Day Trips

Pastoruri
Pastoruri is one of the more tiny peaks at a mere 5,240m / 17,187ft. It is a very popular day trip from Huaraz as people without hiking/climbing experience and without specialist equipment can still climb it.
For those who can not manage the assent, horses are available to take you up the first half of the trail from the base camp, where there are also stalls that sell Mate de Coca to help with the affects of the altitude.

Chavín
The Chavín were a pre-inca and pre-moche civilisation that existed in the area that is now central Peru around 3000 years ago. The were the most ancient of the major cultures known to exist in South America.
A bus trip to Chavín de Huántar takes about 4 hours, as the road, which was once a mere dirt road, is still being constructed - so traffic is obstructed and the road is quite bad. In a year or so, the road and the new tunnel ought to be complete and the journey should only be about 3 hours long.
Next we went to visit the ruins the Chavín left. The site consists of a number of large ceremonial buildings with a large perfectly square (as measured with lasers) pool in the center. The Chavín had engineered a river to flow into this square through a system of tunnels/canals then out into another river.

Lagunas de Llanganuco
These are the famous lagoons you will see on postcard of Huaraz or in any tourist guide. These beautiful lagoons, with their spectacular pale colours are a for everyone, trekker or not. A bus from Huaraz takes a few hours and is often combine with a visit to Yungay, Carhuaz and Caraz.

Yungay
Yungay was a bustling town that is no more. In an earthquake in 1970 it was completly buried by a landslide from the massive Huascaran mountain. Thousands of tons of rock, ice and mud killed around 20,000 inhabitants.
The town is now a graveyard and monument, still towered over by the biggest mountain in Peru.