the santa cruz trek

When you think of hiking in Peru, probably the only thing that comes to mind is Machu Picchu. But if you’re in Peru, don’t miss the quaint city of Huaraz, located about 8 hours north of Lima, and the jumping off point for great hiking.

Making up the skyline of Huaraz is the beautiful Cordillera Blanca range. Located within Cordillera Blanca is Huarascán National Park, which is home to condors, pumas, as well as Peru’s tallest mountain, Huarascán.

The Santa Cruz is a 3-4 day hike in the Cordillera Blanca mountain range of Peru. As long as you’re well acclimatized, the trek is relatively easy, however, with a maximum elevation of 4750m/15580ft (higher than any point in the continental United States). It’s possible to do the trek yourself, but if you don’t have your own equipment, it will probably end up cheaper to do a guided trek (only about $100 for 4 days) and transportation is stress free.

The Santa Cruz trek is normally completed in 4 days, but it is possible to do it in 3 days. As this is not an out and back trail, you can start it in either Cashapampa or Vaqueria. Vaqueria is the easier route as it is more downhill than uphill.

day one

After about a 4 hour drive in a minivan (and a quick stop at a small restaurant along the way for desayuno), you’ll arrive in La Vaqueria. You’ll need to buy your ticket entrance for the park (S/.65) which is good for 21 days (It became pretty clear we did everything backwards when everyone else in our group already had their park ticket as they had done day hikes to acclimatize – oops). You’ll walk about 3-4 hours through small villages and meadows until you reach Paria Valley where you’ll camp for the night.

day two

The hardest day. Not only did we need to get an early start (think 5:30am breakfast, and leaving at 6:15am) due to the long incline up to the highest point of Punta Union (4750m/15580ft), but it was rainy season and we needed to set up camp before the afternoon rain showers. It’s about 4 hours of only uphill, getting more intense the closer you get to Punta Union. From there, it’s around a 3 hour hike downhill to a campsite by the river.

day three

The group opted for the additional hike up to Laguna Arhuaycocha, so we began our morning early again. On the way, you’ll see views of Artesonraju Mountain, the mountain depicted in the Paramount Pictures logo. It was our longest day (almost 16 miles), but you’ll see every landscape imaginable – snow-capped mountains, forest, desert, waterfalls, etc. Again, you’ll set up camp along the river.

day four

A short hike back to civilization aka Cashapampa (about 2 hours). While short, there are lots of loose rocks to navigate on the downhill. Cashapampa has small places were you can buy some snacks or beer to reward yourself for the last 4 days. Getting back to Huaraz takes close to 3 hours.

things to know before the santa cruz trek:

getting there: 8 hours north of Lima and 6 hours south of Trujillo, with direct buses from both places

cost: 21 day park entrance ticket is S/.65 ($20) and a guided trek should cost around $100

when to visit: the prime season is May-October. Checking the weather beforehand, I saw 100% chance of rain every single day on the forecast, so we were rolling the dice. However, we really lucked out as the days were beautiful with only about an hour of rain in the afternoon (when we had already set up camp) and no crowds (we only saw 4 other people in the 4 days).

what to bring:

clothing layers (it gets cold at night!)
water bottle (boiled water or from glacier streams)
hat/gloves
sunnies
sunscreen
snacks (there was plenty of food, but if you want something specific)

where to stay in Huaraz: Alpes Huaraz – the staff was helpful, the rooms were clean, and booking treks was super easy at the reception and a great price.