Laguna Churup is in the Huascaran National Park and starts in the village of Pitec. It costs S.10 each way, and normally the last collectivo leaves around 4.30pm. You can also get a private taxi from Huaraz, and arrange pick up at a certain time. If you miss the last taxi, it’s an hour’s walk to Llupa where you may be able to catch a collectivo.

I was joined on this adventure by Guido, a mountain guide from Casa de Guias. He was tracking a trail that would have been mostly used by locals, possibly collecting plants used for medicinal purposes. The trail isn’t well used anymore, in fact we saw more animal prints than signs that people had been there recently. Guido taught me that if animals used a path, especially larger animals, it meant that the earth is stable.

Peru: Lake Churup in the Huascaran National Park

Lake Churup (Laguna Churup) is a beautiful glacial lake 4,450m above sea level. I’ve been in Huaraz a week, and it just wasn’t long enough for my lungs to adjust to the altitude. A month of relative inactivity has also left me in a less than ideal physical condition – both those factors combined made the hike more challenging to say the least.

The morning began with our landlady, Liliana, helping us catch a taxi and negotiated a price of 10 soles each (NZ$4.50) one way, with the drive taking an hour to Pitek (the start of the track). You can also catch a combi, but you may have to wait until it gets full before they head off. On the drive, we picked up Karina, a German backpacker who just happened to be doing the hike that day too.

It costs 30 soles (NZ$13.50) for entry into the Huascaran National Park, and you can pay that at the start of the track. We paid our driver and he said he would be back at 3pm.