Laguna 69 in Ancash Province, Peru

We’ve been a few places with breathtaking natural beauty, but few compare to Laguna 69 above Yungay in Ancash Province, Peru. Our trip started in Huaraz at the Casa de Zarela, our excellent hotel/bed and breakfast. One hour later we were un Yungay and started the bumpy climb up into the mountains. Despite the roughness of the road, the views of Huascarán Norte and Huascarán Sur were amazing. Check that…stunning. These two peaks are more than just the high Andes, the higher of the two, Huascarán Sur at 6,768 m (22,205 ft) dominates the surrounding Andes and the summit of Huascarán is the place on Earth with the smallest gravitational force. Keep in mind that at 9 degrees south latitude, it is also the world’s highest tropical peak.

Laguna Llanganuco

About an hour into the dirt road, we came to the first of three lakes, Laguna Llanganuco. The turquoise blue waters surrounded by steep-walled cliffs and the paper-barked quinual trees. We paused for pictures but quickly headed up beyond Laguna Llangunco, knowing that this was only a preview of what we would do today.

The road continued to wind up and eventually crossed another laguna, not nearly as scenic as the first. Not too long after crossing this second one, the road came to a sharp bend where our van driver, Jacinto, pulled over to the side and informed us we were at the trailhead.

Laguna 69 Trail

The Laguna 69 trail started as a short descent to a grassy meadow with a few houses. From there, the trail crossed the expansive meadow, following the stream that wound gradually upward to the first real climb upward of the day. This was a great trail, well maintain, and other than a few muddy spots, was easy to follow and mostly gradual. Where the hills were steeper, switchbacks made the going harder in the high altitude but not difficult.

After a few false expectations as we crested hills, we reached Laguna 69 at the base of a hanging glacier, fed by a beautiful waterfall. There were a few other hikers there, but it was a tranquil scene and the color of the water was remarkably turquoise.

Laguna 69

It was too beautiful, in fact, to avoid a swim, no matter how cold. I stripped off everything but my underwear and walked in the laguna until I was able to completely submerge in the frigid water. While that may seem like a crazy thing to do, it felt fantastic to wash off after the hike. A hiker from Brittany who jokingly said that he’d go if I did suddenly found himself stuck with an obligation to do the same. Rather than walking in, he choose to run and dive, maybe the better approach when responding reluctantly to your own dare.

The road back was tougher to take when we were tired and it seemed to take forever to reach the paved surfaces again. I’ve never felt so happy to see asphalt.

We were back in Huaraz by nightfall and headed out for a delicious meal at El Horno.

Photo courtesy of Tony Yeary, alpinist and adventurer