Advice on Peru

[pmreyn2010]

Hi all,

I am starting to plan a trip to Peru for next summer, and I am looking at doing both the Salkantay Trek and the Huayhuash Circuit while I'm there. If you've traveled down there before, I was looking for any advice you may have based on your own experiences, or if you have other recommendations on worthwhile treks/climbs or places to visit, I'd gladly take those as well. Thanks!

[Conor]

Didn't do any "trekking," but I was down there last year to climb some peaks.

Around Cusco I wanted to get to Choquequirao, but never made it. Seems very possible to go "unguided." Around Huaraz we used a company run by Hisao Morales, peruvianandes.com. Hisao is a stand up guy, fair, transparent and will treat you well. He organizes treks into Huayhuash. They organized mules and a cook for us only. WHEN we make it back, we will be using Morales again. He usually employs a native english speaker to handle all the email communications.

[Scott P]

Hi all,

I am starting to plan a trip to Peru for next summer, and I am looking at doing both the Salkantay Trek and the Huayhuash Circuit while I'm there. If you've traveled down there before, I was looking for any advice you may have based on your own experiences, or if you have other recommendations on worthwhile treks/climbs or places to visit, I'd gladly take those as well. Thanks!

I don't know what kind of advice you are looking for, but I did the the Huayhuash Circuit last year, and climbed several peaks along the way.

Here is a trip report with photos:

https://www.14ers.com/php14ers/triprepo ... m=tripmine

Let me know what kind of information you are looking for.

[Conor]

Hi all,

I am starting to plan a trip to Peru for next summer, and I am looking at doing both the Salkantay Trek and the Huayhuash Circuit while I'm there. If you've traveled down there before, I was looking for any advice you may have based on your own experiences, or if you have other recommendations on worthwhile treks/climbs or places to visit, I'd gladly take those as well. Thanks!

I don't know what kind of advice you are looking for, but I did the the Huayhuash Circuit last year, and climbed several peaks along the way.

Here is a trip report with photos:

https://www.14ers.com/php14ers/triprepo ... m=tripmine

Let me know what kind of information you are looking for.

Thanks for that Scott, I need to finish my half written peru TR.

[planet54]

I did the Huayhuash Circuit several years ago. The best suggestion that I can give is to look into doing some of the alternate high routes. These routes will keep you closer to the peaks with better views than the lower main trails. Some examples are a high route from Carhuacocha to Siula Pass ,another from the place called Huayhuash towards Trapecio Pass then down to Elefante and for sure going over Santa Rosa Pass to Cutatambo campground, don't miss that one. Cerro Gran Vista is a great day hike for views of Siula Grande. We were able to do these routes with only day packs because we had burro support which I recommend. The burros carry all the camping gear ,stay on the well used trails and meet you at the next camp. I think you will really enjoy this trip.

High Route Above Carhuacocha.jpg (371.89 KiB) Viewed 3659 times

[WanderingJim]

I did the 7 day Salkantay to Machu Picchu trek last year. I have some descriptions on my Flickr albums (along with an ungodly amount of pictures )

Hopefully it'll give you some ideas.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/wandering ... 662512466/

[glenmiz]

I did the 7 day Salkantay to Machu Picchu trek last year. I have some descriptions on my Flickr albums (along with an ungodly amount of pictures )

Hopefully it'll give you some ideas.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/wandering ... 662512466/

That is a pile of photos - I looked through the overview piece which had some very impressive shots. This is on my bucket list (maybe some of the side trips as well) for 2020 so thank you for posting your album.

[Dan_Suitor]

I was down there last year and did the Cordillera Huayhuash with two others. It was great fun. The daily segments were not too long in distance, but the typical segment included a high alpine pass. You can do it on your own, or hire a horseman with burros to carry the load. If you do this, you will have to cook for and feed the horseman. You can also hire a cook, but then you need to have a horseman with burros for the provisions. It sounds expensive, but it’s actually pretty cheap. Once you start the trek, there is nowhere to re-stock your food. So you have to start with 14 days worth of food and provisions. Christian at Huayhuash.com ( https://www.huayhuash.com ) coordinated this for us. I’d highly recommend him.

You are at high altitude all of the time. Typical camp is 13,500 – 14,000 ft. Be prepared for this. When the sun is out, it is comfortable. As soon as it goes down, it gets real cold. So pack accordingly.

I hope this helps. Let me know if there are any more details you would like to know.

Dan

[kjensen85]

I did the Salkantay Trek to MP in 2015 with Llama Path. The guides/porters/crew were all excellent. I was pretty shocked at how my body reacted to the altitude, coming from Denver and having a dozen or so 14'ers under my belt at the time. Each day's hike was pretty moderate, but the altitude killed me for some reason. Coca tea helped me a lot. If you can spend an extra day or two in Cusco to acclimate (plus Cusco is amazing), I'd recommend that. Also, if you have the option of adding on the short hike to Humantay Lake (not all treks include it), definitely do it. Have fun- it's the best trip I've ever taken!

[Conor]

The cook is truly a luxury, and one well worth it if you're not looking to do it totally "unsupported." I think we paid $53/day for the cook (incl in that price is the tent + "outhouse") plus $24/day/person for food and utensils in 2018. You'll have to hire mules as they cook excellent food that isn't freeze dried (we had trout, soup w/ fresh veggies every day, chicken cordon bleu etc). Meals were breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack and "3 course dinner" (soup, main and dessert). Nothing was better than smelling dinner cooking, which starts with the peruvian secret ingredients of butter and garlic. We also didn't wash a single dish and we had a tent we could stand up in and a table with chairs to sit at for dinner or hang out at.

I had prices that were a few dollars a day cheaper (from Christian, like $5 a day cheaper, but we never really got into all the "Extras") but the Morales were way more detailed for our more "custom" trip. We undoubtedly paid a bit more, but it went off without a hitch. Not to say others couldn't or don't do the same for better prices....

trout.jpg (648.53 KiB) Viewed 3490 times

[I Man]

The Santa Cruz trek is pretty awesome - views of Alpamayo and Artesonraju. I didn't go over the pass at the back as I was there to climb, but I highly recommend this trek. The city of Huarez is pretty awesome, too. Huascaran National Park is amazing.

[pmreyn2010]

Thanks all for your advice & suggestions!

Conor - Out of curiosity, what peaks did you climb? I'll look into Morales' company; thanks for the recommendation. I definitely feel like I may hire a cook just to make the trek that much easier.

Scott P - What a great trip report; your pictures are awesome. Any reason in particular you decided to go with Peruvian Mountains? Seems like you had a positive experience with them. A couple of buddies of mine told me to wait until I was in Huaraz to find a guide, but another friend told me it helps to have everything lined up in advance logistics-wise.

planet54 - Thanks for the suggestion! I'll look into the different route variations you mentioned.

WanderingJim - Great photos! Thanks for sharing. How was the hike up Huayna Picchu?

Dan_Suitor - Thanks for the recommendation of Christian; I'll look into his company as well. Sounds similar to Kilimanjaro in terms of weather; I remember generally being comfortable all day but then in the evenings it would cool off really quick. Did you end up hiring a horseman & a cook, or did you do the trek more unsupported?

kjensen85 - I definitely want to spend some time exploring Cusco & the surrounding area. Did you do any day trips to places of interest around there?

I Man - Yeah, I was looking at the Santa Cruz trek as well; good to hear Huaraz is an awesome place to visit!