Huaraz Itinerary: Five Days in the Cordillera Blanca

Practical essentials

When to go: May to September. Outside the dry season the trails are wet and the mountain views are cloud-covered. I was there early October and wouldn’t want to be any later.

How long: Five nights minimum for it to be worthwhile. Acclimatisation is not optional at this elevation. Save the hardest hiking for the last two days.

Altitude: Huaraz is at 3,050 metres. Day trips reach considerably higher — Laguna Churup sits at 4,450 metres. Do not attempt serious hiking in the first day or two and come with altitude sickness pills (taken 24h in advance).

Day 1. Huaraz acclimatisation (3,000m)

Huaraz is a functional Andean town rebuilt after a catastrophic earthquake in 1970. It is not picturesque, putting it mildly, but it has everything you need, with enough backpacker volume to feel just a bit touristy. Parts of it don’t feel particularly safe after dark.

There are clusters of decent restaurants and cafes around the centre. Use the arrival day to acclimatise, chill at a cafe, and arrange tours. Ancash Archaeological Museum located on the Plaza de Armas houses ancient mummies and Wari stone statues.

Mirador de Rataquenua offers a complete panoramic view of the entire city of Huaraz and the major peaks of the Cordillera Blanca, including Huascarán, Huandoy, and Vallunaraju. It is highly recommended to take a taxi directly to the top due to reported robberies on the walking paths up.

Day 2. Llanganuco (3,850m)

Llanganuco is the pair of stunning turquoise glacial lakes in the Huascarán National Park, Chinancocha and Orconcocha. The walk runs along the shore of Chinancocha through queñual trees, short and flat, with a gaps to view the lake along the way. You can also get a boat ride out on the lake, but there wasn’t much time to do both.

The full day tour north stops in Carhuaz on the way to the lakes for some artisanal ice cream made from local fruit. On the way back, visit the Campo Santo memorial to the 1970 earthquake that buried the old city of Yungay entirely.

This is more of an excursion than hike, so was a large group of tourists. If you’re after a proper warm-up, Laguna Wilcacocha is a classic acclimatisation hike reaching 3,700m. It’s possible to visit via colectivo. I played it safe choosing low exertion but if I did it again I’d choose Wilcacocha.

Day 3. Laguna Parón (4,200m)

Laguna Parón is the largest lake in the Cordillera Blanca and a good choice for a low effort high payoff day. A tour is the easiest way to get there as public transport is long and complicated.

The mirador above the lake is worth the climb for the view back down over the turquoise water and the surrounding peaks including Artesonraju, the mountain that inspired the Paramount Pictures logo. There is also a path partway round, slightly elevated above the lake, if you want to take it easy. The lake sits at 4,200m and the mirador is at 4,500m, so take note that the thin air can make even short hikes feel significantly more tiring.

If your tour offers breakfast, check if your lunch is at the same place. All the English speakers on my tour skipped breakfast and as a result didn’t have lunch orders taken, neither did the guide inform us, so there was no lunch for us!

Day 4. Chavín de Huántar (3,200m via 4,500m pass)

Chavín de Huántar is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most significant pre-Inca ceremonial sites in the Andes. The Chavín culture that flourished here between roughly 900 and 200 BC influenced cultures across Peru for centuries.

The site has an underground gallery system designed to disorient. A short tunnel brings you to the Lanzón, a four-metre granite monolith carved with a fanged deity of part human, part jaguar form, the site’s primary deity.

The walls carry carvings of figures mid-transformation between human and animal. The site also has a sunken circular plaza, a sunken rectangular ceremonial square.

While there are over 35 subterranean passageways and galleries in the complex, visitors are usually only permitted into two or three sections for safety and preservation. Two short passageways and a large group was a bit underwhelming for me. The Spanish-only tour might have also detracted from my experience as I had to look up information later myself.

Chavín National Museum nearby houses the original tenon heads (cabezas clavas) representing the transformation of priests through ritual consumption of a hallucinogen, and the 2.5m Tello Obelisk, covered in complex, shallow carvings that represent the entire cosmos (land, sea, and air) according to the Chavín.

The drive up was spectacular though. The route heads south from Huaraz before crossing the Cordillera Blanca via the Kahuish pass at 4,500m and descending through the Callejón de Conchucos to Chavín. On the way up there is a stop at Querococha Lagoon at around 3,950m, a wide open stretch of water below the pass with donkeys by the lakeside.

Note that for the tour I was on, and it appears many other tours, you eat after the whole thing, close to 4pm. Bring snacks or your own lunch! This could be avoided if tours left earlier, but in Peru this doesn’t seem the done thing (if not hiking), I was told domestic tourists start the day late…

Day 5. Laguna Churup (4,450m)

Churup sits at 4,450m and the trail gains around 600 metres of elevation over roughly 7km return from the trailhead at Pitec, easily reached by a 40-minute colectivo ride from Huaraz. The trail starts at 3,840m and gains significant elevation via about 20 minutes of steps. The hike is well marked and doable without a guide. By day five you will be acclimatised enough to do it properly.

Most of the hike is exposed as you’re hiking along the valley wall. The ascent is steep in sections and there are two paths you can take to the lake. The one to the left is the one without chains, arguably less scary. The one to the right goes up steeply by the waterfall. There are fixed steel chains encased in rubber hose to help and it very doable. As a solo hiker I waited for others to ascend together, just in case. You can do the loop or take the same path in and out. If doing the loop I recommend chains up (easier to see the way) rather than down. Read more about the Laguna Churup hike and my tips as a rockclimber.

The lake at the end is intensely blue, and sits in a rock bowl below a glacier. The peak of Nevado Churup rises to 5,495m directly above the lake. If you have the time and energy, Laguna Churupita sits a further 1.2km beyond Churup at 4,584m. Make sure you return in time for the colectivo! I enjoyed this hike even though the peak was obscured most of the time I was at the lake.

Onwards

My Huaraz leg was bookended with Lima, making good use of the domestic flights in and out. The airport is tiny but very high tech!

Honest assessment

Huaraz is not off the beaten track for hikers, but it is completely off the radar for the average global tourist. Tacking this onto the northern circuit gives great opportunity for more physical activity in nature to avoid being cultured-out. It’s absolutely necessary to have enough time to acclimatise. The first two days feel slow and the altitude is a genuine constraint. By day five, you’ll be well-rewarded on the tougher hikes.

Visitors seem to fall into two categories – domestic tourists who are for the big bus excursions with little hiking, or experienced international hikers. The hikes are the entire point of going to Huaraz, and there is a choice of varying difficulties, just take your time and be safe. The tour operator situation requires care to secure an English-speaking guide. Book through your accommodation where possible. The Chavín tour in particular needs an English guide to be worth the journey.

Where to stay

San Sebastian Hotel Boutique, Huaraz. A quiet retreat with neo-colonial Andean architecture that feels like an old hacienda. The central courtyard garden and mountain-view terraces make it a calm oasis in a quiet part of the city. A bit of construction during my stay obscured the view.

Maimara Hotel, Huaraz.  A family-run boutique lodge crafted from wood with a mountain vibe. Its breakfast room on the top floor offers uninterrupted views of the snowy peaks. It takes 20 minutes for water to heat up for a shower. Service is warm and personal; the owner’s son was happy to drive me to the colectivo station. A bit further from the city centre.

Hotel Asociado Casa Andina, Huaraz. I tried to avoid the chains, but if I go back I’ll try this hotel, a high-quality base with traditional Andean decor near the heart of town. More professional service might assist with securing an English-speaking guide.

Getting there and around

Into Huaraz: Bus from Lima (eight hours semi-cama), or domestic flight.

Getting around: Parón, Llanganuco and Chavín require tours for transport. Churup is independent by colectivo to Pitec. Tour agencies are on every corner in Huaraz, ask your accommodation for recommendations.

Travel insurance: Non-negotiable on a circuit that includes 3,000-metre altitude and remote cloud forest hiking.

Flights to Peru: British Airways / LATAM to Lima

More from my North Peru travels

Travel to Huaraz after 2 days in Cajamarca.

From Huaraz, travel onwards to Lima.

See how Huaraz fits into my 2 week North Peru itinerary.