5 days trekking the Cordillera Blanca
“The miracle is not to walk on water. The miracle is to walk on the green earth, dwelling deeply in the present moment and feeling truly alive.”
If you want to walk for days on end with your head in the clouds, Peru’s Cordillera Blanca is just the ticket. With 33 summits reaching 5,400m, these mountains are one of the most concentrated collections of big peaks in the western hemisphere and the world’s highest tropical mountain range.
One of the best ways to explore the range is by taking on the 5 day Santa Cruz trek. While it’s only a 50km circuit, the high passes make each day tougher than they appear on paper. But every breathless step is worth it with panoramic views from 5,000m, deep lush valley’s, turquoise lakes, jagged snowcapped mountain ridges and glaciers to see before global warming robs us of them forever.
The Cordillera Blanca is a pristine place in the world where you’ll feel humbled in the presence of nature. For me, it is the only place that has rivalled the beauty of Patagonia. Our five day journey into the wild was mesmerising.
Day 1
On a cracking blue sky day, we set off in search of Laguna 69, waiting for us at 4,600m. Sherpa was beyond excited that an 80km Ultra Trail run was in progress - the UT69.
Day 2
After a windy drive across a 4,700m mountain pass, it was time to get into the guts of the trek. We were greeted by our 6 donkey's and set off walking 5 hours up and over an incredibly lush valley that led us to our camping spot beneath a glacier.
Wild flowers
DAY 3
After being kept awake by a herd of snoring cows (yes this happens and yes they are very loud), we rose to a crisp morning and a big day ahead. Today we climbed a 4,750m pass, Punta Union. Sherpa split from the group, reaching the top in 35mins while it took the rest of us an hour and 6 mins. Bloody Sherpa - always showing off when the donkeys are around. From this spot, we were offered panoramic views of the Cordillera Blanca. To top off this incredible day, we slept under Paramount Mountain 6,025m tall. That's not its real name. Its local name is Artesonraju and is the mountain used in the Paramount Pictures logo.
Day 4
Alpamayo base camp was our first stop of the day taking us up an imposing valley with Alpamayo mountain leering down at us. We saw brave mountaineers climbing the glacier up at 5,947m. Then it was down, down, down following the carnage of the 2012 landslide that swept through the valley at a raging 280km per hour, closing the trail for a year. Only one donkey was killed. Nature has made a comeback and we strolled along the river amongst the wildflowers.
Day 5
Finale! 4 hours hiking down the valley with nothing but the sounds of the river and rays of sun shining upon us.
DO IT:
Huascaran Adventure Travel were absolutely brilliant. The owner Paulino was our knight in shining armour. When an alternative operator, Peruvian Andes Tours, completely dropped us in the lurch (with no apology) Paulino stepped in and sorted out our trip within 30 minutes while Peruvian Andes Tours had strung us along for 3 days. An utter waste of time when we could have been in the mountains.
Paulino's knowledge and passion for the area is infectious. While we’d come to the Huaraz region to do a few day hikes and the Huayhuash Trek, we ended up with a month jam packed full of trekking. As Paulino wisely said “everything happens for a reason”. Too right Paulino - lucky us.
Instagram: @thelisaphillips #somedaysherpa
