Huayhuash Trek 8 Days Circuit / 7 Nights

AT A GLANCE

• 8 days / 7 nights

• Max altitude: 5,020 or 5,080 m (San Antonio or Santa Rosa Pass)

• Distance: 101 km (63 mi)

• Difficulty: Difficult

• Start and end: Huaraz

• Season: April–September 2027

• Group: max 10 trekkers

Of all the ways to walk the Huayhuash, this is the one the guides talk about over dinner. The Huayhuash Alpine Circuit fits the full loop into 8 days and takes the high line: instead of dropping around the southern valleys, it climbs straight over Trapecio Pass (5,000 m) and San Antonio Pass (5,020 m) — a crossing that hangs directly above the Sarapococha glacier basin, face to face with Siula Grande, the mountain from Touching the Void.

Eight days, eight passes, and a lake with a different shade of turquoise almost every night: Mitucocha, Carhuacocha, the Three Lakes viewpoint, Jahuacocha. You sleep above 4,000 m the whole way — and you only carry a daypack, because the mules carry camp and the trekking cook has dinner ready when you walk in.

Yes, it's demanding. That's the point. Every pass is earned, every camp feels like a reward, and you come back to Huaraz tired, sun-creased and quietly proud of what you just walked.

HIGHLIGHTS

• San Antonio Pass — 5,020 m — the circuit's most scenic crossing

• Siula Grande up close — the Touching the Void mountain

• Three Lakes viewpoint — the classic Huayhuash photo

• 8 passes in 8 days — Cacanan Punta to Pampa Llámac

• 7 turquoise glacial lakes — camp beside three of them

• 101 km (63 mi) — the full circuit, condensed

• Every night above 4,000 m — highest camp at 4,600 m

• Trapecio Pass — 5,000 m — moraine, glaciers and the Puscanturpa towers

• Sunset at Laguna Jahuacocha — the range's favorite goodbye

• Mules carry everything — you walk with a daypack

ITINERARY — DAY BY DAY

Day 1 — Huaraz → Cuartelwain → Cacanan Punta Pass → Mitucocha camp
10 km (6.2 mi) · ~5 h walking · +530 m / −470 m

You'll leave Huaraz at 4 a.m. — yes, really; it's worth it — and roll through Chiquián for breakfast as the sun hits the range. From the roadhead at Cuartelwain (4,170 m) you're walking within minutes, up your first pass, Cacanan Punta (4,700 m), and down to camp at Mitucocha (4,230 m), where Jirishanca fills the horizon behind your tent.

Day 2 — Mitucocha → Carhuac Pass → Carhuacocha camp
12 km (7.5 mi) · 5–6 h walking · +420 m / −370 m

A kinder day to settle into the rhythm. Over Carhuac Pass (4,650 m), past the little Alcaycocha tarn, with a side viewpoint toward Yerupajá — Peru's second-highest peak — if the group feels strong. Camp is on the shore of Laguna Carhuacocha (4,280 m), arguably the most beautiful campsite of the whole circuit.

Day 3 — Carhuacocha → Three Lakes viewpoint → Siula Pass → Huayhuash camp
15 km (9.3 mi) · 5–6 h walking · +550 m / −530 m

The postcard day. You climb past Gangrajanca, Siula and Quesillococha — three lakes stacked beneath a wall of 6,000 m peaks — and stop at the viewpoint that made Huayhuash famous. Then over Siula Pass (4,830 m), down past Laguna Carnicero to camp at Huayhuash (4,300 m). Your camera will need a rest tonight.

Day 4 — Huayhuash camp → Trapecio Pass → Cuyocpampa camp
11 km (6.8 mi) · 6–7 h walking · +700 m / −400 m

The first of the two big ones. The trail fades into ichu grass and then moraine as you work up to Trapecio Pass (5,000 m), where a new family of peaks appears all at once: Trapecio, Puscanturpa, Cuyoc. You descend past a small turquoise glacial tarn to camp at Cuyocpampa (4,600 m), already higher than most nights of your life.

Day 5 — Cuyocpampa → Santa Rosa or San Antonio Pass → Cutatambo → Huayllapa village
18 km (11.2 mi) · 6–7 h walking · +420 m / −1,390 m

The big crossing day. Two steep hours put you on Santa Rosa Pass (5,080 m), the highest point of the trek, and the floor drops away: the Jurau and Sarapococha lakes glowing below, and straight across, the Siula glacier — the ice Joe Simpson crawled off in Touching the Void. Ask your guide and you can cross by San Antonio (5,020 m) instead — the same amphitheatre from a little lower, down a steeper scree ramp — or walk up to its viewpoint and come back. Either way it is the long, glorious descent through Cutatambo to Huayllapa (3,630 m), where a hot shower and a village shop feel like luxury.

Day 6 — Huayllapa → Tapush Pass → Gashpapampa camp
13 km (8.1 mi) · 5–6 h walking · +1,150 m / −230 m

The biggest single climb of the trek — and one of its quietest corners. From the village you rise steadily out of the valley to Tapush Pass (4,780 m), with lunch on the way up. Camp at Gashpapampa (4,550 m) is calm and starry; by now, walking at altitude simply feels like walking.

Day 7 — Gashpapampa → Yaucha Pass → Jahuacocha camp
13 km (8.1 mi) · 5–6 h walking · +250 m / −700 m

A short climb to Yaucha Pass (4,800 m) buys you the west-side panorama: Ninashanca, Jirishanca, Yerupajá and Rasac in one sweep. Then down to Laguna Jahuacocha (4,100 m), the circuit's beloved final camp, with the peaks reflected in the water at sunset. Bittersweet is the word.

Day 8 — Jahuacocha → Pampa Llámac Pass → Llámac → Huaraz
9 km (5.6 mi) · ~5 h walking · +200 m / −1,000 m

One last pass, one last look. From Pampa Llámac (4,300 m) the whole cordillera lines up behind you for a final photo, then the trail drops to Llámac (3,300 m), where the bus — and a well-earned bakery stop in Chiquián — carry you back to Huaraz by evening.

REQUIREMENTS & RESTRICTIONS

• Good fitness and previous multi-day trekking experience — most nights on this route are spent above 4,000 m

• At least 3 days acclimatizing in Huaraz (3,050 m) or higher right before departure

• Minimum age 12, travelling with a parent or guardian

• Not suitable during pregnancy

• Not suitable with heart or lung conditions, uncontrolled high blood pressure or a history of severe altitude sickness — unless your doctor clears you in writing

• Tell the team about any medical condition, allergy or medication when you book

• Your guide may turn back anyone with signs of serious altitude sickness — safety comes before the itinerary

• In camp, use only the camp toilets and don't throw paper into them; going to the toilet in the open — corrals, near houses — is not allowed

BOOKING, PAYMENTS & CANCELLATION

• Secure your spot with a USD 100 deposit per person.

• The balance is charged automatically to your card in 3 installments, 6, 4 and 2 weeks (42, 28 and 14 days) before departure. If you book less than 6 weeks before departure, any installment already due is charged at booking.

• Refund guaranteed when you cancel at least 30 calendar days before the departure date — transaction and credit card fees excluded.

INSURANCE, RESCUE & EVACUATION

• Travel insurance is not included and is required: it must cover medical care, rescue and evacuation (including helicopter) for trekking up to 5,100 m.

• Huayhuash is remote and high. If you need to be rescued, evacuated or treated, every cost involved — horses and arrieros, help from the local communities, transport, helicopter and medical care — is paid by you. By booking this trek you accept this condition.

WHO RUNS THIS TREK

Turisteando, by Gazela Network, S.A., studies the market and selects the best local operators, agreeing every trek with them directly and in person, and working together with the local communities that host the route. Your trek is run on the ground by a local team from the Huayhuash villages: you know exactly who you are walking with.

• Passport

• Extra money (soles recommended)

• Personal medications

• Water bottle or camelback – (purifying tablets optional)

• Sunscreen 70+ or more

• Insect repellent

• Personal care products

• Hiking boots/shoes (preferably waterproof)

• Light shoes or sandals

• Hiking pants

• Hiking socks

• Waterproof booties

• Long sleeve shirts

• Thermal jacket

• Waterproof jacket

• Waterproof poncho

• Hat that protects face and neck

• Neck scarf or buff

• Lenses with UV protection

• Walking sticks

• Medium hiking backpack (15 to 25 liters)

• Camera with charger

• Extreme battery

• Snacks: energy bars, electrolytes, nuts, energy gels, etc.

• Towel

• Flashlight

Ready to book?

From USD $890 per person. Instant confirmation.