If a place could be known by its tree, Huarangal would be known by the huarango. This slow-growing, deep-rooted tree of the Peruvian coast, a kind of mesquite, once covered the dry valleys and fed the ancient people with its sweet pods, and the old Inca road passed through it. Much of the forest has been cut for charcoal and farmland, but a few trees survive, and the name of the place keeps the memory. The segment between Molle and Huarangal is a stretch of the Qhapaq Nan, the Inca road network that was listed as a World Heritage site in 2014, in the dry foothills of the Andes east of Lima, where the Rimac valley opens out and the desert meets the mountains.
The setting is stark. The hills are bare, brown and rocky, with a few green pockets where irrigation brings fields of fruit and maize, and tall cacti stand on the slopes. The air is dry, the sky clear, and the sun strong, and it is a very different place from the foggy coast. Chosica, the town nearby, is known in Lima as the sunny escape, and weekenders drive up from the grey city to find blue sky. The molle, a pepper tree with feathery leaves and pink berries, grows along the roads and gives its name to the segment.
Reaching it means riding the Carretera Central, the busy highway from Lima into the Andes, past Chosica and up the valley. Expect heavy traffic, big trucks, buses stopping on the bends and the occasional rock on the road, especially in the rainy season, between January and March, when flash floods and mud flows can cut the road. Chosica itself has suffered from such flows, and the steep dry valleys can turn in minutes. The best time for the ride is the dry season, from May to November, when the days are clear and warm, with cold nights in the high villages.
Chosica is a town of about eighty-eight thousand people, fifteen kilometres from the segment, and has fuel stations, shops, restaurants and basic hotels. Beyond it, services become sparse, so fill the tank before you start up the valley. The market stalls sell tangerines, avocados and chirimoya, the creamy custard apple that grows in the area, and in the small restaurants, trout, roast guinea pig and thick soups are on the menu. Take sun protection, water and some cash, and walk the old road with a respect for those who built it.