I’ve just spent four days and three nights in the Cordillera Blanca, a mountain range in Northern Peru. Eadaoin and I arrived to Huaraz by bus early last Thursday morning and after grabbing a few hours sleep on the hostel couches we headed out for breakfast and to plan our next movements. We intended to start the Santa Cruz trek the following day and had been put in touch by a friend back in Huanchaco with two other travellers who were planning the same. So we met Darren and Karol to iron out the details, which amounted to flipping a coin to decide which direction we would do the hike. We spent the rest of the day shopping for food and camping equipment and walking up a hill for an hour in an attempt to acclimatise to the altitude. Huaraz sits at 3052m and we were both feeling a bit under pressure. That evening we prepped our food for the next four days and went out for pizza as our last supper. 

Day 1 – Huaraz – Cashapampa – Llamacorral
Friday morning we met the others at 5.30am and on the way to the bus station were passed by a collectivo that recognised us as hikers (lunatics) and pulled over to let us in. It took us 80 minutes and 9 soles each to get to Caraz where we haggled with a taxi to bring us another hour up a mountain road for 8 soles each to Cushapampa where the Santa Cruz trail begins. 

We were on the trail by 8.30am (after buying our park passes for 65 soles from the ranger at the entrance) and immediately the path started upwards. Our packs were heavy, we were suffering with the altitude and the sun was hot. It was tough but really enjoyable and we made it to the first campsite by 1pm. 

We collapsed in various heaps beside our new pet dog Fernanda and made our lunch which for Eadaoin and I was pre-mixed (by us) quinoa, tomato, cucumber and onion salad in wraps topped with avocado. We then assembled our tent which a lovely Scottish couple had given us back in Huanchaco and laid out our mats and sleeping bags which we’d rented from our hostel back in Huaraz. We lay out in the sun which was still warm until it went down behind the surrounding peaks and then put on all of our layers and played a few rounds of Uno before getting started on dinner. 

We had rented a small stove and some pots from our hostel and bought a gas canister to do our cooking with. Pasta with peppers and onion in a tomato sauce was on the menu, as it would be for the next two nights. Eadaoin spiced hers up with a bit of tuna which I then picked out of her leftovers when it became apparent that we had slightly different appetites! Dinner was great and we went to bed after a few more card games and some chocolate very happy campers indeed. We were quite good at this trekking lark! 

Day 2 – Llamacorral – Taullipampa
Having decided we would get up once the sun hit our tents, we emerged at around 7.30am to find ourselves surrounded by incredible scenery and in an empty campsite. We were in no rush as today would be an easy day and couldn’t understand everyone else’s hurry to get going! We had slept pretty well in our cosy/tiny tent and our Everest standard sleeping bags. We made porridge and tea for breakfast and after packing up camp we headed off on the trail again at 9.20am. 

Fernanda, our trusty guard dog, had spent the night keeping cattle out of the campsite and was waiting for us when we got up. She started walking with us again but soon we lost her – sad times. As we walked lots of trail runners passed us who were taking part in the Santa Cruz Trail Marathon – 44km very high in the sky on quite uneven terrain. I was very impressed and more than a little jealous!  

We walked for 4.5 hours on relatively flat ground compared to the previous day. We made it to Taullipampa camp in time for lunch but not before it started raining so we got our tent up sharpish before piling into it to eat our quinoa salad wraps and have a nap until the rain passed. When it did we got up and admired our new view for a while before setting about making our pasta. The boys had been a bit more adventurous with their food and were having mash for dinner. 

Everyone had brought their own snacks and I had been hammering through my supply of nuts, fruit and chocolate as the walking went on while everyone else was saving theirs for I’m-not-sure-what. All I know is that food was most of what I’d spent the trek so far thinking about. Eadaoin was the perfect trekking partner for me as she rarely finished a meal! We hit the sleeping bags at 8pm on Saturday night – wild. 

Day 3 – Taullipampa – Paria

This would be the toughest day yet with a peak in elevation of 4750m when we crossed the pass between two valleys called Punta Union. Again we got up when it seemed reasonable to our sleeping selves, about 7.20am and after our porridge and packing were walking shortly after 9am. The incline started almost immediately and we could see the switchbacks above us that we would be scaling. We took a long break about halfway up and eventually made it to the top after 3.5 hours. The views were just spectacular. We were very close to a glacier and could see all kinds of terrain surrounding us. On the one side of the pass you could have been in the Wicklow Mountains while along the top on the other side you’d think you were at the top of one of the glaciers in Chamonix! 

After a few obligatory snaps at the top we got our packs on and kept going as it was pretty chilly up there. We had about three hours of downhill to get to camp which was pretty tough on the knees and took a lot of concentration so as not to miss a step. We stopped at 3pm for lunch – more quinoa wraps – and had to share our unchanged spot with some very hungry dogs and cows. The dogs we kept at bay by feeding them Mondays portion of quinoa salad which we decided we wouldn’t need. The cow was a bit more invasive however and got her teeth around the rubbish bag I’d been carrying for three days. Determined to not have to pick up rubbish she was about to litter about the place we made some rather pathetic attempts to scare her away but as she had quite large horns we didn’t want to go too close. Eventually I threw a stick at her which did the job – just as some other hikers approached and assumed I was physically assaulting the local wildlife. Nonetheless I happily tied my bag of garbage to my pack and carried on down the valley to our last campsite Paria where we arrived at 4.15pm. 

Having dropped our bags and sat down pretty shattered, a local guy approached and asked if we’d like a beer. I rubbed my eyes – is he real? We was indeed a real man with a real bag full of beverages. We shared two beers between four of us as we bathed out battered feet in a nearby stream. Pretty blissful. 

After another afternoon nap our last night of camp stove cooking was pasta all round with lots of spare chocolate making the rounds. I fell asleep on Eadaoin’s bag even earlier than the night before and dragged myself into my sleeping bag before I turned into an icicle. 

Day 4 – Paria – Vaqueria – Huaraz 

Eadaoin and I were looking pretty good on the last morning, the altitude, cold and lack of washing had added a nice plumpness to our lovely faces……

The final day was promised an easy one, four hours of flat walking to Vaqueria where we could catch a ride back to Huaraz. It did take us four hours but the second half was far from flat – it was absolutely brutal! But we made it up by midday and jumped in a van for a very bumpy, four hour trip back to town for 20 soles each. 

Santa Cruz has been the highlight of my trip so far. The scenery was obscenely beautiful and most of the time it felt like we had the mountain range to ourselves. I would throughly recommend doing this trek unguided for anyone travelling in Peru. It’s easy to navigate and not too difficult to do with four days worth of gear.

Now I’m in Lima waiting for a flight to Cusco to do some more hiking. Determined to get lots of use out of my new tent!!