Qelcaya Glacier, Peru (June 5, 2026)
3am wake up … again! The only downside of staying in Cusco, Peru, is that all the day trips begin by being picked up in the middle of the night (see related blog post). 4.5 hour drive to get to the glacier. But once there, we had 45 minutes to explore and take tons of pictures.
Inside the Qelcaya Glacier tunnel. You can see through the ice!
What can I say? The glacier was beautiful and I’ve never before been inside a glacier tunnel. Sure, I was with Elena, Nana, Ga, Nancy, Jack and Drew in Alaska several years ago when I visited my first glacier.
Drew, who was about 8 years old at the time, wanted to “kick” his first glacier. So he did. Ga and I laughed a hearty belly laugh watching young Drew kick a glacier in Alaska and as I visited this one, I remembered that first experience fondly. The key difference, however, was this time I got to go inside and look up. It was a gorgeous deep shade of aqua blue.
Majestic view of the Qelcaya Glacier from the outside.
The sad part of this experience was learning that in just 20 years, the glacier has melted to about half of its original size. Global warming is certainly taking its toll on this glacier. The tunnels were only revealed once this melting occurred. Now there are small “lakes” in front of the glacier as we walked toward it.
Yes, still beautiful despite its continued melting process. Which is why, despite the 4.5 hour drive to get here, it was worth seeing in its current state. As global warming continues, this glacier is likely to continue receding. Seeing it now in its current form may be a historically significant visit as the glacier continues to shrink. Sad, but true.
The “lake” forming in front of the Qelcaya Glacier in Peru
In order to extend the length of this trip, we then moved onto a “proper” lake nearby. This lake boasts some incredibly large trout that keep the locals fed who live in this area.
When the Spanish came to conquer the Inca people, many of them migrated up here to continue their faith traditions and avoid being converted as part of the Spanish conquering and conversion. They raise alpacas, fish in this lake and farm what they can at this high altitude (around 6,000 meters from sea level).
Lake selfie with the Qelcaya Glacier in the far distance behind me.
And then, another 4.5-hour drive back to Cusco. When we returned, we were dropped off as close to where we started with all the roads being blocked off to celebrate the Cusco independence day. It begins in June and crescendos on the official day of June 22nd.
Everyone turned out this evening to witness the first of many parades happening in the main square (which is near my hotel). There was a steady stream of bands, fireworks, and statues of the Virgin Mary out in front of the cathedral. I stayed to watch some of it, but given my flight tomorrow morning, I wanted to get home, pack up and be ready to leave first thing in the morning as I head out to Lima for the weekend.
Thousands of Peruvians packed into the main square for parades
Cusco, Peru is beautiful. No doubt about it. I would like to bring my whole family here to visit as there are still many parts of Peru I didn’t have time to explore and visit. Yes, I feel I got a great “first glimpse” of Cusco and tomorrow I’ll explore the capital and major city, Lima. But I’m only scratching the surface here.
Now that I’ve been here, I know where I can go next thanks to the many locals who have suggested so many additional places to visit, including the salt flats near Bolivia. I could spend another month here and still feel I’m only absorbing a small part of this incredibly beautiful country. Such is life as I travel the world and see parts unknown.
One final sunset as I look at Cusco from my hotel. Great visit.
