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The turquoise water of Laguna 69 beneath rocky, snow-capped mountains in the Cordillera Blanca

Sample journey · 10–12 days

The Cordillera Blanca on foot, among turquoise lakes and glaciers

Huaraz, Laguna Churup, Laguna 69, the Santa Cruz trek & Chavín de Huántar

Photo: Sophia DiDonato / Unsplash

Illustrative journey ideas — not bookable packages. No prices, dates or accommodation are implied.

The Cordillera Blanca is the largest range of tropical glaciers in the world. More than thirty of its summits rise above six kilometres, and the highest, Huascarán, is the highest mountain in Peru. Beneath the glaciers lie hundreds of lakes whose water, clouded by glacial flour, looks almost impossibly blue or green. All of it is protected by Huascarán National Park, and the gateway is Huaraz, a mountain town where walkers and climbers prepare for the hills.

This journey is for people who go to Peru to walk. The first half is about acclimatising: day hikes to Laguna Churup and Laguna 69, each a little higher than the last. The second is the Santa Cruz trek: four days with local guides and arrieros, whose donkeys carry the tents and food, over the Punta Unión pass and through valleys beneath the glaciers. To finish, Chavín de Huántar, a temple built long before the Incas. The stays are simple: a welcoming guesthouse in Huaraz and tents in the mountains, and the journey can be taken independently or in a small group.

The route

The journey

  1. Lima
  2. Huaraz
  3. Laguna Churup
  4. The Llanganuco lakes & Laguna 69
  5. The Santa Cruz trek & the Punta Unión pass
  6. Chavín de Huántar
  7. Lima
  1. The town of Huaraz in its valley at dusk, seen from a grassy hill, with mountains and pink clouds beyond

    01Days 1–3 · Lima & Huaraz

    A town beneath the glaciers

    After the long flight, one night in Lima. The next day, the road runs north along the desert coast and then up into the Andes: by bus or car it takes around eight hours, and sometimes a short flight is an option. Huaraz sits at around 3,050 metres, so the first two days are easy. On the third, a short hike over the hills above town to the small lake of Wilcacocha, from whose shore the whole Cordillera Blanca, Huascarán included, fills the far side of the valley. In the evenings Huaraz is good for a stroll through the market, with its local cheeses and bread, and dinner among people just back from the mountains. Plenty of water, little alcohol and early nights are your best allies in these first days.

  2. A rocky mountain path through tall grass leading towards snowy peaks near Huaraz

    02Day 4 · Laguna Churup

    The first turquoise lake

    The first proper hike. From the hamlet of Pitec above Huaraz the path climbs across the puna and up rock steps, and the final stretch runs along a rock face where cables help in places. After about three hours, Laguna Churup, at around 4,450 metres, emerald water beneath the sharp peak of Nevado Churup. It's worth sitting here for a long while, eating and noticing how you feel: a headache or breathlessness is a sign to plan the coming days even more slowly. Down the same way, carefully on the rocky section. It isn't an easy stroll, but it isn't climbing either: good preparation for the trek ahead, and for many travellers the first moment they understand why they came.

  3. A white boat on a Llanganuco lake beneath steep mountains in Huascarán National Park

    03Days 5–6 · The Llanganuco lakes & Laguna 69

    Beneath the wall of Huascarán

    Early in the morning it's about three hours by road to the Llanganuco gorge, where two emerald lakes lie between granite walls beneath the glaciers of Huascarán and Huandoy. From here the hike to Laguna 69 begins: first along a broad valley past waterfalls, then up switchbacks to around 4,600 metres. It takes about three hours up and two down, and the reward is a lake of an almost unbelievable colour, with a waterfall dropping into it from the Chacraraju glacier. It's a long day, so the next is a rest day in Huaraz: sorting packs, stocking up and meeting the guide and arrieros for the trek. If the weather turns, this free day becomes the spare.

  4. Nevado Santa Cruz wrapped in cloud above brown slopes in the evening light, Cordillera Blanca

    04Days 7–10 · The Santa Cruz trek

    Over the Punta Unión pass

    Four days and around 50 kilometres on foot. The trek begins at the hamlet of Vaquería: the path drops past farmsteads and potato fields, and the first camp is in a valley. Day two is the big one: a slow climb to the Punta Unión pass, at around 4,750 metres, where a narrow notch in the rock suddenly reveals the Santa Cruz valley, its turquoise lake and the glaciers of Taulliraju, Artesonraju and Nevado Santa Cruz. For those with energy left, a side path to the Alpamayo viewpoint and one of the most beautiful pyramids in these mountains. On day three the valley widens, past lakes and marshy meadows where horses and cattle graze. On day four, down through the Quebrada Santa Cruz gorge to Cashapampa and a car back to Huaraz. Expect five to seven hours on foot each day; donkeys carry the heavy loads, and in the evenings the cook has a hot dinner waiting.

  5. The archaeological site of Chavín de Huántar: a grassy plaza, stone terraces and the roofed temple beneath the mountains

    05Days 11–12 · Chavín de Huántar & Lima

    A temple underground

    After the trek, a day for a different kind of past. About three hours by road through the Cahuish tunnel beneath the range and down into the eastern Conchucos valley lies Chavín de Huántar, a great ceremonial centre built more than two and a half thousand years ago, long before the Incas. Above ground, plazas and terraces; beneath them, narrow stone galleries where, in the dark, stands the Lanzón, a carved stone shaft bearing the image of a deity. Stone heads once hung on the walls, some now kept in the museum nearby. With a guide, the site reads as the opening chapter of Andean civilisation. In the evening, back to Huaraz, and on the last day the road or a flight to Lima and the plane home. With more time, Lima deserves one more evening at a good table.

Experience highlights

  1. 01

    Laguna 69

    Turquoise water beneath the Chacraraju glacier, earned at around 4,600 metres.

  2. 02

    The Punta Unión pass

    A narrow notch in the rock that suddenly opens onto the whole Santa Cruz valley.

  3. 03

    With the arrieros in the mountains

    Local guides, donkeys and a hot dinner at camp beneath the glaciers.

  4. 04

    Chavín de Huántar

    Underground galleries and the Lanzón, at the heart of a pre-Inca Andean civilisation.

First, we listen. Then, we explore what's possible.

Make it your own

  • Gentler

    Instead of the four-day trek, day hikes from Huaraz to the Parón or Llanganuco lakes, and a night at a mountain lodge rather than a tent.

  • In a small group

    The Santa Cruz trek can be walked with a few like-minded companions and the same guide throughout, a good option for solo travellers.

  • More ambitious

    For the experienced, longer treks such as the Alpamayo circuit or the Cordillera Huayhuash, or a first technical summit with a mountain guide.

  • With northern Peru

    Trujillo, with Chan Chan and the Moche temples, can be reached from Huaraz by the coast road, extending the journey into Peru's pre-Inca civilisations.

Practical considerations

  • The best time for trekking is the dry season, roughly May to September: days are usually clear and nights in the mountains cold, often below freezing. In the rainy months the trails are muddy and it can snow on the passes; the weather varies from year to year.
  • The altitude here is serious: Huaraz is at around 3,050 metres, the lakes around 4,500 and the pass almost 4,800. The route is designed so you climb gradually, but it's worth talking to a doctor before you travel.
  • Huascarán National Park's entry and guiding rules change, so we check them before you travel and follow them on the ground.
  • Before you travel, we check the latest travel advice and entry requirements for Peru.

General guidance only. Seasons, weather and wildlife are never guaranteed, and travel requirements are always worth checking before you go.

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