Hua-04 : Santa Cruz Trek – Andean Splendor
Why we love it?
The Santa Cruz Trek – Andean Splendor is a four-day trekking experience in the stunning Cordillera Blanca region of Huaraz, Peru. This trek is ideal for outdoor enthusiasts and nature lovers, offering breathtaking views of snow-capped peaks, turquoise glacial lakes, and diverse Andean flora and fauna. Participants will hike through varied landscapes, including the high-altitude Punta Union pass, which stands at 4,750 meters, providing panoramic vistas of the surrounding mountains. The tour includes essential amenities such as camping equipment, meals (with vegetarian options), and a certified guide fluent in English or Spanish, ensuring a comfortable and informative adventure in one of Peru's most scenic areas.
Inclusions
- Transportation From your hotel in Huaraz to the starting point of the trek
- Transportation from the end of the trek to your hotel in Huaraz
- Camping equipment: Good quality mountain tents (2 people per tent), mats, dining tent, kitchen tent, tables, chairs, dishes and kitchen utensils.
- Food: Breakfast, lunch and dinner (option for vegetarians).
- Guide: Certified walking guide (English or Spanish) for another language on request.
- Cook trained to prepare varied and healthy dishes.
- Arriero: In charge of loading the donkeys and driving them.
- Donkeys: The number of donkeys depends on the size of the group. You can carry up to 8 kg of personal items that will be loaded onto the donkeys. During the day you will only carry your backpack with things for personal use.
Exclusions
- Entrance into the Cordillera Huayhuash (S/. 70).
- Sleeping bag (rental possible)
- Snacks / personal water
Itinerary
Day 1 #1 Huaraz - Cashapampa - Llamacorral (3750m)
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» Walking time: 4 to 5 hours approx.
» Campsite: Llamacorral (3750 m)
Departure 7:00am in private vehicle, we will move to the Valley from the Callejón de Huaylas passing through the provinces of Tarica, Marcara, Carhuaz, Yungay and Caraz (2290m.) (3 hours approx.), point from where We will begin our walk through a valley flanked by walls of rock covered by unique vegetation, with a warm climate.
As you ascend through the valley it widens showing us the incredible mountainous landscape with unique species of flora and fauna, to reach the Llamacorral camp (3760m.), where we will spend the night.
Day 2 #2 Llamacorral - Taullipampa (4250m)
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» Walking time: 5 to 6 hours approx.
» Campsite: Taullipampa (4250m)
Start of the day with breakfast at 7:00am then we continue through the Valley of Santa Cruz passing through the Ichiccocha lagoons (3735m), Hatuncocha (3880m) (small lagoon and large lagoon).
Continuing along a long path until reaching the Alpamayo crossing, from where we will ascend to the Arhuaycocha valley, where we will visit the Alpamayo Base Camp (4330m) and the Arhuaycocha Lagoon (4500m), where we will get wonderful views around this point to the snow-capped mountains of Caraz, Quitaraju, Artesonraju, Alpamayo
Then we descend towards the Taullipampa camp
Day 3 #3 Taullipampa - Punta Union (4750m) - Cachinapampa (3750m)
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» Walking time: 7 to 8 hours approx.
» Campsite: Cachinapampa (3750m)
We will start the day with breakfast at 7:00am then we ascend a well-marked zig zag path.
It is the most difficult day since the walk is ascending to the Punta Unión pass 4750m.From there, the maximum height of the trekking, we can have panoramic views of the Cordillera Blanca mountains like Artesón, Quitaraju, Santa Cruz, Pucajirca,Taulliraju, etc., from the pass we will begin to descend to the Huaripampa valley to the Paria camp (3870m), continue for one hour further to the Cachinapampa camp (optional).
Day 4 #4 Cachinapampa - Vaquería - Huaraz
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»Walking time: 2 to 3 hours approx.
Breakfast at 7:00am, a short day of walking where we will descend along a local road, passing through the Huaripampa valley, observing rustic constructions based on mud, stone, local people, children who came to the road to ask for candy, chocolates, etc.
We will have a short walk to Vaquería where our transport awaits us for the transfer to Huaraz.
Please Note
- Contact us for availability before make a reservation / Reservations can be made until 2 days before departure. If you wish to make a reservation after this deadline, please contact us to confirm availability. Agency's opening hours on the contact page.
