13-day “Huayhuash Circuit” trek in Peru

We will leave Huaraz to the town of Llamac. This is a 5 hour drive. Once we arrive, we can relax and explore the town. We will set up camp at 3,300 meters.

We will have breakfast at 7 AM and begin trekking at 8 AM. We will trek up through the Pocpa valley. At 1 PM, we will arrive in Pallca where we will have lunch. From here we will hike 2 or 3 more hours to camp at Matacancha. Here, we can overlook the Ninashanca Mountain.

After breakfast, we will trek down 2 or 3 hours to a pass. From the pass we will go up 30 minutes where we can have lunch. We will take an alternative route back to camp where we will see plenty of Andean rabbits called Vizcachas. We will arrive to camp early, allowing us extra time to go fishing around the lake.

We will start trekking at 8 AM. After 3 hours of walking we will reach the pass where we will have lunch. We’ll continue our trek as we look out at white peaked mountains suchas Yerupaja and Siula. We will get to camp at 3 or 4 PM.

Breakfast in Carhuacocha. We will visit the SIula Lakes at the base of Yerupaja and Siula mountains. We can return to camp or do our own activities in the afternoon such as washing, taking pictures, walking around the lakes, fishing or just laying out by the water and relaxing.

We will hike from camp to  the Carnicero Pass at 4600 meters. Here, we will find some scenic places to have lunch next to the Carnicero lakes. After hiking a few more kilometers, we’ll arrive at our camping site that is just next to the breathtaking Jurau Lake.

We will continue our trekking up to the Portachuelo de Huayhuash Pass. From there we will go down to the camp Viconga to have lunch. Then, we will head to the hot springs where those who are interested can take a bath.

This day we will hike up the highest pass in our whole trip. We will hike up approximately 3 hours to be close to the Cuyoc Mountain. After this, we will go down to Guanacpatay Valley for lunch. After a few hours more of walking, we will find our camping site in the peaceful valley of Cuanacpatay.

This day our trekking will be down-hill. We will stop for lunch at Huayllapa, a small isolated village at 3700 meters above shore line. Here, we can explore the shops and pick up some trinkets from the locals to remember our time here. We will have lunch then continue hiking up for 3 hours to our camp site of Huatiac.

We will hike up 3 hours to the Tapush pass. We will then walk down an easy trail and arrive at camp in the early afternoon. Here, we will have plenty of time to relax for the rest of the day.

We will begin our trekking going up the Yaucha Pass where we will stay for two hours or so. We will be able to rest and take pictures. Then we will continue going down along the Huacrish ravine for 3 or 4 hours where we will find a beautiful panoramic landscape. We will see the Jahuacocha lake at the base of several tall mountains. We will set up camp here where we can enjoy spectacular views as the avalanches come down from the base of Jirishanca mountain. Next to our camp, we will have a typical mountain hut for sheepherders and its owner will welcome us kindly. His name is Mr. Delaos and he is full of first-hand knowledge about life in these mountains which he is happy to share with us.

This is a free day. You will have the option to go fishing, go to the upper lake Solterococha, walk around the lakes, stay at the lakes to wash etc. Lunch boxes will be provided this day and later on dinner will be provided.

We will trek up to the Pampallamac where we will say good bye to the Huayhuash Mountains. A few meters down we will have lunch then go down to Llamac town. We will arrive in town at around 1 or 2 PM then leave to drive down along the Llamac river until Timpoc. We will arrive in Chiquian around 12 PM, where we can walk around the village for a bit then continue to Huaraz and we can all return to our hotels