Santa Cruz Trek in the Cordillera Blanca, from Huaraz (4 days)
Join the Santa Cruz Trek, the most famous trek in the Cordillera Blanca, enjoying spectacular views of snow-capped peaks, beautiful lakes and unique landscapes, along local IFMGA-certified guide William.
Private
Andes
4 Days
Apr - Nov
Intermediate
Intermediate
Highlights
- Enjoy the view of the most spectacular peaks of the Cordillera Blanca
- Hike through Andean villages and see beautiful glacial lakes
- Go on a unique trek with varied scenery and breathtaking views!
Description
I invite you to join me on this 4-day Santa Cruz Trek, undoubtedly the most famous and popular trek in the Cordillera Blanca, offering varied scenery and endless views of majestic snowcapped peaks, jeweled glacial lakes and gorgeus Andean valleys, starting from the city of Huaraz.
The Santa Cruz Trek is suitable for novice hikers, but good acclimatization is essential before starting the trek, at least one day before. We will be walking in the mountains for about 9 to 15 kilometers every day, for abouot 4 to 6 hours.
This circuit will provide you with an unforgettable experience, as you will enjoy the view of almost all the most famous peaks in the Peruvian Andes in just a few days.
From Huaraz, we will transfer on a private transport to the town of Cashapampa, a 3-hour trip in which we wil pass pass through many Andean towns and see several impressive snow-capped mountains of the Cordillera Blanca, such as Huascarán.
Our arriero awaits us in Cashapampa to start hiking through the Santa Cruz Valley to thet Llamacorral Camp, for about 5 hours. Next day, we continue our journey, trekking for about 6 hours, passing by beautiful lakes such as the Ichiccocha and Jatuncocha Lagoon and enjoying the view of mountains such as Alpamayo, considered by many as the most beautiful mountain in the world.
On the third day, from Taullipampa we continue the trek for about 4 hours, reaching the e highest point of our trek, the Punta Union Pass (4750m), a place with breathtaking views over surrounding mountains. Then, we descend to our campsite.
Finally, on our last day, we start trekking from Quebrada Paria, passing through the Andean town of Huaripampa, arriving to the town of Vaquería where a car will transfer usback to Huaraz. On our way back we will also visit the two beautiful Lakes of the Llanganuco Valley: Chinancocha and Orconcocha. The drive will take us about 4.5 hours approx, and the hiking time this day is 3 hours.
So what are you waiting for? Just contact me and book your place for this amazing Santa Cruz Trek experience! Come enjoy an unforgettable time hiking along the Cordillera Blanca.
Check out my profile page for more unique treks in the Peruvian Andes!
Price includes
- Guiding fee
- Breakfast
- Lunch
- Dinner
- Transport during the trip
- Transportation start and back
- Permit and entrance fees
- Mountain guide expenses
- Luggage transfer
- Drinks
Price details
- The price also includes 1 horse for emergencies, mats and one cook
Itinerary
Day 1: Huaraz – Cashapampa – Llamacorral (3760m)
After breakfast at the hotel we will transfer with our private transport to the town of Cashapampa (3 hours approx.). During the trip we will pass through many Andean towns of the Callejon de Huaylas. We will observe many snow-capped mountains of the Cordillera Blanca such as Huascarán, which is the highest tropical mountain in the world. In the town our arriero awaits us to start the walk through the Santa Cruz Valley to our first camp: Llamacorral Camp (5 hours approx.)
Day 2: Llamacorral -Taullipampa (4200m).
Continuing our journey this day we will observe beautiful lakes such as the Ichiccocha and the Jatuncocha Lagoon that translated into English mean “Small Lagoon” and “Big Lagoon” and mountains such as Alpamayo, considered the most beautiful mountain in the world. The walking time is around 6 hours.
Day 3: Taullipampa – Punta Union Pass (4750m) – Paria (3800m)
After breakfast we will move to the highest point of our trek wich is the Punta Union Pass (4 hours approx.). From there we will enjoy the beautiful views of some mountains, such as Taulliraju, Quitaraju, Rinrihirca and Artesonraju. After taking pictures we will descend through the Huaripampa Valley and then to our campsite (3 hours approx.).
Day 4: Quebrada Paria – Vaquería – Huaraz.
This is our last day in this great trek. We will pass through the Andean town of Huaripampa, with adobe and straw constructions, then we will arrive at the town of Vaquería where a car awaits to transfer us to Huaraz. On the way we will arrive at the Portachuelo Pass (4750m), after taking great pictures of many snow-capped mountains of the Cordillera Blanca, such as Huascarán, Chopicalqui, Pisco and Huandoys. We will also visit the two beautiful Lakes of the Llanganuco Valley: Chinancocha and Orconcocha that translated into English mean “Female Lake” and “Male Lake”. The travel time with our transport this day is 4.5 hours approx, and 3 hours of hiking time.
Equipment you will need to bring
Water bottle
Backpack
Poles
Sunglasses
About the guide
William
Mountain Guide
I was born at the foot of Huascaran, Peru’s highest peak. I spent my childhood preparing for a career as a mountain guide. I began working as a porter on big expeditions all around the Cordillera Blanca range to earn both money and the necessary experience to begin my accreditation process towards a prestigious UIAGM Certification.
As my training for this, I spent most of my years from my early 20’s in the mountains as an aspirant guide, apprenticing under others and developing my own strength, style, and techniques as a guide.
Having earned the title of UIAGM mountain guide, I have worked on just about every peak in the National Park with groups from around the globe and continues to do so with patience and professionalism in all aspects of the job.
Languages
English
Certificates
AGMP | UIAGM
What people are saying about Explore-Share
Man
Climbing with guide Guillaume was absolutely a highlight of my 2-week Europe vacation. Originally, we were planning on climbing in the Calanques, but the park was closed due to wind and fire danger. Guillaume chose another amazing location (Pic de Bretagne) based on my climbing abilities and preferences and kindly offered train station pick-up and hotel drop off, which I appreciated very much. The multi-pitch route we did was not only fun but also the right amount of challenge, which I thoroughly enjoyed. The communication from the team (Gauthier) was prompt and clear—highly recommend!
Maxine
Luis Silva was a great climbing guide and belayer! He taught me how to do moves that were difficult and encouraged me to try routes that were challenging for me! Because of his encouragement, I managed to complete these routes! I really enjoyed the climbs and completed 8 routes in the Sesimbra/Azoia area. The weather was perfect, no direct sun and cool enough to enjoy the climbs. Explore-Share made booking an outdoor climbing experience in Lisbon extremely easy. Luis, our guide, was fantastic, and the platform’s organization was flawless.
Valeriya
You’re simply the best!!! :))) Explore-Share made everything easy and stress-free. Will definitely use again.
Joshua
We had Léo as a guide for our day climb in Fonty. We were blessed with a knowledgeable, warm, and instructive guide. Communication with Léo and Ivan was smooth and swift. Explore-Share was excellent in arranging everything for our day climb. The communication was quick, and the platform was easy to use, making our adventure stress-free.
Cami
Patrick was a great guide. He took us on an intermediate Via Ferrata at Passo Sella. Renato was quick to respond with any outreach on the Explore-Share platform. The booking process was straightforward, and once Patrick was confirmed, all went well. It was a wonderful experience, and I’d highly recommend the platform.
4.8
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