Siula Grande and the Cordillera Huayhuash Trek

Lima Airport Arrival Transfer

Flight Lima to Huaraz

An early-morning flight takes the group north from Lima to Huaraz (3090m), the base town of the Cordillera Blanca. The flight lasts about an hour. Seats on the F side of the aircraft open a view over the cordilleras at the end of the flight.

Transfer Huaraz to Mancos

From Huaraz the group drives by private vehicle to Mancos (2600m), a village in the foothills of the Cordillera Blanca, a range that holds about thirty summits above 6000m. The transfer takes an hour and a half to two hours and sets the altitude-gain rhythm of the first days.

Breakfast

Transfer Mancos to Mamapampa

A short drive takes the group from Mancos to Mamapampa (3200m), a rural community at the foot of Huascarán (6768m), the highest summit of the Cordillera Blanca. The community is the starting point of the day's acclimatization walk back to Mancos.

Earth Offering at Mamapampa

Before the first walk, the group takes part in an offering to the earth at Mamapampa, a rural community at the foot of Huascarán. It is a quiet Andean gesture of respect for the land the trek is about to cross, and it marks the real beginning of the mountain part of the journey.

Acclimatization Walk from Mamapampa to Mancos

The first acclimatization walk leads from the community of Mamapampa back down to the inn in Mancos, about 11km with 170m of ascent and 950m of descent. The path runs at the foot of Huascarán in the Cordillera Blanca, a range of around thirty peaks above 6000m, and gives the body its first real altitude step before the high passes to come.

Visit to the Archaeological and Historical Museum of Mancos

A visit to the archaeological and historical museum of Mancos, which sets the region's pre-Hispanic and colonial past against the mountain landscape that surrounds the village. The visit rounds out the day's first contact with the Cordillera Blanca before dinner and the first night at altitude.

Dinner

Transfer to the Llanganuco Valley and Cebollapampa

An early departure takes the group into the Llanganuco valley, set between the Huandoy and Huascarán massifs, passing the valley's emerald-green lakes. The private-vehicle transfer of about three hours ends at Cebollapampa, the starting point of the Laguna 69 hike.

Laguna 69 Hike in the Llanganuco Valley

The classic high-altitude acclimatization hike climbs about 700m over roughly 14km to Laguna 69 at 4600m, a lake of striking blue set beneath the extreme slopes of Chacraraju. The peak was long considered unclimbable until Lionel Terray proved otherwise in 1956, a piece of mountaineering history that gives the landscape its edge. The descent returns the same way to the vehicle and back to Mancos.

Dinner

Transfer Mancos to Shansha Bridge

A vehicle transfer of about an hour brings the group from Mancos to the Shansha bridge at 3300m, the trailhead for the Wilcacocha lake hike in the Cordillera Negra.

Wilcacocha Lake Hike from the Shansha Bridge

An acclimatization hike in the Cordillera Negra, on the opposite side of the Santa valley from the Cordillera Blanca, with the chance to meet rural communities and inhabitants working in their fields. The walk climbs from the Shansha bridge through cultivated plots to the small Lake Wilcacocha at 3750m, which opens a panorama over the peaks near Huaraz: Ranrapalca and Huantsan.

Road Transfer via Chiquian to Matacancha

After the Wilcacocha walk the group continues by road to Chiquian (3350m), the gateway town to the Cordillera Huayhuash, the second-highest range in Peru. From there the road climbs on to Matacancha (4170m), where the first trek camp is installed — about five hours of driving, and about six hours of vehicle time in total for the day.

Trek from Matacancha to Lake Mitucocha

The itinerant trek begins after breakfast, crossing a pass on a beautiful limestone crest to reach the eastern side of the Cordillera Huayhuash. A steep descent leads through vast expanses to Lake Mitucocha (4230m), set against the immense amphitheatre of the north faces of Jirishanca and Rondoy. The day closes with a hot tea in hand while watching the landscape before nightfall.

Trek from Lake Mitucocha to Lake Carhuacocha via the Yanayana Pass

The day climbs to the Yanayana pass at 4650m, where the view opens over the surrounding glaciers, then descends past the Yanayana waterfalls to Lake Carhuacocha (4100m). The source singles the site out as one of the most beautiful in the cordillera: a magnificent emerald-green lake dominated by the east faces of the massif's highest summits — Siula Grande (6344m), Yerupaja Chico (6127m) and Jirishanca (6094m).

Trek from Lake Carhuacocha to Huayhuash Village over the Siula Pass

The source describes this as one of the most beautiful stages of the trek, possibly of the Peruvian cordilleras. The route approaches the summits up the quebrada Gangranjanca and passes three lakes in succession: Lake Gangrajanca, entirely covered with icebergs from the Yerupaja glacier; Laguna Siula (4800m), deep blue; and Laguna Quesillococha, turquoise, set in a beautiful glacial cirque. A steep climb reaches the Siula pass, where the high summits stand in line beneath the glaciers, then the scenery changes completely: the descent enters the very open Huayhuash valley, where the Carnicero, Jurau and Trapecio peaks appear, passes the shallow Laguna Carnicero — a lake frequented by many birds — and ends in a pleasant descent to the very isolated small village of Huayhuash.

Trek from Huayhuash to Hatun Cuyoc via the Trapecio Punta Pass

The route climbs south along the main valley path and, near the Mitococha lakes, takes a little-frequented trail up towards Trapecio (5653m), a summit of regular forms. The wild Trapecio Punta pass (about 5000m) rewards the group with panoramic views over the summits and vast glacial domes of the Cordillera Raura on the other side of the valley. The descent enters the Huanacpatay valley beneath the Puscanturpa nevados, with their strange volcanic rocks, passes the beautiful Lake Huanacpataycocha, and ends in the alpine pastures of Hatun Cuyoc (4350m).

Trek over Paso San Antonio to Cutatambo

The day opens with a steep climb to Paso San Antonio (5050m), where the view opens over the south and west faces of the Yerupaja and Siula Grande glaciers and nevado Sarapo, with Lake Sarapacocha visible in the distance. This same landscape was the setting of the odyssey recounted by mountaineer Joe Simpson in 'Touching the Void' ('La mort suspendue'). The descent follows a poorly marked trail down the steep northern slope, partly covered with large tufts of flowering lupins, to Cutatambo (4265m).

Trek from Cutatambo to Huatiac via Huayllapa and Quebrada Huancho

The longest walking day in distance, 17km, begins with a descent of the valley to its confluence with the main valley, quebrada Huayllapa, where the path ends at the village of the same name. From Huayllapa, two to three hours of climbing up quebrada Huancho lead to the tents pitched in the alpine pastures around 4300m at Huatiac. It is a valley-floor descent followed by a sustained climb.

Trek over the Yaucha Punta Passes to the Jahuacocha Twin Lakes

A long and magnificent stage crossing two small passes separated by a short descent; from the second pass the views over the north-east faces of the high summits are far-reaching. The descent reaches quebrada Huacrish and the twin lakes Jahuacocha and Solteracocha (4050m), which the source calls true mirrors reflecting the glaciers of Yerupaja and four summits: Yerupaja itself, Yerupaja Chico, Rondoy and, above all, the most beautiful face of the elegant Jirishanca (6094m).

Breakfast

Final Trek Stage from Jahuacocha to Llamac via Macrash Punta

The last walking day begins with about two hours on an almost flat trail along the rio Jahuacocha, then climbs in a flank traverse to the Macrash Punta pass (4300m); looking back, the perspectives over the lakes and peaks keep changing. Just after the pass, at Pampa Llamac, the trail plunges down to the village of Llamac (3300m), where the vehicle waits.

Lunch in a local market

Dinner

Private Vehicle Return from Llamac to Huaraz

After leaving the muleteer and cook team at Llamac, a private vehicle carries the group back to Huaraz over six to six and a half hours of mountain road. The source captures the close of the trek well: sadness at leaving the landscapes, pleasure at returning to a hot shower.

Regular Bus from Huaraz to Lima

The return to the Peruvian capital is made by regular comfortable bus, about nine to nine and a half hours, with time to watch the landscapes recede as the bus moves away from the mountains. The source notes the bus return is deliberate, for ecological reasons.

Breakfast

Free Time in the Miraflores District and Artisan Market

Depending on the flight schedule, there is free time in Lima to walk the Miraflores district, near the ocean, and to visit its artisan market. It is a quiet last morning in the city before the flight to Paris, with the option of a final stroll along the coast.

Transfer Miraflores Hotel to Lima Airport

A private-vehicle transfer of about half an hour to an hour takes the group from the Miraflores hotel to the airport for the international return flight to Paris.

International Flight Paris-Lima (Return)

The trip opens with an international flight from Paris to Lima, the coastal capital of Peru. Air France operates the route directly on most departures, which keeps the journey simple. The night in Lima that follows is the first of the city stays that bookend an otherwise mountain-focused trip.