Day 01
Pastoruri Glacier and Huascaran National Park
- Have breakfast at the hotel in the morning and depart at 8 am, driving south of Huaraz. After around 25 km, visit Recuay province at 3300 masl, then continue to Ticampampa at 3400 masl and Catac at 3500 masl. Continue to Pachacoto, where the route turns east onto an unpaved road through a wonderful highland landscape filled with straw grass, cold wind, and traditional scenes of sheep herders.
- About 15 km from the highway, stop beside the small lake of Patococha for birdwatching, where you may see wild ducks, Andean geese, caracara birds, and others. The next stop is the gasified water stream, where naturally carbonated drinking water flows underground. Continue to the enormous flowers of Puya Raimondii and the small colour-changing lake at Pumapampa. Its changing colour is caused by the sun's radiation and the minerals in the rocks beneath the water.
- Continue to the petroglyph paintings, and then after approximately 10 more km, arrive at the Pastoruri parking area. From here, the ice mountain is about 1 km away, and you can either enjoy an easy hike or take a horseback ride through the snow mountain of Pastoruri. Once there, enjoy walking around and visiting the iced lake and ice cave. After a few hours in Pastoruri, drive back the same way directly to Huaraz, arriving at around 6 pm.
