TREKS IN PERU- PROGRAMS OF OUR PARTNER

Start: daily, best time of the year May - September
Duration: 8 days/ 7 nights
Grade: medium/hard
Min. participants: 1 person

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, then our last high camp at the Avalanche Place. An amazing variety of scenery.

Day 1: Arrival in Huaraz.

Day 2: 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). A 7 hour day.

Day 6: We follow the main Punta Union trail down the valley passing through intensive farmland to the village of Colcabamba. On the way we will meet many local children. This is a good day if you want to bring some small things for the children such as pens, pencils and notebooks. They are all very poor and appreciate very much things that they can use in the schools. From Colcabamba there is now a new road and we must follow the road for around an hour to 1½ hours climbing steadily village Challhua. We can then take a path away from the road before traversing easily to our campsite at Molino Pampa in the narrow valley Quebrada Keshu (3600m). 6 to 7 hours of hiking is awaiting you.

Day 7: A steady climb up the Quebrada Keshu, first passing through ancient Quenual forest. The last hour we take a high zig zag path up to a high campsite perched on a small plateau on the side of the mountain called Avalanche Campsite at 4650m. Directly across the valley from our camp is the long snow covered mountain range of Contrahierbas (6037m). There are frequent avalanches from the glaciers of Contrahierbas crashing into the lake below and we spend the afternoon resting and avalanche watching. 4 hours of hike.

Day 8: Our last and most spectacular pass Punta Yanayacu (4850m) 1½ to 2 hour climb to the pass from camp. The pass is a narrow ledge from where we have close views of Nevada Chopicalqui, and then the path is a zigzag 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. Around 5 hours walking.

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