Our trip followed the same general itinerary as our previous trip to Peru when we hiked the Huayhuash circuit, including three days to help us acclimate to the altitude (especially important since we live at sea level). I’m glad we allowed ourselves this time to acclimate as it helped us on our trek. Even though we certainly felt the elevation throughout the trip, it was manageable and we were never sick nor had to change plans. In addition to budgeting the days for acclimatization, what we found helpful in dealing with the altitude was avoiding overexertion, staying hydrated, and using a pain reliever as needed for headaches.

Our flight into Lima was delayed and we arrived much later than anticipated, so only had a few hours to sleep at the Holiday Inn Lima Airport before catching our flight in the morning to Huaraz. This hotel was new since our last visit and although we couldn’t walk directly there like the other airport hotel (they do provide free transport and it is very close by), we chose it because it was cheaper. From what we experienced on our brief stay, it was nice and we would stay there again.

We were back at the airport while it was still dark to catch our early morning flight to Huaraz. After our experience last time with LC Peru, I was holding my breath that everything would go off without a hitch and thankfully it did. The flight is only an hour long and we were happy to finally touch down in the mountains. LC Peru only flies the Lima-Huaraz route on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays and their schedules often change, so it’s wise to keep an eye on their flights. When we returned to Lima at the end of our trip, we rode the Cruz del Sur bus, which was very comfortable (reclining seats, a meal was served, and personal screens for each seat with a good selection of movies) and went through an interesting variety of landscapes in the seven hour ride.

We spent our first day in Huaraz (elevation 3050 m/10,010 feet) and stayed at Olaza’s Guest House (when we returned to Huaraz at the end of our trip we stayed at Villa Valencia - both were nice places to stay). Because our day hikes and Alpamayo trek were closer to Caraz (elevation 2256 m/7,402 feet), we stayed there at Apu EcoLodge for our second and third nights. Apu EcoLodge was a great place to stay - we really enjoyed the peaceful setting, tasty berries, and friendly hosts (and dogs!).

This year we would finally make it to the popular Laguna 69, although we actually preferred our hike at Laguna Parón. We had a beautiful sunny day to hike at Parón - the mountains and turquoise lake were gorgeous and we only saw a few people. The only drawback was we wished we had more time; we definitely plan to return some day for camping and more exploring. Unfortunately our good weather didn’t hold for Laguna 69 and it was an overcast, gray day. Coupled with the massive amounts of people (I think many there for the Instagram photo - thanks social media for overcrowding another beautiful spot), arriving at the lake itself was anti-climatic. At least the viscachas were adorable!

A day in Huaraz and hikes to Laguna Parón and Laguna 69 - we were as acclimated as we would be in three days. Off to the Alpamayo Circuit!