TREK DE SANTA CRUZ

Following the two narrow and deep valleys that split the Cordillera Blanca, this great classic is 50 km long and can be done in 3 or 4 days, with a guide (from S/ 600 per person with an agency including the bus trip at the departure and at the arrival, the food and the tent, be careful with the choice of the agency : the low prices often hide something) The road (by car) passes the Laguna de Llanganuco, to go down by el Valle Morococha, to the hamlet of Colcabamba (3 300 m). From here, the walk begins: through the Huaripacapa Valley, planted with quenuales, under the Taulliraju nevado (5,830 m). We then camp in the Quebrada de Paria, at 3 800 m, where it is not impossible to see, at dawn, vicuñas, deer or a spectacled bear. Once rested, we climb to the Punta Unión pass, at 4 750 m (beware of altitude sickness!), from where we can observe how the waters are divided between the Pacific and the Atlantic and appreciate the immaculate whiteness of the nevados engulfed in the clouds: Artesonraju (6 025 m), Quitaraju (6 035 m), Rinrijirca (5 800 m). A pre-Hispanic path leads from here to the Santa Cruz valley; to the right stretches the Laguna Taullicocha (the taulli is a shrub that proliferates in the region); in the distance the Alpamayo, further down, at the confluence of the Santa Cruz and Arhuaycocha valleys, the campsite where to rest. The next day, after passing, at 3,900 m, by the Hatuncocha and Ichipcocha lagoons where ducks abound, we arrive at the end of the journey at the village of Cashapampa, 18 km from Caraz and one of the only villages of the Callejón de Huaylas to have escaped the 1970 earthquake. You can also leave Caraz and arrive at Yungay.