Cordillera Blanca

  Huaraz, Peru
Tuesday, August 26, 2008

So after a week in the jungle, I decided to head back to the mountains.  After a flight from Iquitos to Lima, I took an overnight bus to Huaraz.  Huaraz is north of Lima and is in the Cordillera Blanca mountain range, which is home to the highest peaks in Peru.

2-more views at the summit

Huaraz and the surrounding smaller towns are a hub for hikers and climbers, but is less touristed than the southern mountain areas in and around Cusco, the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu.

I feel like I have said this before in other entries (perhaps I should go back and look), but I definitely think Huaraz & the surrounding area had the most beautiful landscapes of anywhere that I have seen in Peru!  Really!  As always, just check out the photos which show it all!!

1st day Santa Cruz trek

My goal was to get out for a bit more hiking before the end of my trip, and I was definitely not disappointed.  I did a couple of day trips, one hiking to pre-Inca ruins and another via a bus trip to pre-Inca ruins.  As you head north in Peru, there is notable more history of pre-Inca times as the Inca empire was centered in the southern part of the country and made varying impacts into the northern areas.  Fascinating of course, but I must admit I am getting a bit ´ruined-out.´ I did however have a really good time with my 13-year-old guide at Wilcawain.  Always good to practice my Spanish & he was just very professional and cute.  He apparently has been a guide for 4 years (not sure if it is official per the National Cultural Institue) after he gets home from school because he lives next door and really likes it.  An aspiring little archeologist or academic I think.

my guide at Wilcawain

 

6-1st day Santa Cruz trek

The highlight of my time in Huaraz though was definitely the 4 day/3 night Santa Cruz trek.  The scenary included everything --- lush green valleys full of my regular friends these days (cows, sheep, mules, etc. -- no llamas, apparently not as common as in southern Peru), stunning crystal blue lakes, jagged rocky mountain peaks both with and without snow-caps, glaciers and glacier lakes.  Really breathtaking!

7-1st day Santa Cruz trek

As in my other treks, I was fortunate to get a really fun group of folks that had all just signed up with the agency to go off for a few days.  Perrin & AnnSophie from France, Nigel from England, Suzanne from Switzerland, Eric our guide, Sergio our cook/mule driver and me.  

13-1st day Santa Cruz trek

at the summit - & ever stylish - ha!

Our first day involved about 3.5 hours of walking, days two and three were about 7 hours of walking each day --- including the awesome summit on day 2 that took us up even with the snow-line at about 15,600 feet and the amazing glacial lake on day 3 near the base camp for climbers taking on one of the peaks just under 20,000 feet --- and then the last day was about 3.5 hours of walking.

9-day 3 Santa Cruz

7-sunrise day 2 Santa Cruz trek

It was a nice challenge, but really manageable (or perhaps I am just a regular little hiker these days) and just really, really enjoyable.  In the evenings we laid around the camp (well actually sat in the cook tent because it was a bit chilly of course) and chatted, played cards, and were entertained by our guide Eric who played the flute & loved to sing!  A great way to end my hiking days in Peru, so I can head off to the beach for my last few days & close-out the trip with some more chocolate cake indulgences to offset all that excessive hiking! :)

16-day 3 Santa Cruz