Acclimatisation: the days in Huaraz that no package includes

Why Huaraz is different from Cusco

Cusco sits at 3,400 m, and if you arrive there you are ready for the Inca Trail after two days in town, because the trail rarely sleeps above 4,200. Huaraz sits lower, 3,050 m, but the treks sleep higher: Llamacorral 3,750 on the first night of the Santa Cruz, Taullipampa 4,250 on the second, in the Huayhuash every night above 4,000 and the passes above 4,700 from the first walking day. The jump from Lima to Huaraz on the night bus is 3,000 m in eight hours, and the body needs about a day for every thousand metres above 2,500. The operators know this and write it small: Scheler Artizon recommends “prior acclimatisation”, Peru Expeditions puts Laguna Churup before the Huayhuash in its Lima version, First Class Huaraz puts Laguna 69 before the Alpamayo circuit, and all the others assume you have already been there. If you start the Santa Cruz the day after the night bus, you will have a headache and no appetite on the second evening in Taullipampa and a problem at the pass on day three; in the Huayhuash there is no exit except over a pass, and the packages by Andean Raju and IZI Peru refund nothing if you abandon.

The three day walks

Altitudes rounded; prices per the agencies in Huaraz, as of September 2026. The one-day park ticket applies to Churup and Laguna 69, not to Wilcacocha (Cordillera Negra, outside the park).

Two plans: two days before Santa Cruz, three before the Huayhuash

Santa Cruz. Night bus from Lima, arrival in Huaraz in the morning (day 1); hotel, breakfast, Wilcacocha in the afternoon or just the town, early to bed. Day 2: Laguna 69 by shared bus, 4,600 m, back in the evening. Day 3: trek start – the first night at 3,750 is then lower than the previous day's high point, as it should be. If you have a day more, put a rest day between Laguna 69 and the trek or swap Wilcacocha for Churup. Huayhuash. Day 1 arrival and Wilcacocha, day 2 Churup, day 3 Laguna 69 or a rest day in town, day 4 trek start with the first night at 4,200 and the first pass at 4,700 – that is still fast, and the operators who have a rest day in the itinerary (Peru Expeditions, Peru Bergsport, First Class Huaraz at Jahuacocha) put it at the end, not the beginning. Better is the long version: Santa Cruz first (four days to 4,750), two nights in Huaraz, then the Huayhuash. That is two and a half weeks and the reason people who have walked both remember the Huayhuash as the finer one – they were acclimatised. If you come from Cusco or a Bolivia trip and have spent the last weeks above 3,000 m, you need only one night and one walking day in Huaraz; acclimatisation lasts about two weeks, then you start over.

What the body says and what the operators carry

Headache, loss of appetite, poor sleep and breathlessness when walking are normal in Huaraz and on the first trek night and pass; if you have them, walk slower, drink more and do not sleep higher. Not normal are a headache that stays after painkillers, vomiting, staggering and a rattling breath at rest – then the only way is down, and on the same day. On the Santa Cruz that means from Taullipampa back to Cashapampa or out over the pass, depending on where you are; in the Huayhuash the lowest point is Huayllapa at 3,500 m, and every way there crosses a pass. That is why what the packages carry matters: Scheler Artizon names oxygen and radio, Turismo Exploring and Peru Expeditions (five days) an emergency horse, Peru Expeditions (14 days) a mountain rescue team; Andean Raju, Andean Summit, IZI Peru and First Class Huaraz name none of these. There is no mobile signal on any of the routes except in Huayllapa and Vaquería. Many take Diamox (acetazolamide) as a preventive; that belongs in a conversation with your doctor before the trip, not in the pharmacy in Huaraz, which sells it without prescription. Coca tea does no harm but replaces no day.

Questions about acclimatisation

Sources and check status