Often called the gateway to the Cordellia Blanca or the White Mountains in English, Huaraz is the trekking capital of Peru. You will find lots of travel blogs that try and tell you which are the best hikes and what the best things to do and see are. Others will list the best tours or the best Lagunas to visit. We are not going to do that, we were there for two weeks and even with that amount of time it is impossible to do more than scratch the surface of this area. There are hundreds of Lagunas to explore and thousands of ways to reach them.
What we will tell you is that we loved our time in Huaraz, in fact we didn’t want to leave and if we hadn’t booked our trek in Cusco we would have probably stayed a lot longer. So you may ask what is this blog going to be about? In this post we will try and give you our experience, what we found good and also the bad and how we built up to doing the four day Santa Cruz trek.
Huaraz is a crazy, hectic and at times confusing city. It’s not as you would expect it’s quite modern as most of the city was destroyed in the 1970 earthquake. In fact it seems like it’s still being rebuilt judging by it’s unfinished Cathedral and the amount of building work being done everywhere you look. Even though it’s an ugly sprawling mess of humanity we fell in love with the place and honestly did not want to leave.
The views are amazing, the people are warm and friendly and the opportunity to get out and about into the mountains and explore the upper levels of the Andean range are unparalleled anywhere in Peru or perhaps even South America. Where else in the world can you look down from nearly five thousand metres without specialist equipment. Just good boots and warm clothes and your set for amazing adventures.
Huaraz has many options when it comes to accommodation all across the city and of varying cost and quality. We are travelling on a budget so always try and look for the best places we can find at the lowest cost. This can be a little hit and miss at times and we don’t always get it right.
Having said that we found two very different accommodations in Huaraz both with advantages and disadvantages. We spent the first four nights in Carolina Lodgings a hostal down by the river on the edge of the city. The owners here had some fantastic information about the hiking and treks especially the lower cost options which was really good for budget travellers looking to make the most of their money.
The second place we stayed was slightly more expensive and as a result was a little more comfortable but as a result of this they seemed to cater to the more midrange type of trekkers and the advice given reflected this in the cost of the tours they suggested. It was good however when planning to see both sides of the coin so to speak. Akilpo Home Hostal is run by three very friendly brothers who also have a great deal of experience when it comes to tours and treks.
You’re almost certainly reading this because you want to visit Huaraz to do one or more of the amazing multi day trekking routes into the high mountains of the Cordellia Blanca. The first and probably the most important thing to consider is the altitude, it’s very unwise to go straight out on a long trek without having first given yourself time to get used to the thin air.
If you have come from sea level you should give yourself time, spend your first day in the city exploring the local shops restaurants and get used to the place, gather advice from your hostal and make your plans. Then when your ready do some of the easier lower day hikes to get into the swing of things. There are many choices and if you are short of time it’s tempting to go straight in and straight up which can lead to problems.
We wanted to do some of the less visited hikes if possible but until we got there we didn’t know which these were. Unless you’ve got a very long visit you’re not going to be able to do everything. Here’s what we did, you’ll notice apart from the Santa Cruz trek we stayed away from the multi group arranged tours, which worked well for us.
We did three one day hikes none of which involved a tour company. Two were done by public transport at very little cost and one was done via an arranged private taxi which was a little more expensive but was the only option for that particular hike. We wanted if possible to be able to hike at our own speed not be pushed along. We also wanted to be able to look up and enjoy the surroundings not be constantly looking at our feet.
This is an out and back hike that’s in the Cordellia Negra but gives amazing views over the surrounding countryside including the spectacular white snow covered mountians of the Cordellia Blanca. It’s a great first hike which can be done by public transport. You can read our full blog post by using the following link. The Laguna Wilcacocha hike will get you on the road to hiking the high routes in the area.
This again is an out and back hike with options. There is a quite interesting scramble on the upper stretch that can be bypassed if you don’t fancy getting your hands dirty. It definitely gets your heart going and gets you above the 4500m mark. Again it’s a great hike that is done at only the cost of public transport plus the park fees. How to hike Laguna Churup is covered in greater detail on this complete post.
This is a beautiful day hike which we had almost to ourselves. It is a little more expensive than the other two as it involves a private car. We found it to be worth every penny as it was so peaceful with a beautiful surprise at the end. I think out of all the things we did in Huaraz this was my favourite. You can find out why by reading our full Laguna Llaca hike blog post.
We loved every minute of this hike although it wasn’t always as we imagined. There are things you need to do that most people wouldn’t enjoy but when you’re out in the wilds there’s not much in the way of options for doing the the things you take for granted in everyday life. In our full post we will give you the full nitty gritty of how this trekking tour works, what to expect, what to pack and what you won’t need and how it really works. You may be surprised but if you know in advance what to expect, in our experience, you will enjoy this wonderful trek much more.
We love a good ruin and like to explore how people lived long ago, their customs and relationship with the environment has always fascinated us. Unfortunately the main archeological attraction Chavin de hunter was closed when we were in the city but there are a couple of smaller sites open to view which a still quite interesting if not quite as impressive.
This series of funeral buildings or Chulpas is located within the city. The buildings themselves are in quite good condition but the site itself is not well looked after. It’s quite difficult to get in to, there are big gates which were locked when we got there we had to walk round to the back of the site and we were directed to hop over a wall by the locals. To get back out we had to pass through an old farmers field who charged us three soles for the privilege. Unless your very keen to visit I’d leave this one and concentrate on the next site below which contains similar examples.
Located across from the main plaza in the centre of the city, this small but interesting Museum is well worth an hour or two. It has some great items from around the local area, some stone heads and other interesting items.
We would recommend, if you have the time to spend at least ten days here, longer if you can. There is just so much to see and do from the city. Don’t forget to view our detailed posts on the hikes and Treks we did to get an insight into how to get the most from your stay.
We have always tended to use Booking.com having said that if your on a tight budget another good site to try as a comparison is Hostelworld, If your looking to compare different sites you can do that on Hotellook, we tend to look on here first to make sure we are getting the best deal.
You can book your visits as you go at the entrance to your chosen attraction or site. Or you could use the following links to book in advance or just to find out what your choices are in the area. GetYourGuide and Tiqets are our go to choices you could try Viator to see how they compare.
For a full list check out our resources page. Don’t forget always shop around to find the best deal for you. What works for us should be good for you but it’s always reassuring to check.
Some of the links on this page contain affiliate marketing links, which means we may get paid commission on sales of those products or services we write about. You will never be charged a fee for shopping through one of our affiliate links. You may even get a discounted rate and we will make a small commission. Our editorial content is not influenced by advertisers or affiliate partnerships.
The Santa Cruz trek is one of the best multi day treks in Peru if not the world. With stunning views that take your breath away.
Laguna Churup is a great day hike from Huaraz, the trail head can be reached by public transport. It’s within the national park so you will have the fees to pay but it still works out to be a cheap day out.
Laguna Wilcacocha makes the perfect acclimatisation hike in Huaraz. It’s not to high and not to difficult
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