Huaraz: Day Treks in the Peruvian Andes

After almost 13 hours in a night bus from Cuenca to Chiclayo and crossing the Ecuador – Peru border at midnight, I finally made it to Peru. Third country in South America where I stayed the longest. From green and mountainous Ecuador, I woke up to the dry and desert landscape of Northern Peru. But this was only the first leg of getting to Huaraz.

Unlike in Ecuador and Colombia, the buses in Peru aren’t in one bus terminal. So I had to transfer to another terminal in Chiclayo for buses to Trujillo. I tried to make friends with two Argentinian girls who were also going to Trujillo. And I’m glad I did because the cab drive wasn’t as straightforward as I expected.

After another 3 hours, I finally made it to Trujillo. Because of my anxiety in riding taxis alone, I might have offended the cab driver by not believing him when he said that the bus company I wanted to take had separate locations – one for tickets, and one for the terminal. And he was right and glad he waited for me. It was a relief being able to book a bus ticket to Huaraz. Knocked out of exhaustion after almost 36 hours on the road, I woke up already in Huaraz, still dark and very cold. Took a taxi and made it to my hostel quickly. However, I still had to wait hours until a room is free for me.

Huaraz. One of the main reasons why I came to the continent. Less known but offers some of the best trekking experiences in Andes. It is the base for trekkers who want to explore this part of the Peruvian Andes. A small town and pretty easy to navigate. It’s not as touristy as Kathmandu in Nepal, but there are a few restaurants and a number of hostels/hotels catered to foreigners, trekking agencies, and gear shops.

At 3,052m, I decided to acclimatize first before doing any treks. I rested for the first four days especially after the long transit from Ecuador. I was very mindful that I walked around as much as I can, and had coca tea as often as I could.

I stayed at Hostal Mirador Andino (the couple who own it are the nicest) my almost month stay there. They also arranged my day treks to prepare for the longer treks I did – Sta. Cruz and Huayhuash.

Acclimatization. A lot of people rush into high altitude treks and suffer along the way, some are even forced to turn back and not finish the trek. Since the passes and camps of the treks I did had altitudes ranging from 4000-5100m, I knew I had to allot at least a week to acclimatize. Which is what was great with Huaraz since it has a number of day treks to slowly introduce bodies to high altitude.

I did three day treks – Laguna Paron and Pastoruri Glacier, and finished with Laguna 69 before I left for Lima. Most of the day trek tours in Huaraz starts with getting picked-up at your hostel really early at 4-5am and back in in town just before dark.

LAGUNA PARON

Finally, I thought, I’ll be seeing the Peruvian Andes. We slowly made our way out of Huaraz, following the river, everything turned greener. Then it was a bumpy ride up to the mountains passing by villages and farmland. Soon we were entering a gorge of these majestic mountains, some covered in low-lying clouds. Vegetation changed and we could finally saw snow-covered peaks of the Cordillera Blanca

And then the turquoise Laguna Paron with the ‘Paramount’ mountain towering over it. It is said that the mountain in Paramount Pictures’ logo was based on this mountain – Mt. Artesonraju. Unfortunately, the peak was still covered when we arrived. After a short bathroom break, our guide started to lead the way up to the mirador/view point. I walked slowly, stopping from time to time to see the gorge we just drove, which was also an amazing view.

After reaching the top, the trail turns into stepping on rocks and boulders which was a bit tricky if one is not careful. My attempt to take better photos lead to me dropping my camera lens cover and never finding it again. Haha

From the mirador is a wider view of the glacial lake. We stayed there for a bit, taking more photos and ate some snacks.

Down at the lake, some of those in our group rented a boat to get closer to the mountains.

Fortunately, as we were about to leave it started to clear up and we could finally the pyramid peak.

PASTORURI GLACIER

This was by far the most stunning drive I’ve ever been in. Just the change in landscape from green to mountains with different colors (due to the different minerals) to snow-capped mountains, a glacier, and a lake at 5050m.

And this. Puya Raimondi or the Queen of the Andes. Rightfully so. We started to notice these large plants an hour into the ride which I initially thought were man-made from afar. But as we got higher and closer, we saw more of them bunched up on the sides of the mountains. The plants are so high and can reach 15m in height, and live until 80-100 years old.

From the parking lot, we walked half an hour or more (or you can rent horses too) to the glacier. It was quite the struggle walking up to 5000m, but the views made it really worth it.

LAGUNA 69

The last day trek I did was the Laguna 69, which I could have skipped since I already did the 8-day Huayhuash trek. However, I knew that I would regret not going, and I'll be acclimatized enough since it's known to be one of the hardest day treks in Huaraz especially for people who aren't used to the altitude yet.  

It wasn't high as Pastoruri Glacier but it involved a lot more hiking, I guess which is why a lot of people find it harder. We actually saw a few people who didn't make it to the top and needed help going down because of altitude sickness. So if you're planning to do it, make sure you've acclimatized for a few days in Huaraz first. Drink lots of water and take your time going up.