Caraz
I had been cycling in Peru for a week when I randomly met Julia from Canada on the incredibly scenic road full of switchbacks. Together we've cycled to the touristic city of Caraz, which lies around 2000m high, close to the long mountain range of Cordillera Blanca. The city has a perfect location for various one-day hiking trips.
Fortunately for me, Julia had planned all the daily trips back home and all I had to do was to join her. On the first day in Caraz — the smaller and less touristic place than the hiking epicenter of the region, Huaraz — we would hike to Lake Parón. The organization of the trip by yourself can be quite chaotic in Peru. It seems like nobody excatly knows the schedule of the local public transport (colectivos), mainly consisting of minivans and white, long Toyota corollas. We found the right place in the early morning and patiently waited in a corolla to leave for the starting point of the hike at 3200 m.a.s.l. Eventually, we have left Caraz and started ascending through mountain villages on dusty gravel road. The driver was picking up people, who were standing by the side the road and gesturing to stop. In the end, there were six of us in the car and two gentlemen with fairly bad oral hygiene were squeezing together on the passenger seat. Men in the car were chatting like teenage girls, and I've noticed that they weren't speaking in Spanish, but in the language of Quechua, the native language of the Incas. A couple of minutes later, we stopped in front of the entrance of the national park. We paid the fee and began walking along the swift stream with cristal clear water. The path was surrounded by dark walls of the glacial valley, and in the distance the first glimpses of snowy mountain peaks could be seen. It took us around two hours of hiking on the overgrown path to arrive to Lake Parón. Both of us were affected by elevation in the last minutes, so that we couldn't hold the conversation anymore. The thing that stands out at the first view of the lake is the odd water color. Julia had described it as a gatorade color, and I thought it looks similar like the color of a typical toilet bowl cleaner. Honestly a very bad comparison because the lake and its surroundings – especially with the piramide shaped mountain on the other side – is spectacular. Lake Parón is three kilometers long, around 700 m wide and around 70 m deep. We've spent a couple of minutes sitting by the lake to enjoy in the views. Somehow we both hesitated to get back on our feet and move on towards the view point that is located a couple of altitude meters above the lake. The last part of the path to mirador were giant, square granite blocks. From the top, one could see Lake Parón and the scenic landscape from an almost bird's eye view. There were a couple of other tourists on the top, but in general it wasn't crowded at all. The hike was challenging, but definitely worth the reward. Getting the ride back to Caraz was more straightforward than we thought, and the whole trip turned out to be amazing.
The next thing to cross out in Julia's calendar was the trip to Laguna 69. The route to the starting point is easier and the trip itself is shorter than to Lake Parón, but the hike itself can be more challenging because of higher elevation. However, the breathtaking views along the way attract greater numbers of tourists, so that many vans and buses were parked at the starting point. The hike starts in an idyllic wide valley with a small stream in the middle, which is supported by the waterfall that can be seen in the distance. Hiking on the flat path of the valley is panoramic, and as the hardest part was still to come, Julia didn't forget to remind me that we still have a lot of vertical metres to do. The weather was beautiful and we were taking in the glorious views of the surrounding peaks, rising above 6000m. The path had suddenly become steeper and we overtook a group of children in school uniforms who were obviously on an excursion. We've reached a tiny lake, and a small valley with pastures had appeared in front of us. There were some – obviously acclimatized – cows grazing. I've been just telling Julia that all that was missing to evoke the nostalgia of hiking in my childhood years were pastures with cows and the smell of dried cow dung. The scenery got even more incredible in the bright sunlight, but the sight of the path winding steeply towards the summit made us continue without taking a break. Slowly, the altitude began to affect Julia, and as she rejected my coca leaves, all I could do was to silently walk in her pace. Finally we've reached the lake and the sight literally took our breaths away. Compared to Lake Parón, the much smaller Lake 69 (4604 m) has the identical fairy-tale blue colour, but it is located directly below the 6108 m high Chacraraju mountain. In addition, a waterfall flows into the lake from high above, so that the whole scenery draws gasps of astonishment from tourists. An hour of sitting on the rocks and soaking up the incredible view was enough to get sunburn on my palms. The clouds have eventually obscured the perfect view of Chacraraju in the background, and the prime time for taking pictures was over. It was hard for everyone to leave this gorgeous place in the midst of the mighty mountains, but we had to get back to the starting point.
Huaraz
The following day, we cycled from Caraz on a busy road along a mountain range to Huaraz. The city is a centre of hiking tourism with many hotels, trekking agencies and mountaineering equipment shops. In good weather, the views of the mountain range are even more impressive than in Caraz, as the highest mountain in Peru, the 6 768m high Huascarán, can be seen from here. The weather forecast started to slowly deteriorate at the end of the dry season and the very next day after our arrival, we got up early in the morning for a hike to Lake Churup, which is located below the mountain of the same name. Unlike with the first two hikes, the drive to the starting point was much more pleasant thanks to the tarmac road. The views were not as impressive, mainly for the cloudy weather, and the landscape seemed more desolate with tufts of grass everywhere, which I think is always present above 4000m. The path was interesting with high steps at the beginning and there were also wet rocks to climb before reaching the lake, and the section was protected by wedges and a steel rope. We got lost after the climbing section together with the French couple. The Frenchman and I stubbornly continued on the steep rocks off the path and, luckily for us, we've made it to the viewpoint. The lake had a normal color of water and Mount Churup was partly obscured by clouds. Nevertheless, the view was impressive because of the endless black walls rising vertically above the lake on the other side. We sat on rocks by the water for a while and returned to the van, when the cold wind started to blow. On the way back, I fell asleep on the pleasant road, feeling my to hiking unaccustomed legs.
The next morning, I was relieved to find out that the hike doesn't end at the lake (although it did). I was also very interested to hear that the final destination, the Pastoruri Glacier, was above 5000 m. This trip required us to book a trip with one of the travel agencies, as the glacier is almost two hours' drive from Huaraz. I was not complaining, as I didn't have any proper rest days for over a week, and moreover there were other things to see on the way. We made our first stop at the thermal springs that bubbled to the surface at the beginning of a stunningly beautiful plateau with snow-capped mountains in the background. Not far away, the attention of everyone on the bus was drawn to the weird plants growing on the hillsides. It is difficult to describe the huge plants, because each one looks differently. Some seem to have already flowered, some have barely sprouted and others are at some point in between. Julia took the picture of me next to a large plant with leaves growing in an almost perfect spherical shape. The plant is called Puya Raimondii and is also known as the Queen of the Andes. It is the largest member of the bromeliad family and can grow up to 15 m high. The fragile stem is riddled with sharp spines, and a woody, very interesting outgrowth sprouts from the centre, which adds to the unusual appearance of the plant. We had fifteen minutes in the so-called forest, and an hour's drive to the starting point of the glacier to go. The route was beautiful and in the wider areas horses and cattle could be seen eating the grass. We were driving extremely high on gravel serpentine roads and we could feel the elevation during the bus ride. We've reached the car park at 4800m and I stepped out into the dark landscape with weak knees. It was cloudy and snow was drizzling. In all directions there were grey and dark colours. It was not far to the glacier, but we started walking slowly, and some people hired horses to carry them to the top. On Sunday there were many tourists visiting the glacier. At the top, once again there was a lake with dark, almost black water. The lake was formed by a grey glacier, and on the information board I've read the sad fact that it had shrunk 44 times between 2001 and 2013. People were crossing the rope to get as close as possible to take pictures, and the security guard was reminding them that they had to go back, as it was forbidden to approach the glacier. There was a cold breeze coming off it and we were all feeling strange because of the high elevation. We took pictures of the glacier and the gloomy surroundings and headed back to the bus. The elevation had an effect on me as I slept like a baby on the bus, which came in handy as we were back on our bikes the next day.
