Laguna Churup

Churup is the standard acclimatisation hike out of Huaraz and it is a hard one - about four kilometres each way from the Pitec trailhead at 3,850 metres to the lake at around 4,450, on a steep rocky path that includes a section of slab scrambling near the top where fixed ropes and chains are bolted into the rock. That section is short but exposed and is where people turn back. The lake sits directly beneath Nevado Churup with the glacier above it, and the water takes a green cast from the mineral load. Because it is close to Huaraz, reached in under an hour, and gains six hundred metres, it is what guides recommend as a first day out before Laguna 69 or the Santa Cruz trek. It is still high enough to make people ill, and the descent on wet rock after afternoon rain is the other common cause of injury.

The landscape

• The lake - green water at about 4,450 metres beneath Nevado Churup.
• The rope section - a short scramble on fixed ropes and chains near the top.
• The glacier - hanging above the lake on the Churup face.
• The acclimatisation role - the standard first hike before higher routes.

When to go

May to September. Start early - afternoon rain and cloud are common and the rock section is dangerous wet. Five to seven hours return from the trailhead.

What to expect

The rope section is exposed and stops a proportion of walkers - it is a scramble, not a path. Six hundred metres of ascent finishing above 4,400 metres, with altitude sickness common. Wet rock on the descent causes injuries.

Nearby

Huaraz is below; Laguna 69 and the Llanganuco valley are north.

Key facts