Exploring Huaraz Peru: A Guide to Adventure and Natural Wonders

Situated in the middle of the Callejon de Huaylas Valley with an elevation 3050 meters above sea level, is the city of Huaraz. As the capital of the Ancash region and seat of the government of Huaraz Province, the city is the main financial and trade hub in the region and the second biggest city in the Andes. Huaraz is also the main destination in the Ancash region for those seeking winter sports, hiking, and outdoor adventures. From mountaineering, snowboarding to endless opportunities for hiking in the beautiful scenery of the mountains of the Cordillera Blanca.

After completing my CELTA course and prior to making my way to China, I decided to take

one more adventure around Peru. While the south of Peru may get the most attention, I personally found the scenery in the Ancash region to be some of the most beautiful that I have seen in my travels. I took the night bus from Lima up to Huaraz, using Cruz del Sur, which has one of the best reputations of the bus companies running in Peru. It is also the company recommended by my aunt who has been living in Peru sine the 90s. You can book your tickets online in advance, you can find their website here.

As Huaraz sits at a high altitude, you may want to allow a few days to adjust and avoid altitude sickness before heading out to climb glaciers, go mountaineering or on multi-day treks. There are some beautiful hikes that you can do that don't include major altitude gains and some of the day trips are also good options for less strenuous activities while you're adjusting. If you're coming straight from another high-altitude location, you should be ready to just jump right into whatever activity you like. Personally, I need a bit of time to adjust to altitude and am prone to altitude sickness, stay tuned for a fun altitude sickness story, it seems to run in the family as my older brother is also sensitive to altitude and was super sick on his trip to Cusco and Machu Picchu.

Huascarán National Park

Covering 340,000ha and encompassing most of the Cordillera Blancas mountain range,

Puya Raimondii and thermal springs

which is the world's highest tropical mountain range, Huascarán National Park was designated as a UNESCO world heritage site in 1985. The park is a popular mountaineering and hiking destination, it is also home to unique biodiversity with plant species such as the Queen of the Andes (Puya Raimondii), a species of bromeliad that can grow up to 15 meters. This unique plant's reproductive cycle lasts for about 80 years, its flower can be up to 4 feet long and last for 3 months, after flowering, the plant dies.

Day Trips

If you prefer shorter adventures or are short on time, many of the popular sites can be explored as day trips. Most of these destinations near Huaraz, and really all-around Peru, are typically not accessible via mass transit, which make your options to see them either hiring a private driver or taking a tour with one of the multiple tour operators. Most of the tours operate on the same basic schedule and stop at the same places, this does mean you lose control over things like time allowed and skipping things you're not interested in, or adding extra stops in, but they are much more budget friendly. If it is in your budget, most hostels and hotels can arrange a private driver who will take you to whatever destinations you'd like, my friend and I did this one day in Cusco when we explored the Sacred Valley and it was well worth the money maximize what we could see in the Sacred Valley in one day. From hiking to beautiful lagunas, Huaraz has no end to great day trips, far more than I could cram into my brief 5 day visit to the city, here are a few I was able to squeeze in.

Laguna 69

One of the most popular day hikes is the beautiful and highly photogenic Laguna 69. With around 400 lakes in Huascarán National Park, many of them are labeled by numbers as they lacked traditional names when the park was created. To be included in the park, all the lagunas needed a designation, this resulted in numbers being used.

The hike up to laguna 69 starts from the Cebello Pampa campground and the hike through

the valley up to the laguna is simply stunning. While this hike is not technical, the altitude is what provides the challenge as it sits at the base of a giant glacier called Pisco Peak which has an altitude of 4,500 meters (15,000 feet). This is higher than anywhere in the continental US and just 610 meters (2,000 feet) below the altitude of Everest basecamp. That doesn't mean the hike is a cake walk, you still need appropriate gear, water and snacks etc. It should be treated as a hike and not an instagram opportunity, I saw a lot of hikers who were ill-prepared as they didn't realize an actual hike was involved in visiting Laguna 69 (I saw the same thing at Rainbow Mountain) on average it's a 3 - 3.5 hour hike up to the laguna and a 2 hour trek back down. The hike through the valley up to the glacier follows along a stream that is a beautiful icy green color, with cataracts, waterfalls weaves through lush green grass. Giant snowcapped mountains and glaciers loom above. It is one of the most stunning hikes I've been on and a landscape photographers dream.

As it is one of the most popular destinations near Huaraz, it can be quite hard to get a shot of the laguna without other hikers in the picture (the faster you hike, the better the chance), the

Feeling like death warmed over from altitude sickness but the views are a 10

laguna feeds a stream that villages within the park use for drinking water, so swimming is not allowed. If you're interested in tackling this trek on your own, you can have a driver drop you at the campground, spend the night and hike up to the laguna early in the morning, most day trips don't arrive to start the trek until 10 or 11, for photographers I highly recommend this option.

Pastoruri Glacier

One of the few glaciers that remain at tropical level in South America, Pasoruri Glacier is around 8 square kilometers in mass and sits in Huascaran National Park. The glacier is retreating quickly, having lost 22% of its size

and over 15% of its mass in the last 30 - 35 years. The glacier sits at 5,250 meters and is a popular day trip both for foreign and domestic tourists, if the idea of hiking at that altitude seems daunting to you, worry not, the walk up to the glacier only takes about 45 minutes and is on a paved path. The owner of the hostel where I stayed actually recommended the trip to Pastoruri Glacier as an activity for my first few days in Huaraz as I was acclimating to the altitude, if you're not feeling up to the walk, it is possible to pay one of the locals to take you up and back on horseback.

The drive to Pastoruri takes about an hour and 40 minutes, most tours typically make a stop for visitors to see the Puya Raimondii, also referred to as the Queen of the Andes, and is the largest species of bromeliad. With a trunk that can grow up to 5 meters (16 feet) accompanied by a rosette of 200 leaves, these cylindrical leaves can grow up to 1.25 meters (4 feet). The reproductive cycle of the Puya Raimondii is about 80 years and it is semeplarous, which means it dies after it reproduces. While the tour takes you by many Puya Raimondii, your best bet for seeing one in bloom is to ask the locals if one is in bloom and hire someone (or adventure on your own) to see it.

Yungay

Another interesting day trip which can be combined with some of the other hot spots as it's on the way is the town of Yungay. With a population of 10,000 it is the capital of Yungay province and sits in the shadow of Peru's tallest mountain, Huascaran. Yungay is notable for a few reasons, the "Restoration" army (a Peru-Chile coalition) defeated the army of the Peru-Bolivian Confederation in 1839 at Yungay, marking the end of a short-lived confederacy. But more infamously, Yungay was buried by a landslide in 1970 which killed 20,000 residents with

only 400 survivors, most of whom were in the cemetery or stadium at the time of the landslide. Prior to the landslide in 1962, two American scientists had reported seeing a large slab on Huascaran that they believed was in danger of collapse due to glacial melting. While the scientists reported this to a local newspaper and the story was published, the Peruvian government was none too pleased and ordered the scientist to retract their statements, they ended up fleeing the country rather than retract, and the government forcibly prevented citizens from speaking about the potential disaster. An earthquake on May 31 1970 brought about the scientists' prediction, and more than 50 cubic meters of earth and debris slid the 15 kilometers to cover Yungay while reaching speeds between 340 - 620 miles per hour. The area is now considered a national cemetery and the town of Yungay that currently exists sits about 2.1 kilometers from the Yungay that was buried.

Laguna Llangancuco

There is no shortage of beautiful lagunas in Peru that boast water with a variety of shades of blues and greens, Laguna Llangancuo is one of the easiest to visit and most popular on tours, in fact I went twice on two different tours. This particular laguna is located pretty close to the entrance to Huascaran National Park, which means most day hikes into the park will make a stop here, it's also a stop on the day trips to Yungay. You can take a pretty leisurely stroll around the laguna and take in the beautiful surrounding mountains. There is also a small fleet of rowboats that will take you for a short paddle in the laguna. You'll have to pay extra if you want the boat to yourself, and be prepared for some choppy water if it's windy!

Hikes & Treks

Huaraz is arguably the outdoor adventure capital of Peru, so if you're looking for hiking, trekking and mountaineering outside of just day trips, Huaraz has plenty to offer. From day hikes to multi-day treks through the idyllic Cordillera Blancas that hit several of the most

popular day hikes and additional stunning destinations. These treks can be completed on your own or with a company/guide. It should be noted that some of the trails on less popular treks are not always well marked and a few trekkers each year do get lost, so if you're undertaking a less popular trek it's highly recommended you have solid map reading skills and leave an itinerary with someone and take a GPS device in case something goes wrong. So if you're not an avid backpacker ( I mean the outdoor type of backpacker, not the travel kind), you may want to stick either with the popular treks or go with a guide or company. If you're new/less experienced with trekking there are a plethora of companies that run treks, or you can even hire a guide to lead you. For those who don't own backpacking gear or don't want to drag it with you to Peru, you can either rent equipment in town or if you go with a company, they will provide gear. The Santa Cruz Trek is by far the most popular in Huaraz, it covers 48 kilometers (3/4 days) with a moderate degree of difficulty (just make sure you're acclimatized to the altitude before you head out!). The trek starts in Vaqueria or Cashapampa depending on which direction you want to go, and gives you stunning views of the Cordillera Blancas. Going with a company will cost you anywhere from $150 - $300 US dollars, depending on the level of luxury you want and can be arranged through any of the various companies in town or most hostels and hotels will be able to arrange it for you.

Alpine & Outdoor Courses

Interested in learning more about mountaineering, ice climbing or rock climbing? Huaraz is a great location to spend some time to immerse yourself in the outdoors and develop your skills. With courses available from beginner to advanced and lasting anywhere from just a day to a week or more there are options to fit all budgets.

If you love beautiful scenery and the outdoors, Huaraz is a must hit destination to really enjoy so much of what Peru has to offer beyond Machu Picchu and to adventure lovers.