Tucked amidst the white-capped peaks of the Cordillera Blanca range, the city of Huaraz, home to 120,000 inhabitants, sits at over 3,000 metres in elevation. This is the perfect home base for a multitude of single-day and multi-day treks in the Peruvian Andes.
I arrived in Huaraz via an overnight 7.5-hour bus ride from Trujillo, serviced by Movil Tours for about $15 USD. Despite the early-morning arrival, I was able to check into my hostel quickly and grab a couple hours of sleep before seeking out a cheap breakfast of my standard bread and fruit (plant-based diets in South America are not always easy).
My itinerary was empty when I first arrived in the city. I knew what kind of adventures were at my disposal, but my prior experiences in Peru had taught me that this was a country that fit my propensity for planning on the fly. I spent my first day wandering the city, checking out the central market, treating myself to a tofu salad at veg-friendly Cafe Andino, and sending postcards back home to Canada. The next day, it was time to start visiting tour operators, scheduling, and getting familiar with the Andean wonderland that surrounds the city of Huaraz.
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