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Published: April 26th 2012
Well, Mike, I think you were right. Before we came to South America you mentioned Huaraz as one of your favorite, or perhaps your favorite, town on your trip. Huaraz looks to be my favorite place as well. We have spent a full 8 days here, significantly more than anywhere else, and it has been fantastic.
Huaraz is a town of about 120,000 people, sitting at about 3,000 meters (10,000 feet) in elevation. It is bordered on the east side by the Cordillera Blanca, which has a plethora of 5,000+ meter tall mountains that are snow covered and glaciated year round. On the west are the Cordillera Negra which are not as high, but still impressive mountains. The Cordillera Blanca are encompassed by Huascaran National Park, which we explored quite a bit on our visit...although we could have spent so much more time there. There is not much to the town itself. It is compact which makes exploring easy. Most of the towns history was wiped out during an earthquake/avalanche/flood in the 40s.
The way the town is situatuated in relation to the mountains along with the weather is fairly similar to Boulder. We are visiting in the tail
end of the wet season. The dry season starts in May. This time of year there are afternoon rain storms (with occassional thunder, but not much) at about 2:00...every day. So the trick to seeing the mountains is to get up early.
Day One We arrived in Huaraz at 5:30 in the morning so it was still dark outside. There was no bus terminal so we made our way to the stairwell of a hostal, planning to just wait 30 minutes for daylight before figuring out where we wanted to go. We had not waited long before somebody else wanted to get in the hostal, so we went in and were able to get a room (again, remarkable that at 5:30 in the morning a hostal will give us a room and not charge us anything extra). We got some sleep before setting out to explore the town.
It was a bit of an overcast, gloomy day. We caught glimpses of the mountains surrouding the city, but not much. On our walk to the town center, only 3 blocks from the hostal, we crossed over a serious road construction project that has apparently been in,
or is expected to be in, the works for 5 years. With all the rain it makes for a muddy, smelly crossing.
The town was hopping, much to our surprise on a Monday afternoon. The main street was packed with cars and its sidewalk packed with people. The feel of the town was different though. It was nothing like the chaos of Lima despite being crowded.
Our goal in visiting Huaraz was to go on one big trek. We had passed up a few other trekking opportunities knowing that we would do something in Huaraz. So, stop number 1 on our list was to see what kind of options there were. We found there were two big 4 day treks, the Santa Cruz trek and the Qsomethingorother trek. The Santa Cruz trek is the most popular, but we learned that a large mud slide took out a huge part of the trail and as a result the trek is no longer a circuit but rather over a big pass and back. That was not very appealing to Sarah or myself. The Q trek seemed a bit more intense than we were looking for (carrying 50 pound packs over
4,600 meter passes). So ultimately we decided to change our plans and instead do day trips out of Huaraz. There are a ton of great hikes right outside our door and can easily fill a week in a visit.
We also decided to change hostals. We knew we were going to be in Huaraz for a while and our first hostal did not have a kitchen nor was it a homey kind a place to be for many nights.
Day Two We set out for the Pastoruri Glacier. At 8:00 am we met at the tour company who we booked the trip with. The tour was not through them, but they arranged it. Interestingly, this tour company had given us a big long speech about how corrupt the tour company system was in Huaraz (something we already knew). Yet the tour they arranged for us was pretty terrible. It was a complete joke actually. The bus left over an hour and a half late then we drove 15 minutes before stopping for an hour at a restaurant to watch the driver and guide (spanish speaking only) eat breakfast. By about noon we finally reached our
destination, the parking lot just below the glacier. And unfortunately, since we got up the mountain so late it had begun to rain.
Getting off the bus we could feel the elevation. It did not bother me much but it gave Sarah the classic altitude induced headache. I am not sure what the elevation was at the parking lot, but a short 30ish minute crawl (super slow pace at that elevation) we had reached 5,020 meters (16,467 feet). By then it had begun to snow and was frigid cold so the glacier view was limited and 30ish minutes later we scampered back to the bus.
On the way down the mountain we made a few interesting stops. First was a set of cave drawings from 300 BC. but with our spanish only speaking guide we did not get much of a history on them, just snapped a quick photo. Next was the Puya Raimondi, the worlds largest bromelia. They were gigantic. I think a brochure said they had some relation to the pineapple. The plant blooms once every 100 years or so and it bloomed last year so we were not in luck. And the last stop was
Puya Raimondi
Worlds largest bromalia that bloom very rarely - there was a bloom last year, so no luck for us, but still impressive. I think one of the brochures said something about being related to the pineapple.for a bubbling spring...which everybody regretted getting out of the bus to see.
On the way back to Huaraz, of course we stopped again for an hour to watch the bus driver and guide eat lunch. The prices were outrageous so nobody else ate. I am sure the restaurant gives the driver and guide free food for bringing tourists to their restaurant.
Finally back in Huaraz, to a boat load of rain, we crashed for the night.
Day Three We were not set on what we wanted to do day three. The first two days had been dreary and would not have made for great hiking days. Day three though, we awoke to clear skies and fantastic mountain views. After kicking the idea around of doing a hike, we decided to give it a shot, even though at about 9:00 we knew we would be getting a later start than we would like.
We walked across town to catch a collectivo (shared taxi/van in this case) to Willahuain. The ride was only about 20-30 minutes, but we climbed up a rocky dirt road to the town. In town the driver pointed us in
Spring
Why did we get out of the van? the right direction and we started our trek. It was a little unnerving at first because there were no trail markers, but about 30 minutes in to the hike we ran in to a Peruvian man chopping wood who confirmed we were heading in the right direction.
It was fascinating watching the two Peruvian men work as we huffed and puffed our way up a little hill. One of the men ran up the hill with a wheel barrow and filled it with a huge stack of wood before we were able to climb that far. I think it was especially fascinating because we rarely see the men working, it always seems to be the woman.
After getting up the short hill we had a brief stretch of a flat field where a Peruvian woman was tending to a flock of sheep. She grew upset when Sarah tried taking a picture of the herd.
And then we began the climb. The long, long, straight up climb towards Laguna Ahuac. It was hard. Very hard. The elevation was again killer and it was, yet again, not friendly to Sarahs head. I was hoping by this point we would be
more acclimated, but apparently not.
The views were fantastic as we climbed higher and higher. To the south we could see three huge, white, glaciated mountains, all probably well over 5,000 meters. To the west we could see Huaraz with the Cordillera Negra mountains in the background. Ultimately our late start caught up with us. 4 hours in to the hike we elected to turn back as a large storm was closing in. It turned out to be a good decision because we were not quite back to the trailhead when the clouds opened up and dumped a ton of rain on us.
Quote of the day - from Sarah as we began the trek - "Arriba...arriba...why is every single thing in this country up!"
Day Four Chill day. We needed a big time recovery from the day three hike. So, not much to report besides some food. The day before we hit up the super market and the fruit market with the goal of trying some new things. We started with a nice breakfast from the roof top deck of our hostal with fantastic views. Bread and butter (our first time buying butter)
with some juice and fruit. The experiment with a new fruit, guanabana, was a bust becuase it was gross.
Lunch we tried to make grilled cheese. Unfortunately the kitchen was in full time cook mode for the hostal owner, family, and about 50 friends (or at least it seemed that way with the amount they cooked). So, we were left with a half-working burner. Turned out ok though.
Dinner - it was time for some rice and beans. We had soaked the black beans all day, but it was not nearly enough. We boiled them for 2 hours and it still was not enough. Finally we got fed up with waiting and just ate crunchy beans mixed in with the rice. We shall try again though. Next time at least 24 hours of soaking.
Day Five By this point we should have been anxious to move on from Huaraz. 5 days is a ton in one place, especially with the way we had been traveling. But there was still a handful of things we wanted to do and we wanted to stay.
Today we tried our luck at the collectivo system once
again. Bright and early at 6:30am we arrived at the collectivo station and were quickly whisked away to Yungay, a town about an hour ride north of Huaraz. From there we got off the van and were mobbed by 4 or 5 guys asking which lake we were heading to and wanting us to jump in their collectivo. We knew this was the next step, but based on talking to the information office we expected it to be a little more difficult to find a collectivo. In all the chaos, we picked the first one that rattled off the lake we wanted to go to, Laguna Llanganuco. We made sure the price was right and hopped in his van.
Lesson of the day - when picking a collectivo, always see how many people are already in the van and how soon the driver will be ready to go. Unfortunately, since we had not done a lot of collectivo riding, we had not learned this lesson until now and it was a slightly painful one. We waited in and around the van for about an hour and a half before finally setting off for the lake. At one point we
thought about switching vans, but all the others were gone.
I was really worried that the delay was going to cost us good weather and a chance to enjoy the lakes, as it had with the glacier on day two. As we journeyed an hour up the mountain it began to rain. Before entering the park we briefly considered just turning back, but we had come this far so we figured we would press on. As we approached the first lake the skies cleared and we had beautiful weather. It was kind of bizzare, just above the lake was a perfectly clear blue sky, yet if you looked up or down the valley only a few kilometers it was dark and stormy. That little blue patch seemed to follow us for most of the day which made the trip fantastic.
The first lake was small and beautifully green. The vertical black and tan cliffs on either side dove down in to the lake. Rare polylepis trees
grow here. We hung out at the lower lake for about an hour before deciding to walk to the upper lake before the weather turned bad. It was only about 11:00 in
the morning so it was early to have storms all around, but with the hope of the clear sky lasting a bit longer we set off up the road for the upper lake.
Lesson #2 of the day - always be skeptical of drivers, they are always trying to milk you for more money. There are two lakes in Laguna Llanganuco. The first (lower) and the second (upper). When we first got the collectivo driver he said it would be $10 soles to the first lake and if we wanted to go to the second it would be a little more. He said it was a 2 hour walk from the first to the second. At the park entrance I asked the park ranger how long it would take to walk, he said 1 hour. We figured the park ranger was more accurate and the driver was just trying to get more money out of us so we got off at the first lake. Then we ran in to a guide for the Santa Cruz trek and he said it was actually only 30 minutes to the second.
Doing the walk turned out to be the right choice.
It may have taken us about an hour, but we walked at a snails pace, enjoying the scenery. The clear sky seemed to follow us to the upper lake and we got to spend a lot of time enjoying that lake too.
At about 1:00 our clear patch of sky gave way and it began to rain though it did not last long. We enjoyed a few more minutes of the lake before flagging down a collectivo heading back to Yungay. And back to Huaraz we went, again to be greeted by pouring rain.
In Huaraz we stopped for dinner before heading back to the hostal. We found a $6 soles menu of the day (sorry for all the food stories, I just can not help it) and sat down to try Brocoli Saltado (sauteed broccoli). The soup was excellent to start and then came out the main dish. A fantastic vegetable and meat stir fry. The best menu of the day we have eaten. I dug in and quickly knocked out a quarter of the dish. Sarah, who eats one bite per my 20, got through a few bites and agreed it was great. Then disaster struck.
Sarah pulled out about an inch long maggot-like dead bug from the stirfry. NOOOOOOOOO!!!! What do we do? Typing this, the obvious answer is, drop your fork and run. But both of us just sat there, staring longingly at the delicious meal. Neither of us ate, but both of us still wanted to (gross right?). It was just so good. We showed the waitress the worm and she went back to the kitchen. She came back and asked us if we were going to finish the meals and was seemingly shocked when we said no. We had no idea how to communicate how disgusting this was in Spanish. Ultimately we paid $4 soles to cover the soup and left. Talk about an experience you would not have in the US.
Day Six Neither of us got sick!!! Despite all the awful feelings in our stomachs (probably created more by mind than body) we were fine. Thank goodness because today we set out bright and early again (awake at 5:45) for another trek. Again, by this point we should have been anxious to get out of Huaraz, but I was bound and determined to do a serious
hike to a Laguna.
We got to the collectivo spot at about 6:30 and there was a group of 7 or so high schoolers also heading to the same trek. That worked great for us because unless there are a bunch of people going to Pitec (the town at the trailhead) the driver will only go to Llupa, which is an hour and a half walk to Pitec. So off to Pitec we went on another bumpy, mountainous ride. The high schoolers got off the van to try a different, much less traveled trail to Laguna Churup, but we stuck with the van until the more popular trail in Pitec (starting at 3,850 meters or 12,630 feet). The van took about an hour to get to the trailhead, which was much better marked than the trail for Laguna Ahuac. About an hour in to another grueling hike we sat and enjoyed the view and chatted for a while. Then we set off again for another hour and 15 minutes to reach Laguna Churup (2:15 in total). The last 30 minutes or so of the hike was a fairly challenging scramble (made more difficult because it was wet) fairly straight
Lower Lago Llanganuco
Look at how the sky is clear just above the lake up. There were points where the park service had put cables in place for people to hang on to.
With our break, the teenagers had visited the lake and passed us heading down. Other than that there were only two other people we saw all day, two Frenchman who we were only around for 10 minutes or so. And that is one of the huge beauties of Huaraz. There just are not a lot of people around and trails have not become so overrun with tourists and locals trying to sell stuff to tourists that you barely get to enjoy nature (e.g. Inca Trail, Colca Canyon, and even the small hike we did to the mountain on Amantani Island in Puno).
Laguna Churup sits at about 4,450 meters (14,600 feet) at the base of Nev. Churup, the snow/glacier covered mountain at 5,495 meters (18,000 feet). We hung out at Laguna Churup for about an hour. Magnificant.
It took about an hour to get back down to Pitec, and then with no collectivo there, we continued down another hour to Lalupa. We did not wait long before a collectivo showed and we journeyed back to Huaraz.
H... Glaciers
Glaciers barely visible above the clouds of the tallest mountain in Peru Days Seven and Eight Very little to report on these other than doing an excellent job of undercutting our daily budget! Sarah has not felt well so we took some time to relax. Watched a lot of soccer on our tv. Our second attempt at black beans failed miserably again, despite the hostels grandmas best attempt to teach me how to cook them...no more experimenting with beans on this trip.
Tonight, an overnight bus to Trujillo.
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Aunt Mary Ellen
non-member comment
Mountains and Lakes and glaciers all look so beautiful
Hope you feel better Sarah. I've never been so high to experience the altitude change. Such a cool trip! Love, Aunt Mary Ellen