Activities en Humacchuco

Your stay at Humacchuco can be as busy or as tranquil as you desire – the best is a little of both. There are plenty of activities that require varying levels of endurance. For those who are adjusted to the rather high altitudes of the Andes and have some energy to expend, there is a beautiful lake at the end of the rather long hike called Laguna 69.

For those people that would rather take time to adjust to the altitude for the first couple of days or do not feel up to a hike there are opportunities to explore the town of Humacchuco itself and participate in the daily activities of its people. For every visitor there are wonderful opportunities to learn about the incredible variety of trees and plants that the local people put to use in all aspects of their lives.

There are many hikes around Humacchuco that provide access to the beautiful mountains that make up the Cordillera Blanca. They also provide access to Wari ruins and other culturally relevant sites such as the María Josefa trail. Guides will accompany you on your hikes and all the while fill you in on the flora and fauna as well as history of what you are seeing. Below follows a brief description of several hikes that the people of Humacchuco can guide you on.

Quebrada Huaytapallana (4 hours, 6 kilometers)

Huaytapallana means ‘to pick flowers’ in Quechua. The trail is easy, the views beautiful, and the walk serves well for acclimatizing to the altitude. It is an ancient route in an excellent state of conservation that is still used by locals for retrieving ice that falls from the glaciers.

Sendero María Josefa (2-5 hours, 3-6 kilometers)

The María Josefa Trail is part of the pre-Inca route from Yungay to Yanama located between the magnificent granite walls at the entrance of Quebrada Llanganuco. About 80% of the species of plants that exist in Huascarán National Park are represented in the ecosystems that are found here. There are two parts to the trail; from Lake Chinancocha to the road, and from the road to Humacchuco. The second is used little.

Laguna 69 (6 hours, 10 kilometers)

The trail to Laguna 69 is one of the most popular for tourists. For the adventurous type, it serves well to acclimatize to high altitudes, and for conventional tourists, it is a door easily entered to see the mountains up close. You climb seven hundred meters and reach 4,620 meters of altitude.

Other activities

A stay at Humacchuco provides opportunities to do much more than just hiking. The local families welcome visitors to work beside them in the fields harvesting the potatoes and corn that you will eat for your dinner. People who like to fish can join locals at the nearby streams catching beautiful and tasty trout. After working for your food, if you wish you can assist in the preparation of the meals. Often they will serve meat or poultry but they are accustomed to having vegetarian visitors so they are flexible about meals as long as you make your preferences known.

Go up

Biodiversity of the plants

What really makes Humacchuco unique from other areas in the Andes is its rich diversity of flora. So many plants have medicinal applica-tions but a proper study on the plants and herbs of the area has never been completed.

Forests of various trees are also found in the areas around Humacchuco. Indigenous quenual trees are found on the María Josefa trail. Eucalyptus trees present in the park and in Humacchuco were planted as part of a conservation project in order to preserve the native quenual trees. Another type of threatened tree (due to use for construction and firewood) is the quishuar tree.

Go up

Accommodation

The project at Humacchuco consists of five guesthouses maintained by some of the families living in Humacchuco. The houses are located near the residences of the families that will be looking after you. The guesthouses are situated fairly close to one another so if you are in a group that requires more than one house, visiting each other is not a problem. If you are looking for a more solitary experience (i.e. you do not want to bump into other visitors) it is easy to find solitude and immerse yourself completely in the Andean way of life. The houses consist of two rooms and a bathroom. The rooms are spacious and well ventilated.

They have electricity so that when the sun goes down there is still light to prepare for bed. The beds are comfortable and warm. Pillows are also provided.

The bathrooms have a toilet and a sink with running water. The water in the bathrooms, as with all tap water in Humacchuco, is not potable so it is recommended that you use boiled or purified water for drinking and brushing your teeth - the families are more than happy to provide you with boiled water. The toilets are compost so toilet paper is to be put in waste paper baskets and not into the toilet itself. Showers are being constructed but there is no definitive time table set for completion.

Go up

Food and drinks

Meals come three times a day and are fairly large portions. The first course is usually soup, ‘sopa de trigo’, a sort of wheat-based soup often accompanied by chicken. Potatoes, chicken, and corn are the staples in this part of the world. An especially good appetizer, cancha de maiz, is similar to corn nuts and is often served with cheese. Sometimes you are treated to a Peruvian specialty that makes some visitors a little squeamish. Cuy, or as it is known in English speaking countries, guinea pig, is served roasted whole and is frequently comes in a spicy sauce.

If guinea pig is not your cup of tea, try a cup of tea. The herbs they use for their teas come from Humacchuco and the land near by. Especially good is the menta (mint) tea and it is picked moments before being made into tea. Other types of herbal teas include manzanilla, muña, and mate de coca made from coca leaves. Another popular beverage is ‘jugo de quinua’ which is a sweet drink served warm that has a little gelatin and a wheat like grain called quinua.

Sometimes the people in Humacchuco put together a Pachamanca which is essentially a large feast cooked in the ground. A large pit is dug up and hot stones are placed inside. They cook meats such as pork, beef, cuy, with vegetables including corn, various types of potatoes, and carrots.

Go up

Prices

The prices are per day per person and in American Dollars. The minimum stay is two days. If you wish to stay only one day in Humacchuco there is an interesting project that recently started in the sector of Jara Allpa. To obtain more information about this new initiative please contact Yachaqui Wayi.
To calculate the cost of your stay, search for the right price and multiply it with the amount of persons and days.

The prices include everything (guiding, food, accommodation, visits to artisans, musicians, funds for the development of the community and the Center of Yachaqui Wayi) except taxes and the transport to, from and within the community and the entrance to the Huascaran National Park which costs five soles.
When you are traveling alone, neither the musicians nor the Pachamanca are included.

You have the opportunity to travel to Humacchuco by taxi which is for a maximum of four persons and will cost about 15 dollars. It is also possible to travel by colectivo; the local way of public transport; this will cost about two dollars per person.

Development funds

In the price at least 10% fund for the community is included, a fund which the members use every year to help the community with anything it needs.

Go up