Ampato, Dormant stratovolcano in southern Andes, Peru

Ampato is a dormant stratovolcano in southern Peru's Andes composed of three volcanic cones rising from an eroded base to reach 6,288 meters in elevation. The mountain displays steep rock faces alongside ice-covered upper slopes, giving it a rugged appearance shaped by volcanic and glacial processes.

Ampato's eruptions built three steep cones on an older eroded edifice; one young lava flow is dated to 17,000 ± 6,000 years before present, and Holocene ash layers in nearby peat bogs may record later activity. In September 1995 Johan Reinhard and Miguel Zárate found the frozen Inca mummy Juanita near the summit after Sabancaya ash melted the ice; further expeditions in 1995 and 1997 uncovered three more Inca mummies at 5,850 m.

The mountain holds spiritual meaning for Andean communities, as evidenced by the discovery of a frozen mummy in 1995 that was placed there as a ritual offering. This connection between the place and ancient practices remains alive in local perception.

There are three ascent routes. The normal route starts from a base camp at 4,600 m and crosses the north summit (6,150 m) before reaching the south summit; the return takes about 3 hours to Camp 1 and 1.5 hours to base camp. The Mucurca–Cabanaconde route uses Inca paths and takes about 7 days round trip. Snow, blizzards and hail occur year-round.

The mummy found in 1995 was a girl aged about twelve to fourteen, sacrificed roughly five hundred years ago; she was buried sitting in a shallow pit near the summit, dressed in fine clothing and wearing a decorative feather headdress. Volcanic ash from Sabancaya had melted the ice and shifted the tomb before Johan Reinhard and Miguel Zárate spotted red macaw feathers on the mound.