TREKS IN PERU- PROGRAMS OF OUR PARTNER

Start: daily, best time of the year May - September
Duration: 13 days/ 12 nights
Grade: medium/hard
Min. participants: 1 person

The Cordillera Blanca must provide one of the most varied landscapes for trekking and climbing in the world. There are more than 50 peaks of 5700m of higher, including Huascarán at 6768m - the highest mountain in Peru and also the beautiful pyramid of Alpamayo. There are blue lakes, high passes, glaciers, awesome vertical walls and spectacular campsites.

Day 1: Arrival in Huaraz.

Day 2 & 3: Acclimatization walks. We suggest 2 or even 3 days of day hikes for acclimatization for this program. Our second camp on trek is high 4300m, followed by a tough day where we cross 2 high passes. 2 or 3 days of day hikes to altitudes of up to 4440m will help to ensure that you are well acclimatized and fit and will have maximum enjoyment from your trek.

Day 4: We drive west, first stopping to visit the memorial to Yungay, the town completely destroyed by a rock and mudslide from the slopes of Huascarán in the 1970 earthquake. There is also time to stop for a visit to the busy market in the town of Caraz. We then take a road into the mountains to our first camp at Hualcayan. (2900m) 5 hours drive.

Day 5: A steady climb up a zig zag track to our camp at Wish cash, perched high on the
Mountain, with views across to the Cordillera Negra. At night we can see the lights from the villages high up in the Cordillera Negra. (4300m) 5 hours hike.

Day 6: A tough day. We climb on a good path to the high lake Laguna Cullicocha (4650m) from where we have a great view of Santa Cruz (6259m) at the top of the lake. We then continue upwards to our first pass Paso Cullicocha (4850m) with fabulous views of lakes and peaks. We then descend and then climb again to Paso Osoruri (4750m). A long descent to the valley Quebrada los Cedros and our camp at Ruinapampa (3800m) 8 hours hike in total.

Day 7: An easy day , almost flat walking up the valley. On the way, the beautiful pyramid shape of Alpamayo comes into view. Camp at Cruze Alpamayo (4150m) 3 to 4 hours hike today.

Day 8: We stay another night at Cruze Alpamayo Camp. Climb up the moraine to Laguna Jancarurish for close up views of Alpamayo and Jancarurish 3 hour return trip to camp. Or continue upwards and visit Alpamayo Base Camp (4500m). 5 to 6 hours return. Or rest in camp.

Day 9: Climb steadily to our next pass Cara Cara (4830m) from where there are great
views back to the peaks of Alpamayo, Jancarurish, Quitaraju and Laguna Jancarurish. Then we make an easy traverse to a second low pass Mesapata (4500m) before dropping down to camp at Safuna in the Quebrada Tayapampa (4200m). 7 hours.

Day 10: From Safuna we climb a narrow valley to a rocky pass Paso Pucajirca (4600m).
For a short time the descent is steep, but then levels out and we continue down a
forested valley past Laguna Sactaycocha to camp at the top of a wide valley at
Jancapampa (3600m). Directly behind camp we have views of a huge hanging
glacier. 7 to 8 hours of hiking.

Day 11: We pass by adobe village houses and through fields, then climb easily to the pass Tupatupa (4400m), with views back to the big peaks of the Cordillera Blanca.
Descend into another valley before making a short ½ hour climb to our campsite
beside Laguna Huecrococha (3950m). 7 hours hike today.

Day 12: We walk beside Laguna Huecrococha then begin a long steady climb to a pass Alto de Pacaraju (4650m). At the top there are magnificent views of many peaks, and at
5830mTaulliraju towers over the pass. A rocky descent, then we camp in an open
valley Quebrada Huaripampa at Tuctubamba (3950m). 7 hours of hike.

Day 13: From the same camp we can make a day trip to the pass Punta Union (4750m) from where we look directly down the Santa Cruz valley and have close views of the surrounding peaks. 5 hours Or take a rest day.

Day 14: We follow the main Punta Union trail down the valley passing through intensive
farmland to the village of Colcabamba. Then climb steadily for about 1 hour to
another village before traversing easily to our campsite at Molino Pampa in the
Quebrada Keshu. 7 hours hike.

Day 15: A steady climb up the Quebrada Keshu to a high campsite called Avalanche
Campsite at 4650m. Across the valley from our camp there are almost continual
avalanches from the glaciers of Contrahierbas (6037m) crashing into the lake below.
4 to 5 hours of hiking.

Day 16: Our last and most spectacular pass Punta Yanayacu (4850m) - a climb to a narrow ledge from where we have close views of Nevada Chopicalqui, then a zig zag down to the valley below. We walk past lakes and again are surrounded by snowcapped peaks, the highest being Huascarán. We finish the trek in the beautiful valley Quebrada Ulta, where the bus will be waiting to take us back to Huaraz.

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