illimani

The view is spectacular, especially when there is more snow on top of this majestic mountain. Its legend is interesting...but is it for real??

In January, the rainy season, you rarely see Illimani until the end of the day, when the fog and clouds lift, but when you do, it is always thrilling and spectacular! If only the hideous blight of the obstructing TIGO sign that blocks the view of Illimani from the southeast heights could be taken away! TIGO should be ashamed of themselves as Pacenas.

On a clear day, the mountain rises like a sentinel over the city and it is just fantastic. The surrounding mountains frame the Illimani with a very colourfull array of reds, green and brown.

Volcanoes are not rare in Bolivia, but this one stands out due to it's proximity to la Paz city. Many horizon views from the city allow for sightings in the very thin and clear air. You'll also see it from Valley of the Spirits and from Valley of the Moon.

Africa has its Kilimanjaro, Japan its Fujiyama; La Paz, Illimani: a majestic three crested mountain that oversees almost all the city. You can´t miss it.

The Illimani is an Icon in La Paz. It has a majestic look from all over the city, but the higher you are, the better you can appreciate it. Go on the New Teleferico ride to El Alto for Amazing look of the Illimani and the La Paz City.

During the four days on Illimani everything worked out perfectly and in time. Especially I want to mention the good quality and high quantity of food. / Waehrend der vier Tage am Illimani hat alles reibungslos und puenktlich geklappt. Besonderes Lob gebuehrt der reichhaltigen und guten Verpflegung.Special thanks to the perfect guide Juancho / Besten Dank an den perfekten Fuehrer Juancho / Muchas gracias, Juancho

The extraordinary sprawling city is dominated by its 2 huge snow-capped mountains, Huyuni and Illimani.

I climbed illimani with a private guide, Wiliam Wallace, from Altitud6000. This is a long and tough climb. I recommend climbing Huayna Potosi first, using the same guide, so you get to know each other's technique. If you dont have any issues on Huayna, then give Illimani a try. Dont be fooled, it is technical. Good crampon skills are critical. I walked a cross a place where 2 people slid and you could see the marks all the way down and off the mountain. There are many steep and dangerous places where crampon footing is vital! Its very long, much longer and steeper than Huayna Potosi. Then, when you get to the stairway to heaven, its 300 meters of a 65 degrees slope. We fixed roped it, which took 4 different anchor settings while we moved up the wall. In the dark, this is challenging and scary! The 2 young guys that went up before me turned back at the stairway to heaven. Many people dont make it to the top. Many people have died on this mountain.I recommend climbing with a good guide. I highly recommend William Wallace from Altitud6000. I climbed Huayna Potosi and illimani with him and he kept me very safe. He is an expert mountaineer, who isnt afraid to call me out when my technique is off. Which I like because I learn a lot and it keeps me safe on the mountain. He walked "john wayne style" straight down the stairway to heaven without much protection. He is passionate about the mountain and will keep you safe! Altitud6000 is great too. They had great food and the equipment was amazing. Almost new crampons, nice tents, really good stuff. Summary: anyone who tells you to just go climb illimani without experience is trying to sell you something! This is a long, tough and dangerous mountain that requires previous experience and an expert guide who knows your technique. That said, it is worth it! Stay in La Paz for a couple weeks, acclimatize, find a good guide, climb Huayna Potosi first with your guide, and then go for the big mountain!

We could see Illimani covered with snow, very clearly from our hotel room... a beautiful sight! Very comforting how these high peaks and/or volcanoes enhance many a Latin-American City!

I enjoy the visit to the illimani I can observe the city from the high point really I like me greatly the walk that I did recommend it totally

I climbed Illimani with Climbing South America, based in La Paz just last week and I can say this is a wonderful mountain to climb. Not technically very difficult but fairly exposed in certain areas. Even the drive from La Paz is an epic - some 3.5 hours to Pinaya, from there the usual 3 night 4 day ascent begins. The views back to La Paz at night are incredible and the higher one goes the icsta opens out west to the volcanoes on the Chilean border, Titicaca and Peru to the north west and from the final summit ridge (assuming the normal Pic Sur route) the views east over the Bolivian and Brazilian amazon isn't so bad either. If you feel the urge and have even a little experience, this is a must climb.

Mount Illimani is a beautiful extinct stratovolcano, which overlooks the city of La Paz. Many legends have been dedicated to this mountain considered to be the guardian of the city. The mountain was first climbed in 1877. However, archaeological items found at the top, indicates a very early Aymara presence in the heights. The mountain itself has many peaks that are permanently snow capped; three of them are above 6000m and the highest reaches an astounding altitude of 6.490m.Mount Illimani is the highest mountain in the Cordillera Real, the second highest in Bolivia and the 18th highest in the Andes. It dominates the city of La Paz like a sentinel on guard. Unfortunately, it stood in the way of Eastern Airlines Flight 980 on January 1, 1985, which crashed onto the mountain at an altitude of 5,974 m (19,600 ft). The Boeing 727 was coming into La Paz from Asunción, Paraguay, with 29 passengers and crew. All perished including Marian Davis, the wife of the then US Ambassador to Paraguay.

We attempted Illimani after a month of trekking and climbing in Bolivia --- while we did not summit (conditions were tough and my conditioning was insufficient) we did make it to Nido de Condores and my partner got to about 5,800m on he mountain before turning back.The mountain is stunning. I am so happy we attempted this adventure and will be back to try again.Our guide, Eduardo Mamani Quispe, owner of Bolivian Mountain Guides, is excellent. He and his company are a definite "highly recommend" for me. Prices are higher than the typical Calle Sagarnaga operators, but in exchange you get real guides, with expertise, skill and equipment.

This stunning massif, is every bit impressive whether gazing out at if from La Paz or nestled into down-layers in a tent at high camp (the "Condor's Nest"). This climb is very difficult and one needs to be in very good physical condition, well-acclimated, and experienced with glacier travel and climbing at high altitude. If you are up for it, then go for it. I used a local guiding agency which I found very helpful in terms of guiding on the mountain, logistics in terms of getting out there and moving gear to/from camps, and for cooking, but this could easily be down unassisted (I was just being lazy!).