4 / 5 - 2 reviews
How to get there
Five hours from Huaraz by road then several days' walking, depending on your itinerary.
When to go
From April to October
Minimum stay
Longer than a week
Huatiac (Peru)
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Happy Go Lucky Bazarov
Practical information about Huatiac
Reviews of Huatiac
Campsite on the Huayhuash trek, located in the mountain range of the same name and just a few hours from Huaraz.
My suggestion:
Pay a visit to the village of Huayllap and buy some of the cheese sold there. It's delicious and will be especially welcome after all that physical effort!
Summary:
When you set down your rucksack at the Huatica campsite, you're very likely going to go "phew!!!" The truth is, you'll be so exhausted that you'll no longer even be able to form a complete sentence. Be prepared to communicate via onomatopoeia: "Yaaay, we're here!"; "The views were just wooow!", "But pheeew, that descent!", "Hmm, how delicious."
As you've no doubt gathered, the walk you do to get to the campsite, though spectacular, is pretty tough going. To summarise: you will have climbed up to a mountain pass located at an altitude of 5,000 metres, descended for another 1,500 metres, then encountered a group of highly excitable children who beg you to play football with them. And all that after walking for several days in a row. I won't describe the location in detail here, except to say that it's so amazing that you might actually ask yourself how it's been possible to keep such a beautiful place protected from the excesses of tourism.
I have absolutely no hesitation in saying that you should put aside any doubts you may have about spending your next spring or summer holidays trekking in the Cordillera Huayhuash mountain range and book your flight to Peru immediately!
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Happy Go Lucky Bazarov
Huatiac is a base camp situated in the Cordillera Huayhuash.
My suggestion:
Be warned, the Huayhuash trek demands good physical preparation.
Summary:
"After effort comes comfort", is the first phrase which comes to mind when I think back to places like Hatun Cuyoc or Huatiac.
Each time I arrived to base camp I always had the same ritual: I swapped my hiking boots with an old pair of comfortable trainers. "Oh, my feet can breathe a bit" and I would huddle in my alpaca wool scarf. Next came the snack before meal. It must be said that kilometres make you hungry! Then, a (cold) shower as the place is blessed with one. Then, I used to sit facing the lagoons and the mountains and try to engrave all of these little details that surrounded me into my memory: the blue of the lagoon, the peak of the mountain, the keen eye of the llama which watched me from afar. Sometimes, we would meet residents of the neighbouring hamlet. Communication is difficult so a smile is enough I don't want to forget any moment that I spent up there. It's nearly time for dinner before bed, and yes, trekkers do get up at dawn!
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Jake Gordon
230 travellers' photos
