Explore Huaraz and the Cordillera Blanca
Explore Huaraz and the Cordillera Blanca
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If you love outdoors, speaking of big snowy mountains and intense blue lagoons, you have to visit this place! The Huascarán National Park contains the Cordillera Blanca mountain range and the less famous Cordillera Negra mountains. You’ve propably already seen pictures of Laguna 69 and Paron Lake in the famous Cordillera Blanca. Snowy peaks and pale blue water makes these two places really special. There are a lot of smaller one day hikes with different level of difficulty, but also several multi day hikes. Huaraz is the perfect place to stay and relax after some long exhausting but fascinating hiking days. Most guided tours start here. Huaraz, the capital of the Ancash region, offering bustling streets full of young people, restaurants, super markets, however it didn’t feel that touristic, it was still authentic!
1. Laguna Paron – at 4.155m
Oh, this place is so photogenic! Imagine a long light blue lake, surrounded by beautiful 5000m and 6000m snowy mountain peaks and a white perfectly shaped pyramid mountain in the background…Is this even real? Paron lake is the largest lake in Cordillera Blanca and sits at 4.155 meters, which can be quite uncomfortable if you didn’t acclimatise before. It’s not recomended to fly from Lima to Huaraz and start a hike at Paron Lake at your first day. Give your body some time to adjust to the thin air! You can do some smaller first hiking trails like Wilcacocha Hike. Or you come here after you visit the higher located places around Cusco like Rainbow Mountains or Humantay Lake.
We rented a car and explored the whole area around Huaraz on our own. The traffic was pretty easy there compared to Lima or Cusco. But the not ending winding narrow gravel roads up to the Lagoon really were a bit nerve wracking.
You can also book a tour which will depart from Huaraz early in the morning. If you take the public transport, you have to hike from the trailhead entry, which is basically at the foot of the mountain. It is much more recommended to let the bus or car drop you off directly in front of Paron Lake. From there you can hike up to the viewpoint on the mountain or to the smaller lagoon behind the lake.
Campsite at the Laguna Paron
If you are here with your rental car, consider to sleep at the campsite of the lake. It is run by a family and they provide washing rooms. You can set up your own tent there if you have one. Otherwise you do it like us, simply sleep in the car. We rented a bigger 2×4 car and folded the backseats down and simply put our thermals mats and sleeping bags in the trunk. It was actually pretty comfy. You want to wake up for sunrise at 5:30 am anyway 😉 !! The entry fee at the gate (at the foot of the mountain) costs 10 Soles per person and includes the campsite.
Early Mornings at the Laguna Paron
You have to experience this lake for sunrise! Look at the reflection of the pyramid mountain in the water! You will never see this reflection in the daylight. However it’s only possible to be there for sunrise if you stay the night with a rental car. Most tours depart from Huaraz at 5am or 8 am and will arrive when there are a lot of other tourists and a high standing sun.
Hike to the viewpoint of Laguna Paron
We highly recommend to hike up to the viewpoint of the mountain on the right hand side of the lake (looking at the pyramid snowy mountain). After a short 15 minute hike you will have the full view on this pastel blue glacial lake surrounded by sheer cliffs and snow-capped mountains. It’s really a landscape paradise here! You can also hike all around the lake to get to the much smaller and less visited Laguna Artesancocha, but its water is green.
2. Laguna 69 – at 4.600m
Laguna 69 is probably the most famous place in this area. Everyone told us, it’s a hard 5 hour hike, but we were still surprised by how exhausting it was…mostly mental due to the several hiking sections. Several times you think, oh okay but now this has to be the laguna, after this mountain it really must be there..and no, another really long climb up the hill. In total it’s a 7km hike with beautiful views all the time, while you circle further up and up the mountain towards the snow. Don’t do this hike before acclimate a few days before, otherwise you might face altitude sickness, meaning headaches, sickness, dizziness, exhaustion and loss of appetite.
We stayed in an airbnb near the Laguna 69 (Tullpa Rumy) and drove the car in the early morning to the campsite at the entrance of Laguna 69 hike. We left our car there and started our hike. You can also book a day tour from Huaraz, leaving at 5am which will arrive after around 3 hours. Start this hike early! You will at least need 5 hours! We started our hike around 7 am and on our way back down it got so crowded with locals. Probably because it was weekend. Normally you have to pay 30 soles, but when we started early there was no one at the gate. Didn’t have to pay at the way back down either.
The Hike up to Laguna 69
The lake sits at 4,600m, the hike begins at around 3,800m. First it starts with pretty easy leveled trails along a little river, the hike will go all the way up the mountain on the left side (the direction of the high waterfall) until the snowy area. A 14 km round trip hike with 800 meters altitude isn’t nothing! Be prepared with snacks and enough water, it can also rain here! In the middle of the hike you reach something like a plateau with a not so blue looking lagoon. Well, you are only half through now ;). Then there comes a sign saying 1 h, before the last really exhausting climb.
3. Eat at Tullpa Rumy near Laguna 69
The night before our hike we stayed at the cute airbnb Tullpa Rumy. It was a funny night, since we arrived late in the darkness after hours of twisting gravel roads – the host didn’t see our booking and gave the 2 huts to two other biologists. These really nice guys ended up sharing a room so that we could sleep somewhere, too. Wasn’t the best situation, arriving in the late evening, without any mobile signal, almost no spanish knowledge, to book another hotel was impossible. We are so glad they helped us, otherwise we had to sleep in the car. We woke up for sunrise and drove another 30 minutes on gravel roads to the entrance of Laguna 69. After our hike we came back here (totally exhausted) and ate some really good lunch at the restaurant. The restaurant was pretty popular amongst local families.
4. Wilcacocha Trail – at 3.786m
If you just arrived in Huaraz and didn’t have any time for acclimatization in other areas like Cusco before, we highly recommend to start slow with the smaller trail like Laguna Wilcacocha. It’s probably the easiest hike in Huaraz, but it gives you the chance to see how your body likes the altitude. Even Wilcacocha Trail sits at 3.786m!
The 3-4 hour round trip hiking trail isn’t that steep. The easiest way is to arrive with your own rental car. However you can also take the bus Route 10 / Route E at the northeast intersection of Antonio Raymondi and Hualcan Street.
Even though the lagoon isn’t as blue as Laguna 69, the soft orange grass in front of snowy high mountains look pretty beautiful.
5. Other Day Hikes
Tickets for the Huascaran National Park
If you plan to stay longer in the Huascaran National Park it might be cheaper to buy a multi-day pass valid for thirty days, it costs 150 soles. There is also a day ticket for 30 soles, if you want to do two hikes in one day. However if you only plan to visit some highlights on separate days like us (for example Laguna Paron and Lagune 69), just pay the separate entrance fees at the entrance gates. Maybe you are even lucky and the control guys aren’t there (there was no one at Laguna 69 when we arrived in the early morning).
These hikes are part of the Huascaran National Park:
Pastoruri Glacier – at 5.250m
It’s a short 1 hour hike on paved roads from the parking space to the glacier.
Laguna Churup – at 4.600m
It’s a 8 km round trip, you will need around 4 hours. You can take the bus to Pitek.
Laguna Llanganuco – at 3.850m
It’s more a touristic laguna walk with shopping stalls along the way.
Laguna Rajucolta – at 4.271m
A really beautiful lagoon with snowy mountains in the background. 4-5 hours round trip hike.
Llaca Lake Hike – at 4.470m
A beautiful lagoon, where you can even set up your tent. From the main market in Huaraz take a collectivo with the label “Marian.” Take the collectivo until the last stop, which will be at the entrance to Marian.
6. More time? These are some popular multi-day hikes!
Santa Cruz Trek
In 3-4 days and 50 km you will see local villages that live in the Cordillera Blanca and some stunning views of the beautiful snow-capped mountains. Each day composes of 3 to 8 hours of hiking, depending on your fitness level. The Santa Cruz trek is also a Huaraz trek you can do independently!
Cordillera Huayhuash Trek (Pronounced “whywash”)
This hike is definitely on my list, because of the most famous view of the “Tres Lagunas”! Look at some pictures of the Tres Lagunas! This most impressive Huayhuash Trek has a length of 130 km and elevations as high as 5,490m and is most often done in 9-12 days. You can do the classic full circuit or you have the choice of several different shortcuts which can reduce the length of the hike by several days. The minimum are 4 days.
It’s one of the hardest hikes, because of the length of this track and the possibility to develop symptoms of altitude sickness along the way (headache, nausea, loss of appetite, and trouble sleeping). The weather can be windy, cold and wet sometimes. It can even rain and snow in the dry season! On the trek, you will see Peru’s second-highest mountain, Yerupaja, sitting at 6634m.
The easiest way is to book a a guided tour from the many local providers. It’s possible to do this trip on your own (we for example did the Ausangate trek near Cusco on our own, but we are experienced hikers with an own tent). Don’t do this alone if it’s your first time hiking! You will need light equipment since you have to wear your backpack all the time.
From Huaraz, It’s possible to hire a private transport to bring you all the way to the first campsite, Cuartelwain. It’s also possible to take a public bus from Huaraz to the town of Llamac.
This is the typical route:
Day 1: Huaraz – Llámac – Cuartelwain 4170m
Day 2: Cuartelwain – Qaqanan pass 4750m – Mitucocha 4230m
Day 3: Mitucocha – Carhuac pass 4600m – Carhuacocha 4138m
Day 4: Carhuacocha – Carnicero pass 4630m – Huayhuash 4330m
Day 5: Huayhuash – Portachuelo pass 4750m – Viconga 4400m
Day 6: Viconga – Cuyoc pass 5000m – Guanacpatay (Elefante pampa) 4450m.
Day 7: Guanacpatay – San Antonio Pass 4990m – Cutatambo 4250m
Day 8: Cutatambo, visit the base camp and glacier of Siula Grande mount, route of Joe Simpson.
Day 9: Cutatambo – Huayllapa 3500m
Day 10: Huayllapa – Tapush pass 4800m – Qashpapampa 4500m.
Day 11: Qashpapampa – Yaucha pass 4750m – Jahuacocha 4070m
Day 12: Jahuacocha – Pampa Llámac pass 4300m – Llamac – Huaraz
7. What to do in Huaraz – at 3.052m
We didn’t stay long in Huaraz since we had a rental car and most times slept directly at the campgrounds near the lagunas. But if you stay in this area for longer or if you plan to book a tour, you will most likely end up in Huaraz. Although it’s not as beautiful as Cusco, we really liked the city. The bustling streets where full of young people, it felt very save, there even was an organic bio market with all the vegan stuff. There are big supermarkets and restaurants, even cross fit studios. Our favorite café was the California Café. We met lots of other travelers there!
How to get to Huaraz? Driving along the famous Pan-American Highway.
If you get a rental car in Lima, like we did, you can simply drive North along the big Pan-American Highway. The Pan-American Highway is pretty unspectacular, since it’s a big road with nothing really to see. Okay there is desert or some green plantations next to the highway, but really nothing more. We also came into an intense dense fog after Lima and had to drive through several “zona niebla”. Felt kind of spooky. After 3.5 hours on the highway near Barranca you have to turn right and follow the smaller mountain streets. Now you have 4 more hours to drive through the most beautiful landscape I have ever seen, reminded me of Iceland but with orange grass. It was really a highlight for me and came unexpected!
If you don’t have a rental car you can take the local bus Cruz del Sol. It’s one of the better busses. We don’t recommend to take the smaller bus companies since we heard some robbery stories about them. Unfortunately Huaraz has no airport anymore. You can either fly to Lima or to Trujillo in the North of Huaraz.
Altitude sickness?
Throbbing headache, loss of appetite, nausea, lethargy, altered sleep patterns, shortness of breath, these are symptoms of altitude sickness. It can start at 2.500m, but for most people once passing beyond 3.000m.
With higher altitude, the air gets thinner, oxygen levels decrease and – for those not used to being at higher altitudes – your body is rebelling. Your physical condition doesn’t influence the chance of getting altitude sickness, however it definitely helps with the long climbs.
It’s necessary to plan enough days for acclimatization! Coming from Lima with near sea-level you really need to adjust and relax in Huaraz sitting on 3.052m. Your body needs to get used to simply functioning on less oxygen. After one or two relaxing days in Huaraz and maybe a first small hike like Wilcacocha Hike, you can slowly start with the longer hikes. Also it helps to really take it slow (don’t strain), take a lot of breaks, drink a lot of water, sleep a lot, don’t eat heavy and don’t drink coffee. The locals swear on coca tea, coca pills, coca sweets. We tried coca tea and coca sweets, it tasted okay, don’t know if it really helped ;).
Once you get really sick, you feel crappy for another few days, so don’t exaggerate.
When to go?
There are two main seasons in Peru. In the dry season from May to October it rains less often. However it still can rain and snow! Because it’s the Peruvian winter temperatures are lower.
In the rainy season from November to April it often rains heavily in the afternoon, there are more clouds (more chance that you can’t see the snowy peaks), but temperatures are higher.
For your first time, struggling with altitude sickness and condition ;), we would recommend to come in the dry season. But also in the dry season you have to be well prepared, since rain and snow can hit you even then. Pack some ultralight Primaloft jacket or similar and a rain jacket, you can then layer your clothes. And don’t forget a rain cover for your backpack!
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