Lago Churup

The trip to the lake Churup takes 5-6 hours depending on in what degree you are used to high altitudes and your general fitness.

The trek starts at Pitec were you can go with bus or hire a taxi (approx. 8-10 USD). From Pitec the path going up is obvious at the left of the road. Except for a short section where you are actually going a bit down, the path climbs almost 850 m before it reaches the lake. There is one short section that can be slippery in rain or early in the day, except for that, there’s no difficulties in getting up and the views are perfect on a sunny day. The lake itself is beautiful, completely green and with high cliffs and Nevada Churup surrounding it. The altitude at the lake is 4.450m, and the peak of Churup is 5.495m.

The lake and peak of Churup.	Huaraz seen from the path going to Churup.

Getting down goes a lot faster than getting up (estimate half the time), and hopefully you will find taxis or a bus waiting. Another option is to make a deal with a taxi in Huaraz to pick you up on an agreed upon time.

Pastorouri

The trip to Pastorouri is a very nice sightseeing, and not only for high, snow capped mountains. If you stop along the way you will be able to see:

• Sparkling water coming directly from the ground. It’s just to fill up your water bottles.

• The lake with seven colors. It’s actually a very small lake and about 7 meters deep, but on a sunny day it’s crystal clear and showing off lots of different colors.

• Puja Raimondi, said to be one of the highest plants in the world. It’s living about 40 years, and at the end of its life it gets up to 10.000 flowers.

• Old carvings in several stones close to the road.

In addition the Pastorouri glacier is a very reachable and impressing glacier. To get there you get on an organized tour from Huaraz (10-15 USD) or you can hire a taxi to take you. From Huaraz it takes about three hours to get there, including stops to take a look at the things mentioned above. From where the bus stops, there’s an hour or so of walking on a path.

Remember that you are high, the glacier is at 5.200m. If you feel for it, you can hire horses to take you the last section. It is said that the glacier will probably disappear in the next 30-40 years.

Watch more photos from daytrips around Huaraz.