Blogs from Ancash, Peru, South America - page 30

Lima was Quick and our bus was supposed to stop in Huaraz.....we woke up in Caraz, 2 hours north. Unexpectedly it wasn´t that bad after all. It turned out to be the beginning point of one of the most beatiful hikes around Huaraz. We bought our food and set of for this 3 day hike from Santa Cruz to Laguna Llanganuco..... We were not that lucky with the weather until we had to cross this pass of 4800 meters the second day. While other people camped before this pass, because of the bad weather earlier, the luck turned out to be with us....Finaly some good views and the snowstorms were long gone when we reached the pass. Last day, was easy, untill we had to take the bus back, 4hours stuffed in a small minivan driving ... read more

Spent the last few days in Huaraz, a town near to Cordillera Blanca, a mountain range with the highest mountain in Peru. Many trekking opportunities here, but since we only have 2 weeks left and many other places to visit in Peru, we had to make do with just a day trek to Llanganuco and Lago 69. Engaged a guide for the day trek. Since it´s only the 2 of us, it´s more economical to take public transport to the national park. It was really an unforgettable experience taking the local public transport. The only form of public transport here are mini-van, taxis and tuk tuk like vehicles. Being the cheaper form of mass transport, more locals will take the mini-vans. There´s a conductor who will peek out of the window, shouting out the destination of ... read more

We have just finished our 4 day Santa Cruz trek though the Cordillera Blanca near Huaraz. The views were absolutley spectacular despite a few set-backs along the way. It all started when we got off our night bus to the mountain town of Huaraz when Paul had to dash off the bus to spew his guts up. That altitude will get you every time. Huaraz is at an elevation of 3200m. We had three people join us on the trek, two Brits and a Spaniard. Also joining us where a guide, two cooks, a donkey driver, four donkeys and three horses - quite an entourage! Our first day involved a three hour journey on a mini bus where we climbed even higher into the mountains. All was going well until, we had to come to an ... read more

We decided to test our endurance and handling of altitude with a one-day trek into the Cordillera Blanca. We investigated a few options with Galaxia Expeditions (a small Huaraz based company with good guides who spoke English) and we plumped for a trek to Lake 69 - more than anything we were intrigued by the name, what wonders awaited us we could only imagine! The day started early, a 6am rise followed by a 3 hour drive into the Huascaran National Park. On the way we were treated to a view of the spectacular Lake Llanganuco (Female Lake in Quechua the local language). Laura described it as aquamarine... I say turquoise - it matched Laura´s top. Another ascent winding up into the hills brought us to the start of our trek: with our backpacks, water bottles ... read more

We journied to Huaraz on Monday morning in a very posh coach, complete with DVDs, air conditioning and club class style seats (not exactly traveller´s roughing it). As it happened the air conditioning clapped out after an hour so we sweated the rest of the 8-hour journey in the baking heat all the way to Huaraz. The coach bravely climbed the mountain side over a 4000m+ pass before descending into Huaraz in the valley below the looming Cordillera Blanca. The journey took in some stunning views of crystal clear lakes, rolling hills and we also saw our first llamas of the journey. When we arrived in Huaraz we were greeted by several expedition companies and reps all offering their wares. We followed a guy called Aldo who showed us to the Hotel Galaxia which, despite having ... read more