Huaraz is a small city near the Cordillera Blanca mountain range about 8 hours north of Lima. Some of Peru’s most scenic hiking can be found in Huaraz. After visiting Machu Picchu, I took a flight from Cusco back into Lima, and then an overnight bus to Huaraz for a 4 day visit full of hiking and exploration. This post will explore what are the best hikes and day trips to do from Huaraz.
Contents:
- Transportation
- Where to Stay in Huaraz
- Pastoruri Glacier Day Trip
- Laguna 69 Trek
- Laguna Paron Day Trip
- Chavin de Huantar Day Trip
- Laguna Churup Hike
- Santa Cruz 4 Day Trek
- Summit Nevado San Mateo
- Trip Costs for 4 days 3 nights in Huaraz
- Final thoughts on Huaraz, Peru
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Transportation:
Huaraz does not have its own airport. The closest airport is Trujillo (TRU) about 6 hours away. In the end I found that ground transportation from Trujillo to Huaraz was less reliable than from Lima, and can be more expensive than just taking the bus directly from Lima. The journey from Lima to Huaraz takes about 8-9 hours by bus. Regular buses run throughout the day, but a great way to save time (and money) is to take one of the overnight sleeper buses from Lima to Huaraz. The sleeper buses run regularly from Lima starting from around 8pm – midnight from Lima and arrive in the early morning in Huaraz. The seats also recline completely for a fairly comfortable rest.
Where to stay in Huaraz:
I stayed at the Selina Huaraz – a stunning converted villa centrally located. Big Mountain hostel is an excellent budget hostel that is also centrally located in Huaraz, their rock bottom rates also include breakfast! If you’re looking for private accommodations, Aldo’s guesthouse has private rooms at great prices, and also with breakfast included.
Pastoruri Glacier Day Trip:
The Pastoruri Glacier can be visited on a day trip from Huaraz. The tour picks up and drops off in Huaraz, and will stop along the way to view the impressive Puya Raimondii plants. These endangered plants have an 80 year life-span, but die after a single bloom. They can grow up to 15meters (50ft) high.
Once the bus reaches the Pastoruri glacier parking lot, it is a 40 minute walk along a well-kept path to the glacier. As you are walking at elevation, the walk may be more challenging than anticipated, but most people should be able to handle the walk – there are mules for hire if you are really struggling. The glacier itself, has receded significantly in the past few years, but the scenery is impressive nonetheless.
Laguna 69 Trek:
Stunning Laguna 69 is a stunning alpine lake that can be reached on a 14KM (round-trip) out and back trek that is a must-do in the Huaraz region. This guided trek will pick you up from your accommodations in Huaraz, get you to the trailhead, and also have a guide accompany the group to the lake and back, before dropping everyone off back at their accommodations in Huaraz. Highly recommended.
The trek itself is non-technical, but it is recommended to wear hiking boots if you have them or at the very least some comfortable runners or sport shoes with good traction. The trail does gradually climb to a significant elevation profile, with the trailhead situated at 3800m, and Laguna 69 sitting at approximately 4600m. For most people this trek will take approximately 4-5 hours. If you get sick at elevation, you may want do some easier day trips like the Pastouri Glacier and Chavin de Huantar day trips to get acclimated to the high altitude before doing the Laguna 69 hike, or consider visiting the similarly beautiful Laguna Paron on a day trip instead.
Laguna Paron Day Trip:
Stunning Laguna Paron has emerged as a popular alternative to the Laguna 69 trek – particularly for those who do not wish to undertake a challenging high altitude trek. This well-reviewed tour includes pickup and drop-off in Huaraz and will take you on an easy 40 minute walk to some viewpoints to take photos before allowing for 2 hours to explore the lake on your own. There are private operators that you can rent kayaks from on the lake to explore the lake from the water.
Chavin de Huantar:
The archaeological site at Chavin de Huantar is one of the oldest and most important sites in South America. The ruins actually predate the ancient Incan civilization and the remains tells a story of a once important religious and cultural Mecca to which pilgrims from distant lands may have come to worship and exchange. Chavin de Huantar can be visited on a guided day tour from Huaraz. The tour will stop at Lake Querococha along the way as well as the Museo Nacional Chavin on the way back to Huaraz.
The site is difficult to get to independently, and a guided tour is quite inexpensive, so well worth it. Note: when I visited in Spring 2022, there were no English group tours tours available – only Spanish (it appears to be the same case as of 2023). This is important to note as the guide will be giving significant insights about the archaeological site in Spanish. If you don’t speak Spanish you would be well advised to go with a friend who does, so they can translate.
Laguna Churup Hike:
Laguna Churup is a high altitude lake that sits at 4465 meters above sea-level. There’s a 3KM well-traversed trek that leads you to the lake (6-7km round trip back to the trailhead). The trail includes sections that require the use of chain-ropes. These chains are anchored into the rock and are basically there to help you up and down steeper sections of the trail. I would say this trail is moderately technical, but most reasonably fit hikers who are not afraid of heights should be fine on the chain rope sections.
As Lake Churup is only 10KM away from Huaraz, this is a trip you can do on your own. There are regular collectivos (collective taxis) than run from a pick-up point (see map) in Huaraz to the trailhead the Lake Churup trek and back. Cost back in Spring 2022 was 10 sols each way – however, it seems prices may have increased to 50sols roundtrip since then. If you are a solo traveller, you are bound to find similarly minded people to hike with on the collectivo ride.
Santa Cruz 4-Day Trek:
I did not have enough time for this iconic multiday hike – but it’s definitely on my list for something to do the next time I’m back in the region. Guided multiday treks start and drop-off in Huaraz.
Please note that the Santa Cruz trek is a very challenging high altitude multiday trek. It is inadvisable for inexperienced hikers to attempt this trek, especially if they have not yet had experience hiking in the 4500m range. If you have succeeded in the Salkantay trek, it is a good gauge for your ability to do the Santa Cruz trek. Day 1 takes you from Huaraz to the 1st campsite at 3850. Day 2 takes you to Punta Union at 4750m before descending to the 2nd campsite at 4250m. Day 3 will take you to Alpamayao Mirador, before descending to camp at 3760m, and Day 4 takes you to Cashapampa and to the transport back to Huaraz.
A guide, all meals and accommodations are included in this iconic trek in the Cordillera Blanca mountain range, and for those experienced enough to consider this trek – it would be an excellent training trek for more advanced treks like Kilimanjaro.
Summit the Nevado San Mateo:
For those wanting a more technical adventure, you can attempt to summit the San Mateo Glacier. This one-day mountaineering trip is the most technical of all the trips I have outlined and will require some ice-climbing. This well-reviewed one-day tour will include all the equipment you need to attempt the climb, as well as pre-climb briefings. While some participants have reported that they were able to do this climb as complete beginners to ice-climbing, do note that the summit takes you to 5150M above sea level, so it is not by any means an easy day tour. I’m opting to to do this trip for my next trip to Huaraz – ideally with a bit more mountaineering and ice-climbing experience under my belt.
Trip costs for 4 days and 3 nights in Huaraz, Peru:
Accommodations: $58.08USD
Transportation: $54.73USD
Excursions: $75.98USD
Food & Dining: $20.00USD
Total: $208.79USD
Final Thoughts on Huaraz, Peru:
While the sleepy town of Huaraz may be small; the number of incredible treks, hikes and day trips you can do from this mountain basecamp are endless. You could easily spend 2 weeks in Huaraz – particularly if you want to do one of the popular multi-day treks offered in the area. While I enjoyed my 4 days in the region – visiting the Pastoruri glacier, visiting the historical site of Chavin de Huantar, and trekking to Laguna 69 and Laguna Churup – I’m book-marking Huaraz as a place to return. Amazing experiences, like the Santa Cruz trek and the San Mateo summit await my return.
