What is the highest peak of Peru's Cordillera Blanca?

The highest peak of Peru’s Cordillera Blanca is Huascarán. Its southern summit, Huascarán Sur, reaches about 6,768 metres (22,205 feet) above sea level.

Huascarán stands in Peru’s Ancash region, within Huascarán National Park and the central Andes. The mountain has two principal summits: Huascarán Norte, climbed first in 1908, and the higher southern summit, first climbed in 1932. The massif is composed largely of granite formed during the Cenozoic Era.

The Cordillera Blanca—Spanish for “White Range”—contains dozens of peaks above 5,000 metres and many above 6,000 metres. Its glaciers and snowfields give the range its name, although retreating ice has significantly changed the landscape over recent decades.

Climbers and quiz-takers sometimes confuse Huascarán with Yerupajá, the second-highest peak in Peru and the highest in the nearby Huayhuash range. Alpamayo is famous for its striking pyramid shape, while Siula Grande became widely known through the mountaineering book and film Touching the Void.