Simply stunning

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Absolutely amazing is the only way to describe the Cordillera Blanca. It is the second highest mountain range outside of the Himalayas and has 22 peaks over 6000m. The scenery has been stunning, glaciated peaks, pristine lakes and valleys. We stayed in the capital of the Ancash area, Huaraz. It was quite a busy town, with around 100,000 inhabitants it really had a lively feel to the place. The indigenous people in their colourful constumes coming and going. The area sees the Cordillera Negra (Black) on the west side then a long valley cuts through north to south where the main towns are situated, Huaraz, Carhuaz, Yungay and Caraz. And on the east side is the Cordillera Blanca (White). The Cordillera Negra acts as a natural guard and enables many of the peaks of the Cordillera Blanca to remain glaciated at lower altitudes.
Coming from sea level we decided to take our first day easy (Huaraz is at 3100m), we had a look around town and looked at a few agencies for tours. We decided to do a tour to the Chavin ruins, situated on the other side of the Cordillera Blanca it was a long but scenic bus ride out. The site dates from 1000 - 200BC and quite impressive how much still remains. Unfortunately the tour was in Spanish (we were told it would be in English also) so it was hard to follow all the detail but we gathered some of it. There were massive blocks of stone and a main square, which was interestingly divided, with one half made of white stone and the other half made of dark stone, there were subterranean galleries and sculptures also. It wasn´t as impressive as Chan Chan but still impressive non-the less and set in an amazingly steep valley. I tried a bit of the local rabbit dish for lunch which was quite nice. We found a restaurant also that did lovely curry dishes (albeit a little overpriced), it was run by a northern englishman so we knew their love of curries meant that it was going to be good.
The next day we set off on our Santa Cruz trek. Quite a popular and stunning trek in the Cordillera Blanca. Most do it in 4 days 3 nights, but we decided to do 3 days 2 nights as the last day is only a few hours walk and the thought of three nights in a tent didn´t appeal to Deb too much. It really was a tough trek (although the sales guys at agencies will try to tell you otherwise). We drove up to Yungay (the town was buried by a glacier that broke off Huarascan in 1970 and killed virtually all the population, the new town is built next to the old one) for breakfast with the mountain peaks to our right, we drove in towards the mountains and passed the brilliant LLanganuco lakes. The first lake has an amazing blue turquoise colour which changes with the sunlight. The van then drove up high to a pass where we has great views of Perus highest peak Huascaran (6768m). We then had a long drive to the start of our walk where we walked for about 3 hours in a valley, passing indigenous families going about there business, it rained a little but was relatively flat and downhill. We camped at 3300m as the rain set in, it wasn´t a great first night. The porters had forgot the dining tent so we were all in the kitchen tent. With the cook that drunk that he could hardly stand let alone cook a dinner. So dinner was a little later than expected but tasty and fulfilling. The water seeped through the bottom of the tent, but we had some thin matresses that we had to stay on, the sleeping bags were a bit on the smelly side so Deb and I just opened one up and used it as a blanket of sorts. We had all our gear on to stay warm. It wasn´t the best of sleeps but at least we stayed warm. The next morning was brisk but the sun shining on white mountain peaks made for a great view. The second day was punishing to say the least but the scenery more than made up for it. It was out of this world. If anyone gets the chance to get to Peru I definitely recommend seeing this part of Peru. We started early at around 7.30am and it wasn´t until 5pm that we arrived at the next camp (a few people didn´t arrive until after dark at 8pm, they hadn´t acclimatised enough and really struggled). It involved a steep climb through a stunning valley reaching the Punta Union pass at 4750m. The climb was tough, the altitude really took its toll but once through the pass the scene was truly stunning. We had the glacier of Pucajirca (I think) to our right, a small lagoon under it and then we looked down the valley with snowcapped peaks on either side and Laguna Jatuncocha at the bottom. We stayed there for lunch before making the descent as the sun came out. We saw all the tents in the campsite, but were unable to find ours. We were fearing the worst as we were absolutely exhausted, but we were informed by another guide that ours was only five minutes away around the bend (relief).
The camp was at 4100m with a perfect view of Pucajirca, we were both exhausted, both our heads were pounding from the altitude and the sun. We both were truly looking forward to lying down and resting. Our final day we said goodbye to our group and headed through the valley following the Santa Cruz stream through the valley, again the scenery was stunning, the path was very stoney and hard on the feet and the sun was scorching, but at least it was downhill. Exhausted after about 7 hours walking we arrived at Cashapampa where the valley exits the mountains. We had to make our own way back to Huaraz because we had done in a day less than the others (weren´t told this when we booked), a bit peeved to see us being charged more that the locals (first time we´ve really encountered it) but we finally arrived in Huaraz (the Cashapampa to Caraz part was great as the road hugged the mountain) for a much needed curry (I used this to spur Deb on in the tough parts of the trek), Pilsen beer, shower and rest. It was an amazing trek, I am so proud of Deb for doing it, for someone who isn´t that keen on the walking she did great, but even she says that the scenery we saw that second day made it all the worthwhile.
The next day was pure rest, our feet and bodies aching, the final day I did a trek to Laguna 69. Following some of the road route we had taken to start the Santa Cruz, past the LLanganuco lakes and then heading in. My legs were sore this day but it again was worthwhile to see the startling blue colour of the Laguna 69, almost completely surrounded by white snow, it was overcast but we caught a glimpse of the amazing blue as the sun came out just as we were to leave.
A night bus saw us out and we both loved the Cordillera Blanca. I think Debs trekking days may be over but it is something we both achieved together and will always look back on it and don´t know where we will see anything as stunning as what we had seen.

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