Intro
I’m sitting in my room in Huaraz, my quads humming with a different kind of fatigue than the usual chain-grease grind. Today was supposed to be a rest day, but for a cyclist, ‘rest’ usually just means using a different set of muscles to reach a higher altitude. The sky over the Cordillera Blanca stayed a stubborn, clear blue today, highlighting the jagged grey peaks that have been mocking my progress from the valley floor since I arrived.
The Pitek Staircase
- The day didn’t start with a pedal stroke, but with the idle rumble of a van engine at the Huaraz station. I arrived at 07:00, clutching a ticket for a Pitek-bound colectivo that refused to budge until every seat was sold. It took forty-five minutes of watching the street wake up before we finally pulled out. Breakfast was a logistical puzzle: assembling a peanut butter and banana sandwich in a moving vehicle. The road to Pitek was surprisingly smooth asphalt, which was the only reason half my breakfast didn’t end up on my lap.
- We reached the trailhead just before 09:00. While the other hikers marched off immediately, I took a minute to brush my teeth in the parking lot, watching the dust settle. The hike began not with a path, but with a massive staircase of natural stone. I could feel the grit of the natural stone staircase through the soles of my hiking shoes, a sharp contrast to the flat platform of a bicycle pedal. By the time I reached the registration booth 700 meters up, I was already fifth in the ledger, my lungs working hard in the thin air. Looking back, the horizon was wide and indifferent; looking forward, the trail simply vanished into a wall of grey rock.
Ropes and Turquoise Water
- The well-marked gravel path eventually gave way to something more interesting. To reach Laguna Churup, the trail forces you into two technical sections where you have to haul yourself up using fixed lines. There was a distinct, low metallic rattle of the chains as I gripped the cold steel and pulled my weight upward, feeling the ‘spice’ of the scramble. It felt good to use my arms for something other than steering through potholes. I reached the Laguna at 10:30, finding only three other people there, quietly brewing coffee on a flat rock overlooking the turquoise water.
- I didn’t stay long. As more hikers began to trickle in, the silence started to fray. I ate a handful of nuts and pushed higher toward Laguna Churupita. The trail hugged the edge of the lower lake, offering a shifting perspective of the water’s intensity against the grey scree. I reached Churupita at noon, a smaller, more isolated bowl of water that felt like it belonged to the mountain rather than the tourists. I found a massive boulder, stretched out, and managed exactly fifteen minutes of a power nap before the sound of approaching voices signaled the end of my solitude.
The Ridge and the Failed Detour
- After a slow lunch of an egg omelette and bread rolls, I started the descent. I chose an alternative ridge route that kept me high above the valley for as long as possible. This path was steep and required another chain-assisted down-climb, but the views of the Pitek valley were worth the extra strain on my knees. With every meter I dropped, Laguna Churup shrank until it was just a blue speck swallowed by the rock. I stopped for a final banana at the registration booth and struck up a conversation with a group from Lima and France.
- I tried to coordinate a side-trip to Laguna Llaca. I convinced them it was worth the detour, and we even got their taxi driver to agree to the extra mileage. But mountain logistics are fickle. After dropping another passenger in a nearby village, the group’s collective energy evaporated. Suddenly, Llaca was ‘too far’ for everyone but me. I sat in the back of the taxi, watching the turn-off for the lake slide past as we headed straight back to Huaraz. By 16:15, I was back on the city streets, the detour dead in the water.
Hostel Chemistry
- The evening was spent in a utilitarian blur of provisioning. I hit the central market to prep for the upcoming climb toward Pastoruri, loading up on cheese, eggs, and fruit for tomorrow’s pancakes. I found some precooked beans and lentils in a supermarket—gold for wild camping. Back at the hostel, I scavenged a communal dinner of rice and brown sauce from the ‘free’ shelf, which tasted better than it had any right to after a day of climbing.
- The night ended with a minor culinary disaster. I found a bag of popcorn kernels in the free bin and decided to attempt caramel popcorn in the hostel kitchen. The sticky, burnt-sugar smell filled the room, but the corn was too old to cooperate. Only about half the kernels popped, leaving me with a bowl of sweet, tooth-shattering debris that I ate anyway while chatting with two Germans. Now, I’m back in my room, staring at the map for the route to Oyon. The ‘rest’ is over; tomorrow I have a real rest before heading towards Pastoruri the day after.
Overnight
I stayed at the El Tambo Hostal in Huaraz that has a communal kitchen and a ‘free food’ shelf, which is essential for stretching a budget before a long stretch of wild camping.
Reflection
A rest day spent hiking is just a different way to exhaust yourself, and shared transport is only as reliable as the least motivated person in the van.
Route summary
- Date: 2026-05-05
- Distance: 8.51 km
- Elevation gain: 754 m
- Elevation loss: 742 m
- Duration: 6 h 27 min
- Time in Motion: 2 h 38 min
- Average Speed: 3.2 km/h