Have anyone done trekking in the Cordillera Blancas? How many days are needed/recommended if you have to get from Lima and back?
Hi everyone,
I am going to Peru in July 2009 and have about 3,5 weeks to see Peru. I know it is not much, but I would really like to do some trekking in the cordillera blancas/huyahuash and then afterwards go back to Lima and get to Cusco to go on the Lares Trek to Machu Picchu. I know it is not much time, when having to acclimatize to the high altitude as well, but it is possible? And is it a shame only to see the mountains, when being in Peru? (i have also heard good things about Arequipa and the northern region).
Afterwards I have about 2,5-3 weeks in Bolivia from Titicaca and down through the country to Salar de Uyuni, and only a week or so to get to Santiago from the Bolivian/Chilean border before heading home. I would love to see some of the mountains in Bolivia as well, but it would maybe a shame not to visit the Amazon while being in South America?
Any help would be appreciated.
Kind regards
Karsten Jeppesen
Reply to this I would recommend trekking in Cusco first as the altitude is generally a little bit lower on the best known treks than in Blanca/Hyahuash. The Santa Cruz is the most popular trek in Cordillera Blanca, it takes 3-4 days, you can do it independently, and the highest pass is over 4750 metres. There are also plenty of other treks in this area and agencies in Huaraz can organise them if you don't fancy going alone.
Stopping in Arequipa would also be good for acclimatisation as it's lower than Cusco - there's good trekking in the Colca Canyon, close to the city. If you do manage all those treks and make it to La Paz you could even attempt a 6000 metre mountain such as Potosi - agencies in La Paz ask a very reasonable 100-150 usd for a 3 day climb.
Reply to this Hi Barry,
I have read about Huayna Potosi. As I have limited time in Bolivia (and hopefully have trekked a lot in Peru) I think the high mountains will have to wait for another good time - but it looks like a challenging and exiciting, not to mention beautiful climb though.
As we (my girlfriend and me) are coming from Ecuador and are moving down to continue in Bolivia, I think we will go to Huarez first, and then acclimatize for 2 or 3 days before trekking the Santa Cruz (or another).
Have you done any trips in the cordillera's? Is it too much to carry a tripod (1,4 kg.) for a digital SLR camera on the way? I think it will be ok.
If you have any suggestions for great adventures/beautiful landscape/nature to recommend you are most welcome to join them with me:-)
Kind regards
Karsten
Reply to this yes, i've done the santa cruz trail, one of my blogs is all about it.
are you planning to hike independently? if so, you'll need to carry tent, sleeping bags, etc so every bit of weight counts, but I guess you could fit it in if you have to. we hiked it in 3 days, you could extend it to 4 and go a bit slower with all that weight. It does get very cold at night on the trek, (one of the camps is at 4200m).
good luck!
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