Is a valley in the Ancash Region in the north-central highlands of Peru. Going north from Lima, the road climbs to an altitude of 3945 m, where the Laguna Conococha (Conococha lagoon) marks the head of the valley. This lagoon is the main source of Santa River. From here the road descends into the Callejón de Huaylas, demarcated by the Cordillera Blanca to the east and the Cordillera Negra ("Black Range") to the west. To the south rise the summits of the cordillera de Huayhuash.
Huaraz, the capital of Ancash is the largest city in the Callejón, located at 3000 m above sea level. As you go north along the river at the valley floor, you pass through the cities of Carhuaz, Yungay (the site of a major earthquake and landslide in 1970 that buried the town and killed over 20,000 people), and Caraz, considered the last city in the valley.
