Georgie’s Wanderlust

Oh how I had dreamed of setting foot in the Peruvian Andes to stand with the giants that make up the Cordillera Huayhuash. What a spectacular mountain range and one that quite literally took my breath away.

As a solo traveller I was dependent on other travellers to form a group size of at least six to get the tour going. I spent 11 days in and around Huaraz before I could join a group built up of 12 travellers. Of those 11 days the first two were spent feverish in bed with a stomach bug (oh the joys of travelling), followed by day trips to Pastoruri glacier and laguna Parón, and 4 days and 3 nights in the Cordillera Blanca on the gorgeous Santa Cruz trek.

I would like to make mention of the seriousness of altitude sickness. The route through the Cordillera Huayhuash sits above 4000m altitude for most of the trek, with it regularly reaching close to 5000m. Symptoms of altitude sickness can include headaches, fatigue, shortness of breath and nausea. Symptoms usually clear up within a few days, however if they worsen they can become life threatening. It is essential to acclimatize before this trek. I did so by spending time in Huaraz (3000m) beforehand, going for day trips at higher elevation, and the Santa Cruz trek also helped to prepare me for the intensity of being at such a high altitude for a long period of time. Know your limits and if you are unsure, talk to your doctor!

On the return from my Santa Cruz trek and back to phone service, my hostel – Krusty – informed me, and my newly made friend Campbell, that we could start the eight day Huayhuash trek on Thursday! Perfect, we would have one rest day to do laundry and restock our snacks before heading back into the mountains.

The weather in the mountains can be unpredictable, I recommend packing warm clothes for hiking and for camp. I had a wool long sleeve undershirt, wool sweater, feather down puffer jacket, two pairs of leggings and one tracksuit pant, a T-shirt and a singlet, hiking boots and sandals. A hat and a warm headband (my ears get so cold!), a beanie, gloves, and a scarf. I also carry a lightweight rain poncho.

The itinerary:

Day 1: driving day. With no hiking scheduled for today (I was slightly surprised but enjoyed the day nonetheless), we drive from Huaraz to our first camp site and starting point of the trek. Quartelhuain campsite. We stop for lunch and have a soup starter, rice and chicken. Dinner is another soup followed by river caught trout and rice.

Day 2: 23km – Quartelhuain to Carhuacocha Lake. We rise at 5.30am, pack up our sleeping bags, mats and overnight bags to give to the mules, who will continuously haul our gear and all of the food into camp with ease. With daypacks on our backs, we begin our first ascent to Cacanapunta pass (4600m). Challenging to say the least, we have lunch of pasta, mayonnaise and ketchup (bizarre yet it was loved by all) in the grass on the other side of the pass. With full bellies, our guide gives the option of an easier route to camp following the cook, or to summit a ridge along the alpine route with him. Four of us choose the latter option and with the smaller group our guide, Chino, picks up the pace. By the time we are nearing the top of the ridge I am gasping for air so deeply with nothing getting in and feel as though I am suffocating – the mountains have literally taken my breath away. The views are worth every retched gasp for air and burning scream from my thighs.

Day 3: 19km Carhuacocha Lake to Huayhuash camp. After a stunning evening next to Carhuacocha Lake with the sky full of stars, we rise again at 5.30am with the same routine, head off into the crisp morning air and begin another pass – Siula. Our eyes feast on views of aquamarine blue lakes and glacier crusted mountain peaks.

Day 4: 18km Huayhuash camp to Elephante camp. A relatively short day, we make the Trapecio pass with good time. chino gives us the option for an extra mirador (lookout) after lunch the is accessible from camp. I have to decline this one as I have been experiencing pain in my left kidney, that just last month saw me to the hospital in Ecuador and turned out to be a kidney infection. A course of IV antibiotics and three weeks later I was healed and able to continue my travels. The pain I had this day however freaked me right out and I decided to take the opportunity to rest. A decision I’m glad I made as the pain subsided over a couple of days and didn’t turn South.

Day 5: 19km Elephante camp to Huayllapa. We climb no passes today, but lose 1000m in elevation and stay in a soccer field in a tiny town. I rather enjoyed this day, although it can be a bit of a knee breaker coming down such steep descents. The valley was beautiful and the sun was shining. Did I mention we had no rain in the rainy season?

Day 6: 19km Huayllapa to Gashpapampa camp. Our downhill days are over. We go up yet again and the lung and leg burn never seems to get easier, we are just more tolerant. I mentioned earlier we went without rain, which is technically true while we were hiking, shortly after our arrival to Gashpapampa camp we have a short lived hail shower, which made for great reading in our tents.

Day 7: 15km Gashpapampa to lake Jahuacocha. I absolutely loved today. We’ll really I loved the entire trek, this day in particular though we walked a ridge line for an hour with condors soaring above our heads. Condors are the largest flying bird on earth! It was another up climb followed by an incredibly steep descent and into our final camp, we have fresh caught trout again for dinner fresh out of the stream we camp next to. For those curious, some of our other dinners were rotations of pasta and rice, chicken and beef. The food was tasty and we most certainly never went hungry with the sheer mass of carbs we were fed daily.

Day 8: 15km lake Jahuacocha to Pocpa. Our final day! Bittersweet as I love the adventure of waking up to a new challenge everyday, and of being awestruck by the size and beauty of the mountains we have just spent a week surrounded by. We make our final pass and oh what a feeling! Seven days of trekking and 128kms! We arrive to Pocpa and are greeted by our bus and the news that the president of Peru has been impeached. This will alter my travel plans and leave Machu Picchu and the sacred valley for another time! So off to Colombia I go!

A truly special experience, these mountains are stunning and like no where I’ve ever been before. If you love trekking the Huayhuash should definitely be on your list!