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 T17 CORDILLERA BLANCA This trekking expedition is a combination of several short treks in the Cordillera Blanca. On this 18-day excursion you not only get to know well this beautiful mountain range but also the Cordillera Negra, the valleys of Huaylas and Conchucos. It is also put together for people who do not like to spend prolonged periods of time in tents but prefer to have access to commodities like hot showers, communications after a few days. T 17 : 18 days / 17 nights Day 1 Arrival in Huaraz and transfer to hotel in the provincial capital. Day 2 We start our excursion by hiking to archeological sites near Huaraz. First we visit the ruins of Willkawain, some 8 km outside of the capital and afterwards Ichiwillkawain before we return to Huaraz. Day 3 Today we visit the Cordillera Negra, the lower mountain range west of the valley. We hike around there for a few hours to get to know the high altitude vegetation. It also gives us great views to the many snow-covered peaks of the Cordillera Blanca. Day 4 We continue our trek by driving south to Olleros and taking then the road east to Aconcancha, where our trek starts. We unload our equipment and pack them on the donkeys which await us there. We begin then hiking up the valley of Uquian till we arrive at Ututo, a narrow valley at the foot of Nevado Uruashraju, where we put up our first campsite. Day 5 We leave our camp in the morning and continue hiking on an old Inca trail up to Yanashallash, the pass at 4700m leading east into Chavin. We descend the valley of Shoncopampa till we near Jato and follow then the valley of Huachecsa till we reach the town of Chavin. Day 6 Today we stay in Chavin and visit first the hot bath in Quercos, half an hour south of the town. After that refreshing bath we explore the archeological site of Chavin de Huantar, a UNESCO world cultural monument. Day 7 We drive to Huari and get ready for the next stage of our trekking adventure. We hike to Purhuay lake located at 3500m and surrounded by a beautiful high mountain vegetation. We continue then up the valley till we reach San Bartolome pass where we put our tents for the night. Day 8 We start our hike up to the pass of San Bartolome at 4400m and passing a river descend down the Arma river valley. Quenoal forests dot the valley and at the end we put up our next camp site. Day 9 We descend farther down the valley till we reach the broader valley of Ishanca which leads to the town of Chacas, the end of this beautiful 3-day trek.. Day 10 We put in a rest day in Chacas. We visit the famous woodcarving workshop run by Italian priests. Day 11 We continue or trek crossing the Cordillera Blanca again, this time east to west. We hike up the valley of Juitush passing the small town of the same name. Day 12 We hike upto the Honda pass at 4750m which we reach after 2 hours. We descend then into the Honda valley, which is also known as Paradise of Waterfalls as those are seen there cascading down the mountains. Here we have also a good chance of seeing the large condors, the largest flying birds in the world. The van awaits us and we drive to Caraz. Day 13 Rest day in Caraz. Day 14 Today we start out on the last leg of our trekking excursion. We drive by van to Yungay and take the road up the Llanganuco valley. After passing two lakes we ascend the steep road leading up to the Portachuelo pass of 4700m. We stop there to admire the great views to the surrounding peaks of Huascaran, Chopicalqui, Chacraraju, Pisco and Huandoy. The road leads then to Colcapampa, the starting point of our trek. Day 15 We start hiking into the Huaripampa valley till we reach Huishcash. The trail leads through a fertile valley with a few indigenous settlements dedicating themselves to agriculture. We hike then up to Morococha lake where we put up our camp. This site is situated right at the foot of Taulliraju. Day 16 In the morning, Punta Union, a pass at 4760m awaits us. We climb for two hours to the top and are rewarded by great panoramic views to the snow-covered range west of us with peaks like Paria, Piramide, Chacraraju and Taulliraju. Descending into Taullipampa valley we pass a popular campsite used by many but move on to the base camp of Alpamayo, some two hours farther on. There we put tents up for the next night. Day 17 In the morning we explore the area around our camp and first hike up to Arhuaycocha Lagoon, where the glaciers reach right into the water. From there we have great views to the south side of Alpamayo and the neighboring peaks of Ririjirca, Jancarurish and Quitarajo. Afterwards we leave the camp and hike down till we reach the Santa cruz valley. After 3 hours we arrive at the Ichicocha lake where we put our next camp site, the last one on our expedition. Day 18 We start early morning as we hike some 4 hours to Cashapampa, the end of our trek.. This hike is always downwards and the valley becomes drier as we get lower and plants change accordingly with many cactus, bromeliads and even some orchids found later on. At noon we arrive at the small farming community and the van awaits us i and takes us back to Huaraz.
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