Day 4. Second day of acclimatisation, Rocotuyoc lake and frozen lake

Submitted by maria on Tue, 09/09/2025 - 10:25

Today we are spending our second day acclimatising at Rocotuyoc Lake.

Rocotuyoc

We had breakfast at 7.30am: French toast with fruit, bread, jam, butter and black tea.

We woke up feeling a bit rough, with headaches, because yesterday the difference in altitude was quite significant, almost 2,000 metres.

At 8.30am, they came to pick us up at the hostel. This time we travelled in a small van for 10 people. We meet a very nice family from Trujillo.

It takes about two and a half hours in the van to reach the lagoons.

We stop at the Mirador de Huascaran restaurant to reserve lunch. It has spectacular views of the highest peak in the area, Nevado Huascaran, which belongs to the Cordillera Blanca mountain range.

Huascaran

Although we are in Huascarán National Park, the area we visit is run by the community and you only pay a fee of 15 soles per person if you are a foreigner.

We leave the road and start a track that crosses the Ruripacha gorge.

First stop: Ruripacha waterfall. It is located next to a strawberry plantation. Despite being at an altitude of over 3,500 metres, this type of fruit is grown here.

The waterfall is about 60 metres high.

Ruripacha waterfall

Second stop: Rocotuyoc Lagoon, Ancash Department.

From the car park (at 4,600 metres), it is about a five-minute walk to Laguna Rocotuyoc. To reach Laguna Helada (4,800 metres), connected to Rocotuyoc by a waterfall, you have two options: walk around the lagoon or take a small boat for 70 soles per person.

Laguna helada

We obviously went on foot. You have to climb a small slope of about 150 metres over two kilometres to reach Laguna Helada. But we are at an altitude of almost 5,000 metres and, although we are feeling better than yesterday, we have to walk slowly.

Our little friend Derek from Trujillo had a really hard time, vomiting all the way. So he had to make the return trip by boat.

Laguna Helada is impressive. It is surrounded by a huge glacier belonging to the Paccharaju mountain, which is over 5,700 metres high. Blocks of ice fall continuously onto the lagoon. The sound when they break is overwhelming.

Laguna helada

We stay at the lagoon for half an hour and then start our way back, where you can clearly see the waterfall that connects the two lagoons.

Laguna Rocotuyoc

We return to the car park and descend again along the track until we reach the restaurant where we made our reservation in the morning. We eat spicy guinea pig, two tamales and coca tea. The food is not particularly good in this restaurant. Guinea pig should be crispy, not chewy. It tastes similar to roast rabbit in Spain.

We returned to Huaraz around 5 pm, with enough time to pack our backpacks and buy a few things for our five-day trek in the Huayhuash mountain range.