Trekking in the Corillera Blanca
Trip Start
Jun 09, 2005
1
94
105
Trip End
Jun 08, 2006
Huaraz,
Peru
Friday, May 5, 2006
We are in Pisco and we want to get to Hauraz, which is the main backpacker gathering point for treks into the Cordillera Blanca. Unfortunately the road passes through Lima, and there is no choice but to go via there.
Early in the morning we leave the hotel in Pisco and walk to the bus company situated in the main Plaza
01 Cordillera Blanca
. They sell us a ticket for the 3hr journey for just 12 Soles (GBP2.00), which includes a collectivo to the Panamerican Highway 9km out of town where the bus stops. The journey to Lima is trouble-free, and after a good nights sleep I can enjoy taking in the bustling atmosphere on the bus. There is never a dull moment. We are entertained by a jewellry salesman, who hands out cheap-looking gold plated pendants to anyone on the bus who looks remotely interested, and then spends half an hour explaining why they are such good value. He makes a few sales and then abrubtly collects up the remaining items and gets off the bus. A young girl opposite to me looks particularly pleased as he forgets to collect a pendant or payment from her before disembarking.
Apart from a jewellry salesman and a book salesman, we are also inundated by offers for all kinds of drinks, sweets, and snacks. Rachel and I share a hot snack of potatoes, corn, and meat which costs 2 Soles (GBP0.35).
Arriving in Lima we are immediately confronted by all the reasons for not lingering in this ugly and bustling capital city. Everywhere there are ghastly unfinished concrete buildings with iron core rods sticking out of the top like unkempt hair, dirt and dust swirling in the streets, and random loitering of people on street corners wondering where the next bit of business will come from
02 Trek Day 1, Cordillera Blanca
. Soon we arrive at the bus station which appears to be right in the centre of hell itself.Ignoring the offers from numerous unmarked taxi operators, we take a taxi to another part of hell (La Victoria) where there are buses leaving for Huaraz. We are unsuccesful with the first two bus companies who only offer night departures, but eventually we wander through the streets and find Movil Tours who have a luxury bus leaving at 1pm for 40 Soles (GBP7.00). Its expensive by Peruvian standards but finding a luxury bus leaving in just one hour feels like serendipity to me.
With an hour to spare before departure we try to find a local cafe to get some lunch. In the first place we walk into I see a couple of ladies eating a ghastly-looking meal of beans, chicken, and potatoes. There isn´t anything else on the menu and we walk out. In the second place I ask the lady-owner what´s available to eat and she stares at me and gives a one word answer: nada (nothing). The third place has a tasty-looking soup on offer so Rachel and I share a bowl (3 soles or GBP0.50) incase its really bad, but it turns out to be reasonably palatable.
Finally we board the Movil bus which turns out to be the nicest bus we´ve been on in South America
03 Camp 1, Cordillera Blanca
. Everything is clean and in perfect working order, and even the seats recline more than 45 degrees. To our surprise we are fed a meal of chicken, vegetables and rice, which if we´d known would have saved us the earlier ordeal.It seems that bus journeys occupy much of our time these days, and disproportionately impact our lives enormously at the moment. However we´ve probably been on more than 200 since we started the trip so its hardly surprising how sensitive we are. I apologise to everyone for having an over-abundance of boring ´bus´ stories.
We arrive safely in Huaraz and walk to a hostel recommended by our friend Rich (who we met in Laos) as a good base to organise trekking from. Casa de Zarela is littered with pictures of tall and foreboding mountains and we immediately start to feel in the mood for a big country experience. The hostel itself is fairly ordinary and a little run down; it also seems very quiet as its not yet the tourist season in this part of the country until the end of May.
In the morning at breakfast we meet the bubbly, chubby, and cheerful Zarela herself, who has a reputation for being a great fixer.
04 Day 2 campsite, Cordillera Blanca
Within half an hour we have decided on a route, agreed a cook, a muleteer, three donkeys, taxis to transport us to/from the trekking area, and sorted out items like tents, sleeping bags, mats, and walking poles (we sent our camping gear back from Santiago). Its fairly obvious Zarela does this sort of thing often and we feel confident in her abilities.Our trek will be a popular 5-day route through the Cordillera Blanca, starting at Cashapampa near Santa Cruz, and finishing at Llanganuco. We will take a public bus to miss out the boring part in the middle, and spend the last day on a side trip to the intriguingly named ´Laguna 69´.
Since the route is fairly straighforward, we do not need to take guide. Zarella informs us that our cook, Juan, is much sought-after and we will have to pay USD$25 a day for his services. Furthermore we will have to pay for an extra day to give him time to purchase everything for tomorrows departure. As for the donkeys, they will cost USD$5 each per donkey per day, and the muleteer will cost USD$10 per day. We will only need the donkeys for 4 days, but we pay for an extra day so that the donkey-meister can take them back home at the end of the trip.
We acclimatise to the 3000m altitude in Huaraz, by walking up to the large statue of Christ with outstretched arms behind the town
05 Camp 2, Cordillera Blanca
. Huaraz is friendly and hospitable town but not much to look at from up on the hill. The distant white mountain peaks visible through hazy sunshine more than compensate for the town´s lack of beauty. The afternoon seems to disappear in an internet cafe. Its dusk when we get back to the hostel and we see piles of equipment and food spread out by the entrance to the hostel. We shake hands with the smiling cook, Juan, who shows us some of the food he has bought for us. The food is in wooden boxes which we will be strapped to the back of the donkeys during the day and will double as chairs and tables in the evening. Juan doesn´t speak any English, but we reckon our Spanish will be good enough for basic communication. With his wide smile and chiselled features, Juan looks a bit like a Peruvian William Defoe.
Day 1: Huaraz to Cashapampa to Llamacoral
We get up at 6am and eat breakfast in the hostel. By 6.30am we are in a taxi (120 Soles or GBP20.00) heading out to the starting point for the walk, three hours drive away. After an hour and half, the paved road runs out, and we slowly grind up a steep incline to the village of Cashapampa where the road runs out completely
06 Shepherd, Cordillera Blanca
. We are dropped off outside an adobe house where there is a good deal of shouting by the excited female occupant: presumably she is getting the donkeys organised. We unload the contents of the taxi on to the verge, a safe distance from a tethered pig, and await the donkeys. After a 20 minutes or so, a young man called Agusto introduces himself; he must be the donkey-man. We see various other locals leading cute and furry donkeys into the paddock behind the house, all a good sign.
Juan is satisfied that all is well, and we set off hiking without staying to witness the loading of the donkeys. The path winds uphill through a few paddocks and then into a steep sided wooded valley with a loud rushing river flowing through. Juan carries a large backback and sets a slow steady pace. Despite our small day-sacks we are breathing heavilly to keep up. Its a little cloudy that day and we can´t see much mountain scenery. The damp weather encourages some some nasty black flies called puri puri that land on my hands and suck my blood. Their bites are frustratingly itchy.
We stop after a couple of hours in a green and pleasant clearing and eat a tasty packed lunch that Juan has prepared for us
07 Valley pass, Cordillera Blanca
. We put on our jackets with the hoods up to keep off the pesky flies. After a further hour the donkey-train overtakes us, and two hours since lunch we arrive at the first campsite in Llamacoral. The valley is wider here and the weather starts to clear providing views of our first 6,000m peak, Caraz. Juan and Agusto set up the red and blue mess-tent which resembles what a mediavel knight might prepare for a jousting match in. Our hired tent is fortunately a little-used modern and waterproof number, but it still takes Rachel and I half an hour to erect it out without instructions.
Before our tent is up, Juan has set up his kitchen and offers us a cup of tea and biscuits. Yes, we think as we sip and munch, this is what trekking with an entourage is all about.
We have the afternoon to laze around in the sunshine, and fortunately we have brought our books which add a welcome diversions from our own company and the beautiful moutain scenery. Fortunately there are no flies here. There are a few other campers and I chat to a proud Peruvian Mountain Guide called Daniel who gives me some insight into the local area, and the art of being a brilliant guide
08 Day 3, Cordillera Blanca
.At dusk, Juan calls us to the tent and serves up a delicious pumpkin soup (which has taken all afternoon to cook in the pressure cooker), followed by Chicken, rice and vegetables, and a fruit salad for dessert. We can see that our USD$25 per day is going to be a good investment. For the rest of the meal Agusto quizzes us about life and living standards in the UK. Its a good Spanish lesson for us both, although I have to tread carefully to avoid the direct comparison between my last salary approaching two orders of magnitude greater per working day than a muleteer´s meagre USD$10.
It gets dark early at 6.30pm, and by 8.30pm we are tucked up in bed. I am glad that we hired good 4-season bags because its absolutely freezing outside.
Day 2: Llamacoral to Taullipampa
At 6.30am in the morning there is a bit of frost on the tent, but we have both slept warmly in the sleeping bags. Juan prepares a monster breakfast for us (he must have been up for an hour before us) and we dismantle the tent and pack up our stuff
09 Day 5, Cordillera Blanca
. We watch as Juan and Agusto carefully load all the equipment on to the donkeys. The donkeys have been eating grass around the campsite all night, and have a resigned attitude to their burdensome lot in life.That day we walk constantly uphill for some 5 hours, resting for a further hour for lunch, to arrive at Taullipampa campsite at 4250m altitude. En route we pass through areas of beautiful blue lupins, green meadows covered in daisies, and unfamiliar red-barked trees with bark like paper. As we ascend the views become better and better as we are getting closer and closer to Taulliraju mountain. Juan points out the symmetrical triangular shape of Alpamayo (5947m), supposedly the most perfect mountain in the world.
In the campsite their are few people that afternoon. Diminutive and skinny cows and calfs graze around us peacefully. Hailstorms are interspersed with periods of bright sunshine. At night before going to bed the moon shines brightly in the sky lighting up the peaks. Storm clouds building behind Artesonraju look like a mass of cotton wool, and the stream beside the campsite is a silver ribbon. Despite feeling peaceful, sleep is tougher because of the altitude.
Day 3: Taullipampa to Hauripampa
By 7am we have eaten another impressive breakfast of porridge and pancakes and packed up all our stuff ready for a big day. From the campsite we gaze up at the mountain pass at 4750m which we must cross that morning. Leaving before the others, Rachel and I make it to the pass by 9am
10 Huarscaran, Cordillera Blanca
. From there we marvel at the grandeur of Taulliraju which whose scale and snow covered slopes are foreboding and frightening. We look down the valley we have been walking up for the last two days - the scale of everything is so massive here. The weather is fine and we find a sheltered spot in the sunshine to eat half our lunch early. As we are sitting there Juan and Agusto arrive with the donkeys. Juan gives us some directions for the rest of the hike and they soon disappear off down the other side of the mountain.The valley on the other side of the pass feels like a different world due to the increased cloud cover and unfamiliar terrain. We are impressed by the stone path that cuts through the mountains - it is entirely graded to make it donkey-friendly. The mountains are within Huscarin National Park and the staff do a good job of maintaining the path network.
We meet quite a few bedraggled trekkers that day going the opposite direction. Everyone asks us how much further they have to walk. We conclude it must be tougher going in the opposite direction. Or maybe its just the positive impact of the porridge helping us along?
We walk down and down and finally arrive at a campsite, but there is no sign of Juan and Agusto or the mess tent - which can easily be identified at a kilometre. Unfortunately we dont have a map, and a signpost at a T-junction gives us two possible options. One is to continue to another campsite called Huaripampa 3km further down and the other option is to head into the middle of some mountains. We decide on the former, which 2km later turns out to be the right choice because we spot the red and blue monstrosity in the distance
10 Lake, Cordillera Blanca
. Juan waves at us with a big smile as we enter the campsite - he seems relieved that we made it. Its 3pm and we are absolutely knackered.A bunch of grubby but friendly local kids greet as when we arrive. They must have walked up from the village several miles away in hope of sweets and money. We pass round some biscuits and they tuck in. Rachel talks for some time to a 10 year old boy, who can´t read at all.
Day 4: Huaripampa to Llanganuco
Pit toilets have been thoughtfully constructed at each of the campsites, but unfortunately the doors have fallen off and they have been vandalised by the local cows. Its understandable mind you - on a cold windy day a nice warm toilet would be a good place to hang out. Cows probably don´t care about the smell either.
After making use of the toilets we head off for the fourth day of walking. This is a short day as we just have to get to Vaqueria village 2 hours away. We pass though rustic red-tiled settlements where the road has not yet penetrated. Life seems to have a particular colour, peacefulness, and vibrancy in these places that disappears as soon as a road arrives. We watch a shepherd moving his sheep to a new pasture, and some men digging up potatoes in a field. A woman in a top hat sits in the front porch of her houses nursing a plump baby at the breast.
We cross a the valley floor on one of the many wooden and stone bridges, and start the ascent towards the road head
11 Laguna Llanganuco (69), Cordillera Blanca
. We navigate on narrow stone paths through corn fields and vegetable plots until we finally pop out on a rough gravel road. We unload the contents of the three donkeys on to the raodside to await the once daily bus. I pay Agusto for his services and he seems very happy. Rachel says the USD$140 (USD$125 plus USD$15 tip) is burning a hole in his pocket. Agusto tells us the once daily bus won´t arrive for a further two hours, but one unexpectedly appears within 5 minutes much to everyone´s surprise. The bus driver switches off the engine and we prepare to load up the gear. Fortunately the bus is fairly empty and the two conductors and driver help us load. Based on other local buses in south America I must admit I was worried about catching a crowded bus with 3 donkey´s worth of kit, but this was far smoother than I could have ever imagined.
As we drive I become increasingly glad that we took the bus as we wind uphill for an hour solidly to get to the Portachuelo pass in the clouds at 4767m altitude. Juan says the 6 Soles (GBP1.00) fare is very expensive, but no, its definitely a bargain as far as I´m concerned. At the top of the pass the two conductors get out and check the tyres carefully before we begin the most precipitous road descent I´ve ever been on in my life
12 Mountain police, Cordillera Blanca
. The dirt road snakes down 1500m altitude in a continuous series of hairpin bends, many of them marked by crosses of the dead the road has claimed. After an hour we arrive at Llanganuco campite in flat bottomed valley with several turquoise lakes.We cart the equipment behind some bushes to a clearing beside the river. Juan likes to be near a plentiful supply of water. As we eat our packed lunch on the grass Juan boils the kettle for yet another round of tea.
In the afternoon we walk down to the turquoise lakes enjoying the sight of many strange birds that live on their marshy shores.
Day 5: Laguna 69 and back to Huaraz
Our last day of trekking is a hike to Laguna 69 which is nestled high in the mountains. Zarela advised us to go as early as possible so we agree with Juan to eat breakfast at 5.30am. The size of the breakfast, and my difficulty in moving fast in the mornings, means that we don´t set off until 6.20am.
With clear skies, the view from our campsite is so different from yesterday
13 Flower, Cordillera Blanca
. All round us we see the jagged white crystalline peaks of mountains peeking above the green valley that we are in. We walk through along an adjacent U-shaped valley which has plenty of multi-coloured cows grazing in the valley bottom. At the end of the valley we are pleased to find a good stone path that ascends the steep slope to arrive at a hanging valley which has one small lake and a large expanse of green grass that has also been discovered by a few well-travelled cows.
At this altitude the view of the mountains really opens up and we can see the glaciated slopes of the mountains as well as the awe inspiring jagged peaks of Chacraraju (6112m), Pisco (5752m), and Huascarin (6768m).
We thought we might find Laguna 69 in this valley, but no, we have to climb yet further. We trudge onwards and upwards passing the ruins of small long-abandoned houses. Despite the beauty I cannot imagine ekeing out a living in such an isolated place. Electric blue hummingbirds hover over the lupins and a eagle with white undersides to its wings soars overhead.
The looming massif of Chacaraju feels close enough to reach out at touch
13a Trekking in the Cordillera Blanca
. Starting at about 5000m snow appears to cover even the most vertical surfaces of the mountain in herringbone pattern of inverted V-shapes. On the mountain ridge there are enormous overhangs of snow that resemble giant meringues. On the summit wisps of cloud build up and dissapears within seconds. I can see why climbing these mountains is more than hazardous.After 3.5 hours of walking our efforts are rewarded when we suddenly arrive at Laguna 69 - its waters are a startling sapphire colour and it nestles in a steeply sided granite basin beneath Chacaraju and Pisco. On our side of the lake there are a plethora of colourful flowering plants making it feel like an exotic alpine garden. On the far side of the lake thin waterfalls of glacial melt water stream into the lake like the proverbial grey mares tail. The start of the ice is just a few metres further up. It hangs in huge bluish-white chunks, but there are no avalanches today as we sit at the lakeside and eat our sanwiches.
After taking a few photos we start to think about heading back down when a tall handsome man dressed in tight red trousers and matching fleece appears and says hello. He explains that he is part of the Peruvian Mountain Police, on a training exercise. Before we know it there are about 10 young hunks sharing the lakeside with us
14 Fiesta, Huaraz
. Rachel enjoys the banter and tells me its the female equivalent for her of ten busty baywatch girls dressed in red bikinis arriving unexpectedly.I drag Rachel away from the human spectacle and we head back down to the camp. The decent takes us less than two hours, and when we get back Juan waves at us flashing his customary big smile. The taxi driver has also arrived, and Juan prepares one last big meal before we pack up and head back to Huaraz. Its sunny and hot and we sit on the grass eating a delicous cheese and tuna salad. We would recommend hiring Juan for anyone feeling like a little bit of a splurge. Its so much more civilised to eat freshly prepared food compared to the dehydrated drabness that we normally carry for ourselves on multi-day hikes.
We load the taxi and drive back to Huaraz, stopping en route to pay the USD$20 park entry fee retrospectively at a checkpoint on the way out. I almost thought we´d get away without paying. Still I guess they need the money to fix up those toilets.
We arrive back at Huaraz at 4pm and say goodbye to Juan. I give him a big tip and he seems very happy - he tells us we were his first clients of the season.
Overall the trek has been a lot of fun, but for Rachel three of the two days were not really demanding enough, and I think I agree that we could have covered more distance or completed the trek a day faster. There are many other paths and routes in the park that we could have taken. We also spotted a 10 to 14 day trek around Huayhuash south or Huaraz which looks even more appealing, and if we had more time or had planned things differently we should perhaps have done that.
Nonetheless we still enjoyed the trek immensely - it was a great introduction to the Cordillera Real. And we really have something to come back for.
Day 6: The Bill (2 persons)
Item $USD
Groceries 84
Equipment rental 85
Cook 150
Donkey services 125
Park entry 40
Taxis 75
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Total 559
(excluding tips)
