Lake 69 and Santa Cruz Classic Trek

  • 5 Day Trek
  • Fully Supported
  • Small Groups Only
Santa Cruz Hiking

Our Lake 69 and Santa Cruz Classic Trek is one of the iconic treks within the Cordillera Blanca Mountain Range. This trek gives you the option to visit one of the most popular hike and trek in the Huascaran National Park, a UNESCO – World Heritage. Ascends and crosses the Punta Union Pass at 4750m, below spectacular peaks of the Cordillera Blanca and skirting turquoise glacial lakes.

Natural History
The valleys are great places to observe native Andean alpine flora, especially the many wildflowers that bloom during the trekking season, including buttercups, ranunculus, lupines and several species of orchids. Many encrustations of deep-red bromeliads can be seen along the track, sprouting from boulders and on rock faces.
Fauna includes few llamas, mountain caracaras, falcons, Andean geese and ducks, hawks, hummingbirds, American kestrels, puna ibis, Andean swifts, Andean foxes and mountain vizcachas.

Trip Highlights

  • Unique Mountain Views
  • U–Shaped Valleys
  • Deep Glacial Lakes
  • World Class Trek

SEASON

MAY to SEPTEMBER 

Trekking Details

Grade: Moderate
Distance: 59 Km
Maximum altitude: 4750m
Price:
Season: May – September 
Pickup and Drop-off: We will collect and return you to any hotel located within Huaraz City.
Price Includes:
Not Included:
What to Bring: We will provide a full gear list info upon booking the trek.

TREKKING ITINERARY

Lets Go! Vamos!

We start our journey at 7:30am from your accommodation and begin our drive along the Callejon de Huaylas Valley, today we are going to drive to the north of Huaraz passing the cities of Carhuaz and Yungay and then through some Andean farming villages and entering into the Huascaran National Park.

It takes 3 hours to get to the trailhead at Cebollapampa at 3900m. We start our hike on a well-formed path. We have a gently hike for one hour following Demanda Valley then climb on a zig zag track for about 40 minutes to Chaquicocha saddle which opens a big flat valley and from here we can see the moraine wall that holds Laguna 69 lake.

We can feel the effects of the altitude at this point and for this reason the mother nature has created this flat pampa to give us the time to catch our breath and have a gently walk for 30 minutes to the bottom of the moraine wall before facing our final 40 minutes climb on a zig zag steep path to our final destination Laguna 69 Lake at 4604m, a beautiful lake of the most brilliant blue colour.

Laguna 69 Trek

The lake is surrounded by the mountains Chacrarju and Pisco which leave reflections on the lake. On the return walk we look directly towards the mountains Huascaran being the highest tropical mountain in the world, Chopicalqui and Yanapaccha. Our Campsite is at Yuraccorral 3880m. 6 hours walk.

After a good breakfast, we pack up all our camping gear and begin the journey with a spectacular scenic drive up and over Portachuelo de Llanganuco Pass 4785m and then down to Vaqueria (3700m) which is the starting point of the trek 2 hours drive. There are opportunities for photo stops along the way. From Vaqueria our equipment is loaded onto the donkeys and we have a 5 hours hike on a gradually rising path to our campsite in the Paria Valley 3890m. Today we will have the opportunity to see local shepherds and farmers working on the fields using traditional methods.

santa cruz trek

Today is a demanding day. We ascend gradually for about 4 hours and then we make a steep ascend for one hour to the pass Punta Union at 4750m. From the pass, we have very close views of the big mountains of the Cordillera Blanca Mountain Range such as Nevado Taulliraju, Pucajirca, Rinrijirca, Artesonraju and many others and fantastic views down into the Santa Cruz Valley. From the pass, we descend to our camp at Taullipampa 4250m. 7 to 8 hours walk.

Today we can do a side trip up to a viewpoint in the Quebrada Arhuaycocha valley, from where there are great views of Nevado Alpamayo, Quitaraju and Artesonraju mountains. We then have a long descend along the Santa Cruz valley passing a big lake to our last campsite at Llamacorral 3750m. 6 to 7 hours hike.

We walk down Quebrada Santa Cruz Valley to the village of Cashapampa at 2900m and then drive back to Huaraz. 3 hours walk and 3 hours drive.

Altitude and Acclimatization

This is a major factor on this trek and we strongly recommend that you arrive in Huaraz at least 3 days before the trek departs and spend time doing day hikes to higher altitude, this will help with acclimatization to the new altitude. 

Grading & Fitness

In order to get the most out of the trek you should be in reasonably good physical condition. It is not easy to grade the fitness level required for the trek, since it is a subjective matter. However, we have classified this trek as moderate. We trek approximately five to seven hours per day with one ascent to 4750m and a long descent.

Trip Highlights

  • Unique Mountain Views
  • U–Shaped Valleys
  • Deep Glacial Lakes
  • World Class Trek

SEASON

MAY to SEPTEMBER

TRIP REVIEWS

Rodolfo and his crew were totally professional, knowledgeable and energetic, always willing to help. They could not have made the trip any better. Evans, USA

I had a really great time in Peru! Thank you again for being a great guide. Illiana, USA

A trek with a 10 out of 10 Wow factor! From start to finish Rodolfo and our trekking team were amazing. Sonia, Australia

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