Huaraz & the Cordilleras

A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Huascarán National Park protects hundreds of glaciers and lakes around Peru's highest mountain, Huascarán, at 22,205 feet. Its landscape shifts from grassy valleys to ice-covered summits, and each outing, from a scenic drive to a mountain trail, reveals a different face of the high Andes.

Set between the steep walls of a glacial valley, the lakes of Chinancocha and Orconcocha shine in shades of emerald and turquoise at the foot of Huascarán. Queñua trees, with their peeling red bark, line the shores, and the snowy summits rise so close they seem within reach, a gentle introduction to the Cordillera Blanca.

Past streams, open grassland, and waterfalls, the trail climbs to Laguna 69, at more than 15,000 feet beneath the glaciers of Chacraraju, where the water glows an intense turquoise that seems almost unreal. It is a demanding day at altitude, best planned after acclimatization, and the approach is as memorable as the arrival.

More than 3,000 years old, Chavín de Huántar was one of the great ceremonial centers of the ancient Andes and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Beneath its stone platforms, dark galleries lead to the Lanzón, a carved monolith once at the heart of its rituals, adding a powerful historical dimension to a stay among the mountains.

South of the Cordillera Blanca, the Huayhuash range gathers jagged peaks, among them Yerupajá, Peru's second-highest mountain, around a chain of glacial lakes and high passes. Shorter routes offer a taste of its wild beauty, while the full circuit, often counted among the world's great treks, reveals it entirely. We help you choose the route that fits your time and experience.