South America 2025 – #09 – Peru – Laguna 69 Hike
02.05.2025
After Bolivia we flew back to Peru.We took the night bus to Huaraz (3052m elevation) as a starting point for our next adventures. If you want to do the Huayhuash Trek almost everyone recommends doing at least a few days of acclimatization hikes in the area of Huaraz. One of the most famous ones is Laguna 69.
As we came from Bolivia we were already above 4000m for 7 days. I definitely wanted to see Laguna 69 so we planned to hike to the Laguna before we start the Huayhuash Trek.
To get to the starting point you have to drive a from time to time very bad looking road, being a rocky dirt road for the last hour. From Huaraz it takes 3-4h to get there. Most tour operators organize group tours, starting at Huaraz at 4.30AM.
Our night bus arrived at 6:40AM (we knew that), so we opted for a private transfer to the trailhead and back. We booked this in advance to make sure it fits in our plan.
The hike starts at 3900m and ends at 4604m. We were already well prepared regarding the altitude but this does not mean it will be easy. At this elevation every step is like two or three at lower altitude. We left our driver behind and started in a beautiful valley. This day was supposed to be a mix of rain and clouds. Luckly it was just a bit of rain.
Around half way we even had some short blue skies with views of the 6000+ peaks of Cordillera Blanca close by, also Perus highest one Huascaran. As we continued we passed lots of hikers going down. Remember, this is a very popular hike, but the further we went, lesser people we passed. When we reached the Laguna we only one other couple and they were preparing to get down.
We had the Laguna 69 for ourleves!
What an amazing view! such beautiful colors! WOW!
It took us about 3h to the Laguna (including taking lots of photos and breaks). We spent about 1-2h up there before heading down again as it began to rain from time to time. We reached the atarting point after 2h of hiking down the same path.
As we were walking down Kerstin felt that something was not right. She started to feel ill and started to cough a bit.
On the way back we took two Peruvians with us that otherwise would have try to survive the night there in the cold (it seemed they thought there is a bus back, which was not the case).
My wife slept almost the whole drive back to Huaraz.
Next adventure: The Huayhuash Trek.
