in northern Peru, as well.
About the ice and the life, the snowy peaks and glaciers protected by the HNP are extraordinarily important to humans and animals since they are huge fresh water reservoirs.
Seasonal melting supplies water for drinking, irrigatingvalley farms, and generating electricity for the region’s inhabitants. The Santa River is used to irrigate large fieldsowned by such agro-export projects as the Chinecas and Chavimochic (the latter on the coast of the department of La Libertad). What is more, wetlands and lakes formed by glacier melting are important habitats for several species living in the confines of the HNP.
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