Huaraz is the central town of the Cordillera Blanca range. From what we have seen, this seems to be a big draw for mountain enthusiasts worldwide and the starting point for treks to see Alpamayo and other stunning peaks.
From Huaraz we will head back to Lima before heading up to Cuzco to meet our group for the Inca Trail. Due to overcrowding the Peruvian government have put in place strict quotas for the trail and the requirement to trek with an established operator. We are booked to go on the last trip before the Trail is closed for maintenance in February. We will be leaving Cuzco on the 18th January with Peru Treks. This will certainly be a highlight of the trip for both of us. Did I say that Sarah loves trekking!
We are currently booked to stay in The Lazy Dog inn for several days as a base for day treks to get used to the altitude. The surrounding mountains look amazing, but who knows what they will look like at the height of the rainy season! I suspect it may look something like April in the Lake District i.e nothing above the low cloud 200m
We plan to arrive in Lima by plane from Quito and spend a couple of days seeing the sights. We have been told that Lima isn't the highlight of Peru and that we will need to spend some time at altitude to acclimatise for the Inca Trail. With that in mind we plan to catch a bus up into the Andes to spend a few days at a lodge just outside of Huaraz.
When we have finished the Inca Trail I suspect that we will want to rest for a couple of days in Cuzco before making our way across towards Bolivia. I have heard that both Arequipa and the Colca Canyon are meant to be stunning. We will take some readings from travelers in Peru before deciding and work out the trade-off between time spent in Peru and arriving later in the season in Patagonia.
