This is one of the most advertised tours available from Huaraz. It is more physically demanding but accessible enough to do in a one day tour. It’s an early morning start for this one though, leaving the Plaza de Armas at 5 AM. It takes the same route as the Llanganuco Tour stopping at a viewpoint of the Huascaran snow-topped mountain. It’s only a short stop here for about 10 minutes to take pictures of the Huascaran at the brink of dawn. Next, the tour continues to a restaurant in the town of Nuevo Yungay for breakfast. After a quick breakfast its onwards to Llanganuco Lakes. Having been on the Llanganuco Tour previously, I thought we’d be stopping at the same place. However, on this tour, the bus stops further down at another viewpoint at the other end of the lake. The view of the lake from here is magical. It’s clear turquoise water with the v-shaped ravine in the background. This is also a short 15-minute stop before getting back on the bus to continue our journey.
After another 30 minutes, the bus arrives at the starting point of the hike. There is a hut with information and the ticket office for those who didn’t have the entrance ticket included in the tour. Surrounding the area there’s lots of green open spaces. We saw a couple of tents there which is where other tours camp when doing multi-day trips. Once the park officials have checked the tickets, the guide goes over the times and route. He informs us that the trail is easy to follow and signposted. So for the experienced hikers, you can go ahead and make your own way. The tour guide will go with the slowest walkers to make sure no one is left behind. We arrived at the starting point at around 8.45 AM. The guide said it takes around 2 to 3 hours to hike up and set a target of reaching the lake by 12 PM.
I managed to make it up in under 2 hours but it was definitely exhausting. The first half-hour was pretty straightforward just walking alongside the river. The next 30 minutes is when it gets a little challenging as this is when the initial ascent begins. At the end of the initial ascent, you arrive at a small lake with a great view of snow-topped mountains in the distance. I took a quick break here to wait for my group before continuing. From here, it’s another 15 minutes of easy walking along the river again. The next 30 minutes though is the physically demanding final ascent. This ascent is a lot steeper and parts of the terrain are gravel making it more tiring to walk up. Once you reach the summit though, you will be left in awe from witnessing such beauty. The clear color of the water and the white peaks in the background are out of this world. It’s like a scene taken out of a nature documentary like national geographic. The guide also told us that the peaks in the background were virgin peaks – meaning no man had been able to reach the summit. The guide also pointed out that there was no wildlife at the lake. He mentioned that there used to be birds but they have stopped coming with the increasing number of tourists visiting the lake. So if you do encounter any wildlife, don’t interact with it or get too close since you may scare it away.
Having reached by 10.30 AM, there were only a handful of people there making it a great opportunity to take pictures of the magnificent landscape. I then had 2-hours 30-minutes to walk around and chill by the lake. Make sure to bring snacks and lots of water to refuel from the exhausting hike. Weather-wise, the early morning was a little chilly, but as midday approaches, it starts to get very hot. Also, don’t forget to put on sunblock as the midday sun is very strong. The terrain around the lake is quite rocky, so be careful when walking around as there are many unstable rocks and boulders. If you walk to the other end of the lake and climb up a little, you’ll be able to see the Huascaran peaks in the distance. Overall, it’s a very soothing and relaxing environment.
After spending time at the lake, the guide instructs the group to start making their way back down at around 1 PM. The way down is a lot easier and quicker. The only draining factor is the heat from the sun, so do make sure you take lots of water. I have a bottle with a built-in filter that came in handy since I could refill it with the cold fresh stream water on the way down. We walked down with the tour guide who gave us lots of information about the wildlife and history of the area. It took us around 2 hours to get back down since we made lots of stops. After resting under the shade of a tree for a bit, we were on the bus by 3 PM and back in the Huaraz Plaza de Armas at around 5.30 PM.
