Coropuna

The highest volcano in Peru, Nevado Coropuna, is located about 90 miles outside of Arequipa. This volcano rises to a height of 21,079 feet (6,425 meters), ranking third among the country's highest peaks. The highest volcano in Peru is Nevado Coropuna. It is part of the broader Cordillera Occidental, and is located within the Cordillera Ampato. The Coropuna massif is made up of ten cone-shaped peaks. The peak is usually climbed from Arequipa, some 155 kilometers (95 miles) to the southeast, and then from Chuquibamba, a tiny settlement.

This volcano was adored by the Incas and is claimed to house one of the most sacred apus, mountain spirits. On the base and slope of this stunning summit, ancient temples and Inca routes can still be seen. For the Incas, Coropuna was an important mountain spirit, or apu. The remnants of Inca temples and old Inca roads may still be found on the mountain's foothills and slopes, indicating that Inca climbers reached the top long before contemporary mountaineers (including Hiram Bingham and his Yale expedition, who were the first to scale Coropuna's highest peak in 1911).

Location: the Andes mountains of southeast-central Peru
Elevation: 6,425 m
Range: Cordillera Occidental