September 2nd, 2015
For those of you who haven’t seen my entries from Chilean Patagonia ( Part of Real Patagonia) I suggest you check them out here, here and here,, because it was incredible. It’s for that reason, as I head from Trujillo to Huaraz, Caraz, and the nearby Huascaran National Park I’m pretty excited to be getting back into the snowy Andean Peaks.
After spending a few days in the biggest city in the region, Huaraz about 8 hours North of Lima, getting over the last lingering effects of my food poisoning from Mancora. Huaraz is a touristy little wonderland framed by snow capped mountains and full of delicious if expensive restaurants, like Mi Comedia (Pizza), Chili Heaven (Mexican, Indian, Thai) and California Cafe (Breakfast and Sweet Treats). I stay at the comfy if non central Ezama guesthouse (Dorms 18 Soles) and adjust the the altitude for a few days before heading down through the valley to Caraz, a small town and one of the few whose colonial architecture was not entirely destroyed by a lengthy series of earthquakes in the region with one thing in mind, getting to Laguna Paron, one of the few lakes high up in the mountains with a very manageable flat trail along side it. The problem is, no tours seem to go there, barring private ones, which are too costly for me.
So after a day of walking around Caraz charming Plaza de Armas and market, and a night spent at Hostal Grecia (30 Soles for a nice double room with Wifi and Private Bathroom) I wake up early and head to a collection of taxis outside a collectivo station and start asking around. Eventually I find one whose willing to drive me up to the lake and wait for me before taking me back. It’s costly at 120 Soles (50 CAD) for the trip both ways and 3 hours of hiking time, but I’ve long since decided I need to get up there.
Linder, my driver, welcomes me into his car and soon we’re heading up from Caraz towards the lake. Laguna Paron is only 33 km from Caraz, but it takes just over 90 minutes and includes climbing almost 2000 meters, from 2200 to 4200 meter above sea level.
The drive is beautiful, winding up on a dirt road into the impressive mountains, making friends with Linder as we go, getting to know about his life and telling him all about Canada. He’s fascinated by the prominence of marijuana use I describe, among other things. We also discuss how religion is less prevalent in Canada than Peru, which he also finds fascinating.
The higher we get the more and more mountains peek above the rugged cliff faces and the more water is to be found in river we’re following up, fed by the glacial melt waters of the mountains all around us. I snap a few photos of the most impressive places before we come to one that deserves special mention, this impressive waterfall framed by a background of snow covered mountains and an impressive collection of small icy glaciers above it.
Shortly thereafter we come to the lake, mid morning sun glistening down on this incredible mountain sanctuary, whose waters are a truly unique colour, a tantalizing mix of turquoise and sapphire blue. Already, in the first moments I’m thrilled that I spent the money to get here.
I waste no time heading out along the trail alongside the lake for a closer view and what I’ve read are some impressive mountains more visible from the far side of the lake, including Pyramide and Artesonraju which is the famed mountain from which Paramount pictures created their logo.
The first ten minutes of the trail is a wide well groomed path leading to the small and surprisingly unobtrusive hydro electric station built in the last 10 years. Apparently the incredibly bright and beautiful waters used to be much much higher before they started siphoning off the waters of the lake. Still it’s hardly ruined. Here the path changed from wide and easy to a bit more fun, a narrow and uneven surface snaking down alongside one end of the lake and a sign that says the path is only for mountaineers, which is admittedly a bit of an exaggeration.
As you can see the lake is incredible and I’m dead set on reaching the other end of it, in my limited three hours, a goal which soon has me sweating and gasping for breath One of the few downsides of Huascaran National Park when compared to Patagonia, is the altitude, hiking above 4000 meters can be very difficult for anyone, and I’m not even close to in shape. what I lack in fitness though I make up for in determination, only stopping my frantic pace to snap lots more photos of the marvelous natural splendour all around me.
The beautiful purple flowers seen in some of the photos above grow wild in this high altitude haven, where the air is cool but not all too cold, at least at this time of year. The skies stay madly clear though sadly the closer I get to the distant mountains at the far end of the lake, the more clouds mass around their jagged peaks. As I walk I realize what perhaps the most incredible thing is about this place. I’m utterly alone, an hour on the trail and I’ve not seen a sign of a single other person. Looking around me, it’s hard to believe, but it’s true, Laguna Paron is rarely visited and a great place to do some day hikes to get back in touch with Nature.
Running out of energy I near the end of my trail for the day, approaching the sandy banks of the far end of the lake, more than a little exhausted, but too enthralled by the incredible natural beauty all around me too care much, just wishing I’d negotiated more than 3 hours to hike around here. Apparently there’s another lake further along the trail, but alas it’s been just over 90 minutes so I don’t have time to carry on much further.
Deciding I don’t have a choice though I throw caution to the wind and scramble down the mix of rock and sand towards the rushing river which feeds laguna Paron it’s incredible colours. I take a seat for a minute catching my breath and trying to soak in as many as the suns rays as possible. I also find a friendly cow looking out on the lake and beginning to explain the extraordinary amount of Cow dung seen on my walk (Not in a bad way if that makes sense)
Sun soaked up I can’t resist the temptation peeling down to my boxers and plunging into the icy cold water. It’s an incredible rush, cleaning me of sweat and fatigue alike all in a single instant. The feeling in impossible to describe, though the rush of frozen skin which envelops me as I climb out into the cutting wind is mildly unpleasant for the first few seconds. Most people don’t swim here, but for those who’ve followed the blog for a while, know how hard it is for me to resist swimming in beautiful places.
As I change into some drier clothes and head back to the trail I briefly meet an older french couple who got here a few hours before me, today they are the only people on the trail other than me. Sadly, after a short conversation in my always fading french I have to hurry on ahead of them to make it back to Linder somewhere close to on time.
As I draw close to the end of the trail I pass a pair of inukshuks and decide that I need to build one myself, it’s the day after my mum’s birthday and my minds been on her a lot of late. She always loved building them in Terence Bay, Nova Scotia and it seems fitting to build one here,in a place of such incredible beauty.
That done, I hurry back up the last of the mountaineering trail and past the small hydro electric plant taking a few last photos of the incredible blue and wishing I had more time here.
I get back to the end of the road and the small house built at the edge of the lake where I find Linder eating inside with Mario, the caretaker of the refuge September through November. I start talking to them, lamenting how short a time I’ve had here, only for Mario to tell me that you can stay in the little house in a dorm bed for free during those three months. This changes everything and I decide I have to come back needing food and supplies from town.
I get Linder to snap a few final photos of my first day in this magical wonderland before heading back down to Caraz, very relieved by the fact that tomorrow morning I’ll be back to do so much more exploring of this incredible place, which really does rival the beauty I saw in Chilean Patagonia. In fact, it might just be my new favourite place in Peru.
