La Oroya

After spending more than a month in the north of Peru I decided that it is time to go to the South, but before I do that I wanted to have at least one station on the way, just to look around in a random city. First I wanted to go to Tingo Maria, but unfortunately buses from Tarapoto doesn’t stop there because they would arrive there in the middle of the night. Another option would be to use a shared taxi service, but that was more expensive than going to Lima directly so in the end I chose to stop in La Oroya.

The bus ride was almost 24 hours long. From Tarapoto we travelled along the Huallaga river. slowly climbing up to the mountains. The landscape changed from rainforest to high altitude cold deserts. One of the most interesting places along the road was the Nacional Reserva de Junin. The national reserve consists of a huge lake on the altitude of 4000 metres and the surrounding grassy plains.

This city was the most untouristic place I’ve ever been in South America. And that is no surprise given that this is a mining city, once holding the unfamous title of the most polluted city of Peru.

The city lies 3900 metres above sea level. The surrounding mountains are stunning, and fast running rivers are crossing every part of the city. There are lovely little parks and the factory buildings have their own beauty as well. So all together I don’t mind visiting this place.

The only downside was altitude sickness. It wasn’t too bad, but I suffered from a headache for almost two days and I felt so weak on the first day that I didn’t even go to eat. I just lay in bed. This little suffering however turned out to be very useful a couple of days later.