Huaraz, Carhuaz & the Santa Cruz Treck

After landing in Lima we immediately headed north into the mountains to the town of Huaraz. Huaraz serves as a base for various treks through the Cordillera Blancas, a section of the Andes and the second highest mountain range in the world. We took 2 days between Huaraz and a few pueblos to the north to acclimatize for the Santa Cruz trek.

Most travelers chose to do the trek with a guide and pack animals, usually donkeys. A guide is not necessary as the trail is easy to follow, and we wanted to be self sufficient and carry all our own necessities. We stopped at a Sunday market in the tiny town of Carhuaz to buy some fruits, vegetables, and locally made cheese and bread. We were certainly the only foreigners in town and we really felt conspicuous as people pointed and said ¨gringo¨ as we walked through the crowded market. The women in this region wear the traditional clothes, including full colorful skirts, adorned sweaters, and tall hats. They carry any load, whether a baby or tall stocks of corn, with colorful fabric tied around their backs.

To get to the trailhead we took a collectivo that wound higher and higher into the hills to the pueblito Cashapampa 2900 meters. There went our acclimatization. The hike began immediately climbing up through a deep canyon carved through the tall mountains. We followed the Rio Santa Cruz almost the entire trek, which made getting water very easy. The altitude was a real shock but the beautiful views emerging with every step were a distraction. After 5 hours we reached the first night’s camp beside the river with a fantastic view of Nevado Taulliraju(5830m) at the end of the canyon.

The second day was an easy stroll through a wide meadow, passing the beautiful glowing blue Laguna Jatuncocha. We happily arrived the second night’s camp 2 hours sooner than our guide book estimated and enjoyed the last few hours of sun. From this camp at 4250 meters we could see at least 5 glaciated peaks of around 6,000 meters each. There were certainly other tourists on this popular route, but for long periods of time we were the only hikers as far we could see. Occasionally a few very friendly guides with their donkeys, horses, or llamas would pass.

The third day we woke up in the freezing high altitude air but quickly warmed up on the challenging series of switch backs over the 4,760 meter or 15,616 foot pass, Punta Union. As we climbed closer to Nevado Taulliraju we could occasionally hear chunks of ice break off the glacier and crash down. But we were too far away to be in any danger. Triumphantly reaching the top of the pass, we could see several bright blue lakes below and the huge stretch through the canyon that we had covered in the past few days. The next 5 hours were downhill or flat, what a relief. We descended through a valley on the backside of Nevado Taulliraju, past a few lakes, through a stand of beautiful quenua trees, and finally to a flat valley beside a river where we camped for the night.

The second night´s campsite

Nevado Alpamayo

View of the trek down the canyon

Made it to the top!

Narrow passage to the opposite side of the pass

Jordan making breakfast

The hike out was a unappreciated surprise of another 600 meters uphill! We passed through a small town where all the children waited for backpackers to come by then begged for galletas y dulces (cookies and candies). After reaching Vaqueria with relief, we caught a collectivo out of Parque Nacional Huascaran.

COOL!

Here is the unbelievably windy road descending out of the mountains

This trek was an incredible way to experience the (literally) breathtaking Peruvian Andes.