Ampato

Nevado Ampato is a dormant stratovolcano in the Peruvian Andes, standing 6,288 metres above sea level at the southern end of a chain of three large volcanoes whose active neighbour, Sabancaya, still erupts periodically. The mountain entered global archaeological consciousness in 1995, when mountaineer Johan Reinhard discovered a remarkably preserved Inca ice mummy near the summit — a young girl of around 12 to 14 years old, likely sacrificed in a capacocha ritual as an offering to the mountain gods. Known as Juanita or the Lady of Ampato, she is now on display at the Museo Santuarios Andinos in Arequipa and remains one of the best-preserved pre-Columbian mummies ever found. For climbers, Ampato is a serious high-altitude objective involving glacier travel, extreme altitude, and unpredictable Andean weather.