Story · Yungay and Comtury
Yungay: memory, flowers and renewal.
Before sleeping somewhere, it is worth knowing its story. Yungay’s is one of the deepest — and most resilient — in the Andes.
I · Before 1970
A valley with memory.
Yungay stretches across the Callejón de Huaylas at about 2,458 m above sea level, with Huascarán — 6,768 m, Peru’s highest peak — as its neighbour. It has always been farming country and a gateway to the lakes of the mountain range.
It was also here, on 20 January 1839, that the Battle of Yungay was fought, sealing the end of the Peru–Bolivian Confederation. This is a valley used to big history.
II · 31 May 1970
A matter of minutes.
That afternoon an earthquake of magnitude 7.9 shook Peru’s coast and highlands. The tremors tore a huge mass of ice, rock and mud from Huascarán, which raced down the valley and, within minutes, buried Ranrahirca and old Yungay.
Figures vary by source: between 50,000 and 70,000 victims nationwide are cited, and around 20,000 in Yungay. Only a few hundred Yungay residents survived: those on high ground such as the cemetery and the stadium, and a group of children at a circus show who were saved thanks to a warning.
We tell it with respect: for many families it remains an open wound.
III · The Campo Santo
Four palm trees and a Christ.
Of the landscape of that day only the upper part of the cemetery and four palm trees remained standing. That place is now the Yungay Campo Santo: a garden of remembrance with roses, an open-armed Christ and the footprint of the city that was.
It is walked in silence and with respect. For many travellers it is the visit that gives meaning to the rest of the trip.
The Yungay Campo Santo and the open-armed Christ above the old city.
IV · A new Yungay
Rebuilding facing the mountain.
The city was rebuilt a short distance away on safer ground, with wide streets and views of the mountains. The tragedy also spurred the creation of Peru’s National Civil Defence System, the forerunner of today’s disaster risk management system.
Today Yungay is a calm town of plaza, market and flowers. Walking it is understanding that, whatever happens, here things always bloom again.
V · Comtury
The garden that keeps blooming.
An eight-minute walk from the Plaza de Armas, Comtury Lodge opens its doors in that same valley. It is a botanical garden where ornamental plants, herbs, flowers, vegetables and fruit trees live side by side, and where Sofía Ramírez, lead host, welcomes you together with her partner.
We believe travelling is about understanding the soul of the place where you wake up. That is why we invite you to get to know Yungay slowly, to walk its history and to come back to the garden to rest.
Our hosts, with Huascarán and the Comtury entrance.
Your stay starts here
Tell us your dates and we will take care of the rest.
Write to us and we will confirm availability and rates. You can also book an experience: yoga, meditation, harvest or Andean cooking.