Huaraz & the Cordilleras - Peru - page 798

the rescue. You can start the 40km trek in either town, though most people start in Olleros
(population 1390) in the Callejón de Huáylas on the western side of the Cordillera Blanca,
where you can arrange llamas as pack animals. Pretty villages and pre-Inca roads with
great views of the Uruashraju (5722m), Rurec (5700m) and Cashan (5716m) mountains
dot the landscape heading up to the 4700m Punta Yanashallash Pass. Where you end on
the Callejón de Conchucos side is absolutely gorgeous. Best of all, in Chavín you can
soak your weary bones in hot springs and get up early the next day to visit the ruins
without the usual throng of tourists. Dedicated riders have mountain-biked this route. To
get to Olleros, catch a south-heading combi from Huaraz, get off at the Bedoya bridge and
hike the 30 minutes up to Olleros. Taxis there cost around S30.
If this trek whets your appetite for ambling, you can continue on to Huari by bus ( Click
here ) or by walking along the road, and commence the equally impressive Huari to
Chacas trek , making your way along the eastern flanks of the Cordillera Blanca. Be sure
to camp near the Laguna Purhuay - this picturesque spot deserves an overnight visit. The
easy two- to three-day route passes several other lakes, reaches its zenith at a 4550m pass
and finishes up in the misty high-altitude tropical forests of the Parhua Valley (3500m).
After a rest in the fetching town of Chacas, you can continue on to do the one- to two-
day Chacas to Yanama trek . This is the shortest of the three hikes and has the lowest
pass of the lot, at a 'mere' 4050m. From Chacas you hike through the municipalities of
Sapcha and Potaca and can either finish the trek at Yanama or continue to the Keshu Val-
ley, which has several good places to camp. Colcabamba, a few hours further on from
Yanama, is the end of the Santa Cruz trek and endurance hikers can tag this trek onto the
end of their Herculean circuit before returning to Huaraz.
Honda-Ulta
This loop starting at Vicos and ending at the village of Shilla, near Carhuaz, is a moderate
trek, with the exception of a couple of difficult high-altitude passes at Laguna Yanayacu
(4850m) and Portachuelo Honda (4750m). Along the way, parties can stop at the tiny
community of Juitush and the impossibly precious village of Chacas ( Click here ) and
linger on views of Yanaragra (5987m), Pucaranra (6156m), Palcaraju (6274m) and two re-
mote lakes. This is a great hike if you want to experience an off-the-beaten-track route and
enjoy a few charismatic indigenous villages along the way.
Los Cedros-Alpamayo
This is one of the more dazzling and demanding treks of the Cordillera. The 90km route
involves very long ascents to high passes, incredible alpine scenery (including the regal
north side of Nevado Alpamayo) and traditional Quechua communities with no road ac-