Thanks to Lorenzo Rojo for contributing the information for this page. The account of his 15 year round the world cycle can be found (in Basque) at his Munduan Barrena Bizikletaz blog. Thanks also to Daniel Lang for contributing photos of his snowy crossing of the pass.
This is the highest road through the Cordillera Blanca and the long climb through beautiful, wild mountain scenery is one of the most spectacular in the Andes. The route passes glaciers, small turquoise lakes and through patches of old forest. On the Carhuaz side of the pass there are views of Huascaran, Peru’s highest mountain.
The official height of Punta Olimpica is 4,890m, my GPS gave an altitude of 4,902m.
| Name of Pass | Punta Olimpica |
| Where | Between Chacas and Carhuaz |
| GPS Co-ords | 9.1308 S, 77.5109 W |
| Altitude | 4,890m |
View Punta Olimpica in a larger map
Peru Pass List
<< Abra Viraco – 4,940m Abra Patapampa – 4,889m >>
Hey, I’ve cycled that one 🙂 A spectacular pass! My father and I got hit by a snow storm and had to camp at 4700m. You can find pictures at http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=7583566@N02&q=punto . A really great resource, thank you very much for this work, highly appreciated!