Georgie’s Wanderlust

The Santa Cruz trek in the heart of the Cordillera Blanca in Peru, is a fantastic four day backpacking trip. Whether you are thinking about doing this in a group or solo, both are great options and I will talk about them here.

Comfortable as a four day and three night trek, and possible as a three day and two night, the 52km Santa Cruz trek has stunning views, iconic mountains, glacier lakes and roaring rivers.

I completed this with a group of fifteen trekkers, one guide, and two cooks/muleteers in November 2022, and I loved it!

I paid $200USD for the 4 day/3 night trek.

This included transportation to and from the trailheads, 3 lunches, 3 dinners and 3 breakfasts. Day one there is no breakfast, and day four you are given a bigger snack pack to get you through until you arrive to town and can feed yourself again. The guide was with us the entire time, and all of our tent and sleeping equipment provided and carried.

Huaraz accommodation

If you are looking for a social, cheap, clean hostel in Huaraz, that can book you all of the tours in the surrounding mountains, I highly recommend Krusty Hostel. I stayed here before and after all of my adventures in the Cordillera Blanca and the Cordillera Huayhuash.

The Itinerary of the Santa Cruz trek

Day 1: 11kms – Vaquería to Paria campsite

Day one we were picked up from our hostel in Huaraz at 5.30am. The drive to the tiny village of Vaquería would take us 4 hours. We stopped partway to have a simple breakfast with coffee. On arrival to Vaquería we were given our packed lunches complete with snacks for the rest of the day.

After the mules were loaded up with our personal bags of evening items, tents, bedding, food and the whole kitchen, we made motion.

The beginning of the Santa Cruz trek is downhill when starting from Vaquería for the first hour. We passed through rural village roads, sheep and chickens, to then begin ascending up into the heights of the Cordillera Blanca. A relatively short day, we arrived to camp at 3pm, and Campbell, my favourite American, led a yoga flow for us on the grass.

Dinners provided are simple and carb heavy, you don’t go hungry. We had big bowls of soup followed by pasta.

We sleep at 3,800m.

Day 2: 12kms – Paria campsite to Taullipampa campsite

We begin moving at 7.30am. Day two is the harder of the four days on the Santa Cruz trek, with a rise to 4750m over Punta Union pass. We take many little breaks to catch our breathe. The group does fantastic and reaches the pass before midday. We eat our lunches a short ways down from the pass, and continue to our campsite. We arrive by 1.30pm and enjoy the afternoon lazing around in the grass. I read and write and draw, and at sunset a herd of wild horses runs into camp to eat the grass around our tents.

We sleep here at 4200m, this was by far the coldest night of the three.

Day 3: 22kms – Taullipampa campsite to unnamed campsite

Another 7.30am departure. I loved this day so much. We woke up to a stunning morning of clear skies. Our first stop was a short detour up to Laguna Arhuaycocha. We swam in the lake, the highest place I have ever swam in my life – 4400m. After our refreshing swim we made our descent down the valley to our unnamed campsite. A long day for kms, but more gentle as it gradually made it’s way downhill.

Our campsite is next to a roaring, clear river, and across the valley from us is a waterfall nestled in the mountains.

We sleep at 3500m, much warmer than the previous night!

Day 4: 7kms – unnamed campsite to Cashapampa

A short day today, we leave camp after 8am and make our way to the waterfall we’d been staring at the previous afternoon. After a good wetting under its mist, we cross back over to the other side of the river and head to down to Cashapampa. We are there by 10.30am and rolling in the minivan by 11am.

A shorter drive back to Huaraz, we arrive to town at 2.30pm. All of us ravenous after a solid four days of trekking, we walk into the first restaurant we see and feast on soup, chicken and fish and fries, rice and pasta and veggies and coffees and cokes and all of it.

That evening we all celebrate our return at Bonus Track, a bar in the centre of Huaraz that serves two for one pisco sours at happy hour – 20soles! We all got hammered and tore up the dance floor.

Independent Santa Cruz trek

While I completed my Santa Cruz trek with a guide and a group, it is possible to complete this independently! I met several other travellers who either did this completely solo, or with one or two friends.

If you don’t own camping or hiking gear, there are many places in Huaraz that rent gear for cheap. You can get everything, tents, sleeping bags and mats, boots, trekking poles, bags, cooking equipment etc.

To complete the trek in 3 days/2 nights, I met people who combined day 3 & 4 together. So you will skip the last campsite all together and walk out to get a ride to town! There are colectivos that you can catch back to Huaraz. Ask at your hostel/hotel in Huaraz for more information about transportation before you leave, as colectivos don’t always have a schedule.

Check out my essentials to have while trekking for a guide to what you need for a solo trekking/camping trip.

What do I need to bring?

If you are completing this independently, you will have to bring all of your camping gear and food with you.

If you are going with an organised tour, they will provide and carry most of the gear for you. It is necessary to check with them before you leave, a lot of them give check lists!

My tour provided the sleeping tent and bedding, the dining tent, table and chairs. All of this was carried by the mules and set up by the staff. They also carried and cooked all of our meals.

You will need to have a day pack with you to carry snacks (provided every morning by the guide), water for the full day, warm and waterproof clothing, sunscreen and camera (for your special memories). I recommend lip balm or ointment, the mountains dry the hell out of non-lathered lips. The mules are also able to carry your evening items, toiletries, night clothes etc. that you won’t need until you arrive to camp.

Summary

This is a really fantastic trek that is great for beginners to overnight trekking. It still packs a punch with its high altitude rises over the summit, and the long stretches through the valley. Well worth it to spend time in the Cordillera Blanca and be amongst the huge mountains of the Peruvian Andes! I highly recommend the Santa Cruz trek for anyone who is visiting Huaraz. I completed this trek before I did the 8 day Huayhuash trek, it was a great introduction to these mountains.

Thanks for reading, I hope you found this guide useful. You can also check out my guide to the Huayhuash trek for a full summary of my 8 day trek in the Cordillera Huayhuash.