Peru’s Hiking Capital Huaraz & the Santa-Cruz-Trek

24. – 27. May 2019

Enjoying the Stunning Views in the Mountains

Having arrived in Huaraz, we chose the Big Mountain Hostel to stay in. After breakfast at the terrace, we went on a small hike to a lagoon close by where we enjoyed wonderful views before getting everything ready for pursuing the Santa-Cruz-Trek starting early the next morning – renting the camping gear, buying food, making pasta, and packing everything together.

To get to Huascaran National Park, we had to take two local busses. Having arrived to Vaqueria, we enjoyed a Coca tea to prevent altitude sickness, and then started hiking. The winter camping gear was just too heavy that’s why Ben and I decided to rent a donkey for carrying our stuff (in the end, we not only got a discount but also an upgrade to a horse). During the first night of camping, it rained really hard and we woke up because the tent was leaking… :-/ Although having been advised to turn around and go back, we decided to go up with the wet stuff. The weather was on our side and we were able to dry it in the sun at the highest point Punta Union (4.700m) near the lagoon. When our horse left us, we had to carry our big bags ourselves but very friendly Peruvian guys helped us, offered us tea and snacks afterwards, and even served us dinner and breakfast in the tent. 🙂 On the 3rd day, we started early again and hiked 24km through valleys and along rivers – incredible views!

As soon as we had arrived in Huaraz in the evening, I jumped on a night bus to Lima in order to meet up with my friend Lisa from Germany …

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