This past weekend we headed to Huaraz for some trekking in the Cordillera Blanca. After an overnight bus ride, our third stop was Respons Sustainable Tourism Centre: www.respons.org. It should have been our first, as we organized everything through them. We first stayed at the Lazy Dog Inn, a beautiful eco-lodge built entirely of adobe and dedicated to community development: www.lazydoginn.com. We took the afternoon to acclimatize to the 3,650 metre altitude, and the next day climbed another 850 metres hiking into the Quebrada Llaca.
Saturday and Sunday were spent in an agricultural mountain village, Humacchuco, living with one of the families and sleeping under Huascarán, Peru’s highest mountain. We spent Saturday learning about the community, cutting grasses which we fed to guinea pigs and rabbits, digging up carrots for dinner, and bringing in bulls from pasture. On Sunday we hiked up to a beautiful glacial lake, Laguna 69, located at 4,600 metres. We returned back to Humacchuco just in time for a hearty Pachamanca lunch before an overnight bus back to Lima.
Peru: August - December 2009 
Hey! How cool that you’ve been trekking in the Cordillara Blanca. I spent 2 weeks doing several treks in that region in 1998! I imagine that it’s changed quite a bit! Can’t wait to see your photos upon your return. xx
Wow, that’s amazing Tia! We would have loved to have spent 2 weeks there. Must see your photos too.