A few weeks ago some of Justin’s colleagues were planning a trip to
Huaraz in the Ancash region about 8 hours north of Lima and we were invited to
join them for a long weekend away. The plan was to take the night bus from Lima
to Huaraz on the Friday night, do a light acclimatizing half-day hike on the
Saturday, the more challenging full-day hike on Sunday and watch the football
on Monday morning (of course) before catching the bus back to Lima.
Anyone who has been to Peru, or actually most rural places in South
America, knows that the roads are not of the best quality and the use of road
rules is optional. For this reason the suggestion of a night bus to get from
Lima to the mountainous region of Huaraz made us somewhat nervous. Since there
really isn’t any other way of getting there, we closed our eyes, held our
breath and hoped for the best.
The other concern was getting a good night’s rest to get the weekend and
hiking started off on the right foot. We were relieved and impressed to find
that the night bus was equipped with seats that fully recline to a completely
flat position. The journey and sleeping was going well until we entered the
mountainous terrain about halfway into the journey. At this point it felt much
like being in a dentist’s chair tilted too far back, your feet higher up and
all the blood draining to your head. Prone to motion sickness, Bron’s body
decided it did not like this nor the feeling of the swaying bus from the upper
floor and she was soon making calls from the less than sanitary bus loo. The
good thing was that Bron was the only one afflicted and everyone else slept
well and were ready to get hiking! After a shower and breakfast we were ready
for our first hike.
Settling in on the night bus
Huaraz is a small town nestled in the valley between the Cordillera
Blanca and Cordillera Negra, or white and black mountain ranges. Winter time is
the dry season; the days are sunny and warm and the clear nights cold. Huaraz
is at 3100 m above sea level and the Cordillera Blanca is home to 27
snow-capped peaks 6000 m and higher. The Huascarán National Park encompasses
almost the entire Cordillera Blanca range, an area of 21 km wide by
180 km long. The park takes its name from the highest peak, the
snow-capped Mount Huascarán. At 6768 m, Huascarán is the highest mountain of
Peru and the second highest in South America. The park is also home to more
than 600 glaciers, almost 300 lakes and 41 tributaries of 3 important rivers in
Peru. The main attraction of this area is the great hiking and trekking
adventures to be had surrounded by amazingly beautiful mountainous scenery.
There are hikes and treks to suit everybody’s level of adventure and experience
from half- and full-day acclimatization hikes to the 4-12 day guided treks
complete with pack donkeys.
The view of Huaraz and the Cordillera Blanca from our hotel room
One half-day and one full-day hike suited us just fine for a weekend
away and without much time to adjust to the high altitude. Our first hike was a
half-day acclimatization hike that started close to town. We were hiking
through the rural outskirts of town in the Cordillera Negra range up to Lake Wilcacocha.
The attraction of this hike is not the lake itself but rather the uninterrupted
views of the Cordillera Blanca from the lake.
The hike itself was quite tough considering we had just arrived and also
since it was quite hot by the time we got to the lake. The path was rough and
stony making it easy to slip, especially on the way down. But it was a
beautiful walk through the rural countryside with fields of ripening wheat and
quinoa lining the path and mud brick houses draped with hanging bunches of
drying corn scattered along the way. We met some friendly locals along the way
and a sociable dog joined our group on the way up. There were plenty of cows
and pigs on the way and at one moment a whole pack of squealing piglets descended
on a tethered pig for lunch time. There were also some fluffy baby chicks
foraging in the grass near the lake. City slickers like us are easy to
entertain with young farm animals! The part we didn’t enjoy was the constant
cloud of mosquitos following us on this hike.
Views over the valley on the way up to Lake Wilcacocha
Pretty flowers in the fields
Lake Wilcacocha with peacefully grazing sheep and white peaks in the background
Mountain gazing
Boibs at Wilcacocha
View of the valley and mountains from the lake
Justin, Perry, Jan and the friendly dog the joined us
Bron and Marta
Impressive white peaks over 6000 m each
The rest of the afternoon was spent enjoying lunch and the football at a
restaurant in town and relaxing in preparation for the next day. The plan for
Sunday was to hike to Laguna or Lake 69 in the Huascarán National Park. This is
the most popular day hike in the area and it’s easy to see why. The scenery in
the Huascarán National Park is absolutely beautiful with snow-capped mountain
peaks towering over you from all directions, waterfalls cascading down the
mountains, streams flowing through the valley, beautiful red paper bark-type
trees, bushes with purple flowers and other interesting plants, beautiful birds flitting about, and tame donkeys
and cows grazing peacefully along the whole route.
The Huascarán National Park and the start of the hike is a 3 hour drive
from Huaraz, half of which is a bumpy dirt track. We left the hotel at 07:00
and were ready to start walking by about 10:30. The ascent was tough going but
also enjoyable, warm and sunny. We all went at our own pace and took rest and
water breaks when we needed them. Three quarters of the route is sheltered and
protected by the mountain slopes and zig-zags steadily upwards toward a
deceiving plateau; the lake was not at the top of this waterfall as we had
expected. On the open plain you are
buffeted by the wind as you make your way to the final uphill climb. The last
stretch of the hike is a brutal steep climb toward the lake. We had to stop to
breathe every few steps and were relieved when we finally made it to the top.
Lake 69 is an amazing intense blue colour and is fed by the glacier straddling
the overlooking mountain. The views are breath taking and definitely worth the
tough hike up. The way down is the same as the route up but is infinitely
easier. It took us about 4.5 hours to reach lake 69 and 2 hours to walk back
down again after about 30 minutes at the lake.
On the way to Huascarán National Park
This beautiful lake and red paper bark-type tree greet you near the entrance to the park
The view from the start of the trail
Brave campers near the start of the hike
Streams and peacefully grazing stock weave all through the park
Chilling donkey
On the trail to the top
Lake 69 was not at the top of this waterfall!
The open plain with no protection from the wind was though.
Impressive mountain views and amazing scenery all around all the way up
There were cows on the most steepest paths and even right at the lake
Lake 69
We made it!!
The 3 hour trip back to Huaraz was quite scary at night; our driver
seemed to prefer to drive in the lane of oncoming traffic and everybody drives with their brights on
all the time, even when there are street lights, it’s completely bizarre. We
finally made it back to Huaraz where we stopped for dinner at El Horno Pizzeria
and Parrilla before heading back to the hotel. Fortunately there was no party
on next door most of the night like there was on Saturday so we could actually
sleep after the long day.
Monday was our last morning in Huaraz before heading back to Lima. The
boys settled in to watch the football, Netherlands vs Chile in the 3rd
and final game of the group stages of the World Cup, while the girls walked
into town. Huaraz is a tiny town and there isn’t much to be said about it apart
from it being a very typical dusty rural Peruvian town with half-finished
buildings and poor service in restaurants.
On the bus back we had the three-quarter reclining seats which were
sufficient for a day trip. Bron was pleased to be on the lower level and
managed not to repeat the motion sickness of Friday night. The route back was
also really beautiful driving through the mountains and valleys. It was a long
8 hours back to Lima though and we were thankful to arrive in one piece after
some interesting driving and over-taking decisions.
All in all it was a wonderful weekend away and we highly recommend
Huaraz and surrounds for some trekking adventures on your next Peruvian
holiday.
Have a good week y’all!
Moutain views on the way back to Huaraz from the park
Views from the bus on the way back to Lima
