Puya Raymondi with Pastoruri Glacier Option

The Puya Raimondi grows only in the high country of Peru. It flowers once in its life — up to twenty thousand blooms on a single spike, pollinated by hummingbirds — and then dies. We drive deep into the Huascarán National Park along the Puya valley, where the towering plants scatter across the hillside among fine mountain scenery and a clear bubbling spring. There is the option to carry on for a view of the well-known Pastoruri glacier; the park now closes the ice itself, so you walk only to its face. A full day. Note: the puyas flower only every few years, so blooms are never guaranteed — though even without them the plants are a sight.