Central peru: Huaraz _ huascaran area

Option 01: cordillera blanca hike olleros to chavin tREK 03 days

Joining INKA CHALLENGE PERU, means full of adventure, we capture the spirit and experience the journey hikes through the Cordillera Blanca, one of the most exceedingly awe-inspiring mountain range in the world. We will trek on the less frequented trails, skipping out from the busy tourist circuits, walk by where the local villages people still keep their traditional life style since centuries. The Cordillera Blanca (White Mountain range) is accented by its deep cut valleys with mountain dwellers earthen-made homes, alpaca, pristine clear running rivers, residing under the spiralling white covered glaciated Andean peaks. Experience natural pristine setting first hand as it has remained essentially unchanged since the Chavin culture times 1000 BC. The Olleros-Chavin trekking leads by head south through Huascaran National Park following one of the pre-Inca trail systems from one side of the Cordillera Blanca to the other crossing over the high mountain pass Yanashallash ((4700m/13,780ft). For three days and two nights See snow fields, lakes (laguna), unique Andean wildlife in their natural environment. You will have the opportunity to experience the cultural interaction and exchange with the local mountain people as you capture, through contemplation and photos, the beautiful Andean landscapes concluding your trek at the ancient Temple of Chavin.

olleros to chavin trek iTINERARY:

Day 1: Huaraz - Olleros – Sacracancha: We start out our day by driving through the Callejón de Huaylas for about 40 minutes to the tiny picturesque village of Olleros (oh year oos) where we will meet up with our llamas (yah mahs) or donkeys. After our Arrieros (pack animal driver) load our gear & supplies we begin our trek heading towards Sacracancha (sack rah cahn cha) (4080m/13,386ft) stopping for lunch along the Rio Negro (black river). At the conclusión of our first day of scenic trekking we will have walked for approximately 5 hours covering 8kms/5miles and then camp our first night at Sacracancha by a scenic lake with the views of the peaks of Shaqsha, Uruashraju, Rurec and Tuctupunta.

Day 2: Sacracancha – Shoncopampa: After a hearty breakfast we will begin our approximately 3 hour trek ascending up to Yanashallash pass (4700m/13,380ft) from where you will be strategically positioned to fully appreciate the spiraling peaks of Huantsan (6395m/20,981ft), Rurec (5700m/18,701ft) and Uruashraju (5722m/18,773ft). Watching closely you may see the rare Andean Condor gliding effortlessly overhead. From the top of Yanashallash pass you will potentially be able to view our pre-Inca stone trail descending down in switch-backs (zig-zags). As we cross over at this point from the valleys of Callejon de Huaylas to the Callejon de Conchucos we will then be in the valley where the ancient Chavin de Huantar Temple is located. From this point we will trek for 2 or 3 more hours to get to our second campsite in Shoncopampa (3850m/12,631ft) after trekking a total of 13km/8miles over 6 – 7hours. At Shoncopampa you will probably see local peasant children seeking treats and just curiously saying hello. (giving candy to these children is not recommended nor is it fair to them since they do not have access to dentist; pens and/or paper are valued and appreciated by them).

Day 3: Shoncopampa - Chavin de Huantar- Huaraz: After an enjoyable breakfast we leave our camp at Shoncopampa and continue descending down following the ancient and historic Inca trail system towards Chavin. By early afternoon after trekking 11 kms/6.8 miles over approximately 5 to 6 hours we will finish our trek as we arrive at the archaeological site of Chavín de Huántar situated at 3150m/10,335ft. Here we will enjoy a few hours exploring the temples and courtyards of this ancient structure having been in existence from around 1000 to 300 BC pre-dating the succeeding Inka culture. We will conclude our trip with a short visit to Quercos’ thermal baths before our private transportation returns us to Huaraz. On the way back to Huaraz we will pass through the Cahish tunnel, the highest elevation tunnel in the world at (4516m/14,816ft) then pass by Laguna Querococha (3980m/13,058ft) before arriving back at your hotel at 9:00 PM.
Meals Included: Breakfast, Snack, and Lunch. Tea Time & Dinner.

Option 02: huayhuash / HUARAZ TREK

Cordillera Huayhuash / Short Trek 6 Days

This Huayhuash short trek of 6 day considered a special miniversion version of the classic Huayhuash trek circuit. The 6 days adventure trekking program takes you through the heart to the remote Cordillera Huayhuash mountain range combined nature and archaeology, Huanuco Pampa archeological complex is fantastic and one of the most important ones in Huaraz Area, cam enjoy it with native professional guides.

cordillera huayhuash / short trek itinerary:

Day 1: Huaraz / Huanuco Pampa: After breakfast in your Huaraz hotel we pick you up in our private transportation and drive south to Huanuco Pampa. During our drive to Huanuco Pampa you’ll pass traditional Andean towns with typical Quechua homes and rich farm land. You’ll have great views towards the east of the Cordillera Blanca mountain range and towards the west you’ll see the Cordillera Negra mountain range. We’cordillera huayhuash / short trek itinerary:ll continue our drive up to Conococha Lake (Cocha is Quechua meaning lake) at 4080m/13,386ft then continue on the road up to Huanuco Pampa. Arriving in the afternoon, you’ll visit and explore the Huanuco Pampa archeological site. Overnight 6 hours drive. Meals Included: Snack, Lunch, Tea Time and Dinner.

Day 2: Huanuco Pampa /Carhuacocha: Today we’ll start early and continue driving to Queropalca village where our donkey drivers and donkeys awaits us to load our equipment. We begin our hike on a gradual ascent up along the open valley passing close to Andean farm lands, meet the local high mountain Quechua people and enjoy a tremendous view of the mountains of Yerupaja, Siula Grande and Jirishanca that come into view as we reach Carhuacocha 4150m/13,615ft. This lake is one of the most beautiful aqua-blue colored lakes in the Cordillera Huayhuash. We’ll camp overnight beside Carhuacocha Lake. 3 hours drive/4 hours hike Meals Included: Breakfast, Snack, Lunch, Tea Time and Dinner.

Day 3: Carhuacocha / Mitucocha: On our third day we reach the first pass of our trek named Carhuac Pass 4650m/15,256ft. The ascent is a constant one on a gradual climb up for approximately 3 hours from where you’ll have the first view of the beautifully stunning peaks of Yerupaja, Siula Grande and Jirishanca. From this vantage point, we’ll descend to our next campsite at Mitucocha Lake at 4250m/13,944ft. Here we will camp overnight beside this lake enjoying a stunning view of Rondoy, Mitaraju and Ninashanca peaks. Afternoon walk around the lake or you may choose just to rest. 5 hour hike. Meals Included: Breakfast, Snack, Lunch, Tea Time and Dinner.

Day 4: Mitucocha / Rondoy Valley: Today we ascend again to the Punta Cacanan Pass at 4700m/15,420ft where we again enjoy panoramic views of the valley. There are two options to reach the pass and it depends on the hikers’ level of fitness on which option they and the group may choose. Option one is hiking on a normal trail that leads us along the valley then includes a gradual climb up to reach the pass. Option two represents a steep climb up on a lesser used, steeper trail. With option 2, as we gain increased altitude there are astonishing panoramic views of the surrounding Andean mountains. Option 2 is a challenging hike but well worth it because of the stunning mountain views. Fewer trekkers choose this alternative route but we offer you both options. From the pass we descend to Cuartelhuain 4180m/13,714ft then continue hiking down the valley to reach the Rondoy Valley. We’ll camp overnight at the entrance of the Rondoy Valley. 6-7 hours hike. Meals Included: Breakfast, Snack, Lunch, Tea Time and Dinner.

Day 5: Rondoy Valley / Jahuacocha: On day 5 of our trek, we ascend another steep climb up the Rondoy Valley towards the Rondoy Pass 4750m/15,541ft. During today’s hike, we pass through a lot of lupines and as we gain altitude we see the impressive view of Rondoy Peak. After a 3-4 hour hike, we reach the Rondoy Pass at 4700m/15,420ft. From this point we continue hiking to reach the second pass, Sambuya, at 5659m. From this vantage point you will have astonishing, dramatic views of the surrounding mountains with Solteracocha Lake, a beautiful aqua blue colored glacier lake just below. From here we descend to our final campsite at Jahuacocha Lake 4050m/13,615ft which is a beautiful large lake sitting in the Jahuacocha valley with the impressive views of Rondoy, Jirishanca, El Toro and Yerupaja as a backdrop and truly, along with the Carhuacocha camp site, one of the most impressive camp sites in the Peruvian Andeans. 6-7 hours hike.
Meals Included: Breakfast, Snack, Lunch, Tea Time and Dinner.

Day 6: Jahuacocha / Llamac / Huaraz: We’ll complete our 6 day mini trek by hiking down the Jauacocha Valley for approximately 45 minutes and then ascend up to the Llamac Pampa at 4300m/14,108ft with its great close up view of the Huayhuash Mountain range as a back drop. After resting here and enjoying the close views of the peaks and taking some great panoramic photos, we’ll then make a long descent to the village of Llamac where our private transport will be waiting to take you back to your Huaraz hotel. 5 hours hike and 5 hours drive. Meals Included: Breakfast, Snack and Lunch.

option 03: trekking & Mountain Climbing

santa CRUZ TREK & pisco mount climb 8 Days

This trekking climbing program is a classic combination of Santa Cruz trek / Pisco mount climb expedition will take you into this pristine world of unsurpassed beauty of the Cordillera Blanca. After two recommended acclimatization day hikes in mountains near by Huaraz area. We start by trekking the classic Santa Cruz circuit one of the highest rated trekking circuits in the world. This circuit allows you to adapt medium to the higher altitudes while providing jaw-dropping scenery. We cross the Punta Union Pass (15,584 ft. / 4750m) with magnificent views of the Cordillera Blanca high Andean peaks. Finally, acclimatized we tackle Pisco Mount. The ascent is suitable for strong hikers with no previous experience on snow and ice. Most of the way is not steep and not technical. There is a short section which is steep and our guide will help you with this through instruction and support. We’ll use crampons, rope, harness and an ice axe.

santa CRUZ TREK & pisco mount climb itinerary:

Day 01: Huaraz – Cashapampa / Llamacorral: After the breakfast in your hotel we will board our private bus and travel along the Callejón de Huaylas (cah yea hon day why less) headed north from Huaraz to the village of Cashapampa (3 hours) the starting point of our Santa Cruz trek. Here we will meet our donkeys and donkey drivers to transport our hiking equipment then we will start our trek. After hiking approximately 5 or 6 hours we will camp overnight at Llamacorral at 12,467 ft/3800M.

Day 02: Llamacorral /Taullipampa: After breakfast we start our hike passing along the beautiful mountain lakes of Ichiccocha (small lake) and Jatuncocha (big lake) and continue hiking up the Santa Cruz valley until we reach the switch back trail ascending up to Alpamayo Base Camp ascending up for about 45 minutes to reach Alpamayo base camp. Here we’ll relax and enjoy the splendid summit views of the majestic mountains of Alpamayo, Quitaraju, Artesonraju, Paron and Aguja. After enjoying these awesome views, we will then trek downhill for about 1½ hours to arrive at our second overnight camp named Taullipampa at an elevation of 13,944 ft/4250m under the beautiful peak of Taullirahu (19,127ft/5830m).

Day 03: Taullipampa / Paria Valley: This day we can either spend resting or visit the spectacular views of point Cerro Centillo or visit Arhuey cocha in the Arhuey valley where Alpamayo base camp is located. After leaving our Taullipampa camp at 13,944 ft/4250m we start a gradual ascent for about 2½ hours until we reach the Punta Union pass at 15,584 ft/4750m where we’ll enjoy the panoramic views of the mountains landscape, turquoise lakes, a view of the whole Santa Cruz Valley and experience the Andean fresh air at this altitude. From our panoramic vantage point we will now cross over from the Santa Cruz valley and descend into the rich lush Paria valley for 4 hours until we arrive at our last overnight camp named Paria 12,467 ft/3800m.

Day 04: Paria - Vaquería– Cebollapampa: After breakfast at the Paria camp we walk down at a relaxed pace for approximately 2½ hours as we pass directly through the village of Huaripampa (War ee pahm pa) where we will have the opportunity to meet the warm and friendly Quecha residents and have the opportunity to mingle with the village people and take memorable photos. We continue on our last segment of the trek ascending up the side of a ridge until we reach the village of Vaqueria where our private bus will be waiting to transport us to the Portachuelo pass. We’ll stop here to take photos of the impressive panoramic view of the Cordillera Blanca range laid out before us. After enjoying this incredible view, we will next descend down the amazing 32 switch-back mountain pass road into the Llanganuco Valley. We will continue to our camp at Cebollapampa (12,631 ft/3850m) and drop off to summit Mount Pisco.

Day 05: Cebollapampa / Pisco Base Camp: This day we start our climbing program and meet our arrieros with their donkeys who transport our gear as we climb up on a well-marked trail to Pisco Base Camp (4,650m) for our overnight camping 3 hours.

Day 06: Base Camp – Moraine Camp: Today is a challenging day because we have to ascend through the moraine field as we continue to our next stop at Moraine Camp 16,076 ft/ 4900m 3 hours. This day our donkeys cannot pass any further so each of us will need to carry our own personal climbing gear.

Day 07: Moraine Camp / Pisco Summit - Base camp: Today we start very early after breakfast we begin around 2:00 AM to ensure that we capture the prime snow conditions. We’ll climb for about 40 minutes on moraine until reach the glacier where we put on our climbing equipment: crampons and rope up. After climbing for approximately 5 hours on the glacier you will reach the Mount Pisco summit where you will have beautiful panoramic views in all directions capturing incredible photos of the surrounding peaks. After a short period at summit we descend down to our base camp where we camp the night. Approximately 10 - 12 hours total this day.

Day 08: Base Camp / Cebollapampa – Huaraz: An easy day; pack up camp and descend down to the winding road to Cebollapampa 1 ½ hours, and return back to Huaraz.

***we take no more than 10 people per group.

**our climbbing guides are certified and have many years of experience.

for more info please contact us to: contact@inkachallengeperu.com inkachallengeperu@gmail.com