Huaraz Travel and Tourism Information
About Huaraz and Ancash
The Cordillera Blanca is one of Peru’s most popular tourist destinations. This range runs north to south for almost 200 kilometers and offers a wide variety of attractions including many glaciated peaks over 6000 meters above sea level with Huascarán leading the pack at 6768. The area is a trekking and climbing mecca for adventure travelers all over the world. There are glacial lake and hot springs and many pre-Inca and Inca ruins to visit. The Puya Raimondi, the largest bromeliad in the world is found in the southern part of the range
Main Attractions
Lagunas Llanganuco & surroundings of Huaraz: Spectacular landscape and views of snow capped peaks 82 kilometers north of Huaraz. The lakes, a very popular tourist attraction are a beautiful shade of turquoise. On our way to Llangaunco, you can visit Yungay: this small town was completely buried in a huge mudslide caused by an earthquake in 1970, which killed 20,000 people.
Chavin de Huantar: The town of Chavin de Huantar is just north of the famous ruins of the same name. The Chavin culture built the fortress/temple around 600 B.C.
Trekking: Huaraz is the jumping off point for climbing and trekking with the Llanganuco/Santa Cruz trek by far the most popular.
Access Routes
Huaraz is only accessible by bus from Lima (7 hours) and Trujillo (7 hours).
Accommodation
There is only one premium class hotel and this is the 3-star Casa Andina. Tourist Class hotels are abundant.
When to go
The best time to visit Huaraz is during the dry season, from April to November. This is especially important in case of treks. It is not recommendable to hike during rainy season.
How long
The number of days we would suggest to spend here is a min of 2 days in case of visiting only, in case of trekking we recommend to spend at least one day of acclimatizing as well.