Huaraz challenge, full day hike

Huaraz challenge – a full day hike

“Huaraz challenge” we call the program that visits up to 4 lagoons in the Cordillera Blanca ( Ahuac, Mullaca, Carhuac and Radian).

It is really a very demanding hike challenge, you can visit up to four lakes in a one day. The hiking trail starts very close to Huaraz and during the day you will visit strategic points to enjoy the panoramic views of the Cordillera Blanca (inside the Huascaran National Park) and the valley of Callejón de Huaylas.

The views of the Cordillera Blanca are splendid after overcoming the first lake called Ahuac, which makes this long route one of the most special in the area of ​​Huaraz. Visiting the 4 lagoons (Ahuac, Mullaca, Carhuac and Radián) will make your adventure challenge a special experience.

“Huaraz Challenge” or the famous “Route of four Lakes” a full day hike only require that you are well acclimatized (at least 2 days before) and that you have a very good experience in hiking on a rocky, morrenic road and most importantly have the necessary resistance for continuous walking for more than 8 hours and even in some parts the Streams have no bridges and therefore you have to be prepared to cross the creeks by jumping on rocks.

Huaraz – Willcahuain – hike Ahuac to Mullaca and Radian

Departure from Huaraz with the vehicle we head north-east on the road that leads to the Willcahuain town, from here we begin the walk through a marked path towards the San Cristobal hill until reaching the Ahuac Lake (3 hours approx) .
During the hike you can see the beauty of the mountains with moraines and glaciers of the Vallunaraju, Churup, Huamashraju, Cashan and the panoramic views of Huaraz.

After a break in Laguna Ahuac (4560 meters) we will ascend a rocky and winding road to a high pass (approximately 4800 meters) located just at the foot of the Vallunaraju mountain (5686 meters), from here we will get splendid views of the twin lakes of intense blue color called Mullaca and Carhuac (4610 meters approx), which we will reach along a morrenic path.

After a brief rest in this place and taking many photographs, we begin our final descent through a zigzagging path parallel to the river that descends from the lakes producing small waterfalls.

During the tour we will cross through Quenuales forests (native trees of the mountain ranges), downstream the path becomes flat and runs along a pre-Inca water channel that will lead us to the visit of our last lake of the day called Radián (3885 mts) which is characterized by being a small lagoon and the most outstanding of this place is the landscape around it, you get splendid views of the mountains of almost the entire Cordillera Blanca.

After this last visit we continue the path for about 20 minutes down the lake to take our private transport that will lead us back by the Chavin town road to Huaraz. End of the tour