TREKS IN PERU- PROGRAMS OF OUR PARTNER
A popular shorter trek in the Cordillera Blanca. Its popularity
is due to the spectacular mountain views, crystal blue lakes and
the challenging pass Punta Union at altitude 4750m. An amazing variety
of scenery in only 4 or 5 days.
Day 1: Arrival in Huaraz. Day 2: Huaraz / Acclimatization walk (two days is better if you have the time). Day 3: Drive from Huaraz to the village of Cashapampa (2900m) 3 hours. Approaching Cashapampa we have our first view of Santa Cruz, the huge pyramid shaped mountain that gives the trekking circuit its name. We climb up through the Santa Cruz Valley, following the river. The first 2 hours we are in a steep sided river gorge and can be quite hard as we are climbing continuously up, and if the sun is out it is hot in the gorge. But later the valley opens out to grassland and it is more flat and cooler as we approach our first camp. We camp near the river at Llamacorral (3750m) 5 hours. It can be a demanding first day for some people who are less fit or less well acclimatized. Day 4: An easier walk up the open valley to our camp at Taullipampa (4250m). 4 hours. It is almost flat, and we climb just the last hour towards the camp. During the walk up the valley the twin peaks Quitaraju and the famous Alpamayo come into view. We walk past two lakes, first the small Ichiccocha then the larger Jatuncocha. Our camp is situated almost at the base of the beautiful mountain Taulliraju and we are also surrounded by others, Paria, Artseonraju, Rinrijirca, Quitaraju and Alpamayo. There is time on the walk to camp to take a diversion and climb for 40 minutes on a zig zag track to visit Alpamayo Base Camp, making the day around 5½ hours. Day 5: We climb steadily up for around 2½ hours on a good path to the pass of Punta Union (4750m). We feel the effects of the altitude as we approach the pass and can be short of breath, so we go slowly. From the pass there are very close views of the surrounding mountains and we also look back down the Santa Cruz Valley from where we have walked and can see Lake Jutuncocha in the distance. From the pass it is a long descent past two small lakes and then dropping down into the valley to camp on a flat plateau away from the main trail in the Valley Paria (3900m). 7 hours of hiking today. Day 6: Walk down the valley Quebrada Huaripampa where we
pass by many farm houses and see a lot of local people, children,
sheep, goats and donkeys on the trail. We then climb up to the settlement
of Vaqueria 4 to 5 hours walk. Our private car will be waiting at
Vaqueria and will take us over a high pass Portachuelo and down
a steep zig zag road to the beautiful lake Llanganuco where we can
stop for photos. We then return to Huaraz around 5.00pm in the afternoon.
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daily, best time of the year May - September
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