Hiking Laguna 69 in Peru: A Complete Guide

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Hiking Laguna 69 in Peru: A Complete Guide

Laguna 69 trek is a very popular hike near Huaraz, Peru. The hike itself is 7km one-way (14km there and back). Brett and I completed this hike on May 18, 2019! The views of the lake were incredible and the hike itself was very enjoyable! If you are looking for a one-day hike in Peru, you will not be disappointed by Laguna 69!

In this blog I will share the details of completing the Laguna 69 hike including how to get there, what to bring, how to prepare, and much more!

Distance: 14km

Altitude: 4600m (814m elevation gain)

Time: Our tour from Huaraz started at 4:50am and ended at 6pm. Our total time on the trail was 5 hours and 50 minutes (with a long break at the lake).

Difficulty: Moderate – many people think this hike is mainly a photo-op, but make sure you prepare and dress correctly because the high altitude can be a killer!

Why is Laguna 69 Such a Popular Hike in Peru?

Huaraz is the hiker’s paradise of Peru! People from all over the world travel to Peru and use Huaraz as their hiking hub.

When you travel to Huaraz, you will quickly find that Laguna 69 is the most popular day hike in the area. Almost every hostel and travel shop you go into will be advertising their Laguna 69 trip.

Photos of the astonishing turquoise water is what makes people want to complete this hike. Since it is only a half day hike, people of different hiking experiences are able to complete it. However, there are also many people who use Laguna 69 as a warmup hike for multi-day hikes like Cordillera Huayhuash Circuit or Santa Cruz Trek.

The lake is absolutely breathtaking (and I don’t mean just because of the altitude)!

Getting to Huaraz from Lima (and back again)

Brett and I bought our bus tickets from Lima to Huaraz in Canada before flying to Peru. These tickets cost us around $13 USD each online. There are many different bus stations in Lima and a handful of them have trips to Huaraz. We decided to buy tickets through the Movil Bus Station. Since the ride to Huaraz is quite long, we booked a night bus. Our bus left around 11:00pm and we woke up when we reached Huaraz at 6:45am!

Getting back to Lima is just as easy. There are a number of smaller bus stations selling tickets back to Lima. We walked to the Movil Bus Station and bought our tickets for the next day. We decided to take the 9am bus back to Lima (we used the long trip as a rest day after completing the Cordillera Huayhuash Circuit). The bus pulled into Lima around 5:45pm.

Where We Stayed in Huaraz

There are many hostels in Huaraz that cater to backpackers. We decided to book at Campo Base Huaraz Hostel. One of the main reasons we stayed here was because of their bag storage. We would be leaving for a 9-day hike of Cordillera Huayhuash and were happy to be able to leave some things we wouldn’t be needing.

Campo Base cost us $19 USD per night for a private room with a bathroom. The included breakfast at this hostel is great! One day we had pancakes and Nutella with fruit and juice. Another day we had fried eggs with bread, juice, and tea. Another bonus of Campo Base is that they will send you with a “picnic breakfast” if you are leaving before breakfast hours start. We did this for two mornings and were each given a banana, a biscuit, and a bottle of water. Overall, Campo Base was very accommodating and I would recommend staying there!

Booking a Tour/Getting to Laguna 69

If you’ve read any of my previous blogs, you probably know that Brett and I prefer to hike independently or without a guide. We like being on our own schedule and carrying everything ourselves. However, with Laguna 69 it was different.

While researching the Laguna 69 hike, we quickly began to realize that it would be cheaper for us to book a trip through a local tour company. There is pretty much no local transit that heads to Laguna 69, so if we wanted to go on our own, we would have had to take a taxi which would have been more expensive.

We ended up booking a Laguna 69 trip through our hostel, Campo Base. As we were checking in, the owner asked us if we wanted to book it for the next day, so we did!

The tour cost us each S/30 (around $9 USD). We found this price quite reasonable. Our day trip started by us being picked up at our hostel at 4:50am and ended with us being dropped back off at 6:00pm so plan for a full day! Later in this blog, I will go deeper into the details of the hike.

Preparing for the Altitude

As I mentioned earlier, sometimes hikers treat Laguna 69 as a warmup hike for Cordillera Huayhuash. This is exactly why Brett and I decided to complete this hike. Laguna 69 helped us get used to hiking at high altitudes before taking on a 9-day hike. The altitudes of the mountain ranges near Huaraz are no joke and Laguna 69 is no exception! There is an 814m elevation gain over the 7km up to the lake.

The altitude of Laguna 69 is 4600m and can become a serious problem for some hikers. The two main precautions we took were spending an entire day in Huaraz and taking altitude sickness pills.

I would highly recommend spending at least 1-2 days in Huaraz before taking on Laguna 69. This will allow your body to begin getting used to the high altitude of the region before hiking.

If you are worried about the high altitude, ask the tour group if they will be carrying oxygen with them before booking!

Entrance Fee

In addition to the S/30 each we paid for the tour, we also had to pay an entrance fee. Our bus stopped at the entrance to Huascaran National Park and we paid another S/30 each.

In total, we spent S/60 each for this hike which is about $18 USD.

What to Bring

Though this was a full day trip, we only spent 5 hours and 50 minutes on the trail (including a long break at the lake). You don’t need to bring a lot with you for this hike. Here is a list of the things I would recommend bringing:

Water
- Make sure you bring enough water for the entire day. We brought 2L of water each. When we were there, a man was selling warm pop and water at the start/end of the hike. So, if you run out, you can get something to drink for the bus ride back
Food
- Brett made us some peanut butter and jam buns!
- We brought a few other snacks we bought from the grocery store the day before
- Bring some coca leaves to chew during the hike if you are worried about the altitude!
- There is a breakfast stop, but make sure to bring enough food to get you through the hike
Clothing
- The morning was very chilly so make sure to bring/wear some layers!
- Sweater/hoodie
- T-shirt or long-sleeve hiking shirt
- Wind breaker
- Hiking pants
- Hiking socks
- Gloves
Extras
- Sunscreen
- Toilet paper (for the bathroom at the breakfast stop)
- Hand sanitizer
- Sunglasses
- Cell phone for photos!
Hiking gear
- Hiking boots
- Hiking poles
- Backpack

Details of Hiking to Laguna 69

Now onto the fun stuff! This section will include the details of the entire day and the hike itself!

Departure from Huaraz

We were told the bus was coming to pick us up at 4:30am right outside our hostel. After waking up early, we were down in the lobby at 4:25am but not surprisingly, we weren’t picked up until 4:50am.

We were the first people to be picked up which meant we had to drive around to several other hostels to pick up other groups. The comfortable coach bus pulled out of Huaraz around 5:30am.

Breakfast stop

Around 7:15am we got to a small village where we stopped for breakfast at a family-run outdoor restaurant. There were several other tour groups here as well so this is clearly where everyone stopped before heading to Laguna 69.

Our hostel sent us with a “picnic breakfast” so we didn’t buy any food. But all the food looked great, so this is a good option for breakfast if your hostel does not provide anything. Brett had a hot chocolate and I had coca tea (which is really good for altitude sickness). These two drinks cost us S/7 total (less than $2 USD).

We spent about 25 minutes here before using the bathroom and loading back onto the bus.

Laguna Llanganuco

At 8:10am we stopped for a 5 minute photo-op. Laguna Llanganuco is a gorgeous large lake just a few minutes from the trail head.

Briefing on the bus

While driving, our guide gave us some information about the hike (thank you to the man sitting beside us who translated for us)!

We were told the hike should take 6 hours: 3 hours up, 1 hour to hangout at the lake, and 2 hours back down. Thankfully, we didn’t have to stay in a group! The trail was very clear and it was obvious which way to go.

Section 1: The Valley

We finally started hiking at 8:30am! This first section of the hike is quite flat and easy. Don’t let this fool you! Steep parts are coming! The trail was wide and easy to follow.

The mountain scenery surrounding us was stunning! I enjoyed all the Queñua trees and the cows on the trail! We followed the Ranrahirca River in this meadow section of the trail for about 1km.

Section 2: Switchbacks

The first section of switchbacks wasn’t too bad. The switchbacks were long and gradually inclined. They were not very steep and not technical. As we started to get higher, we could enjoy the view of the valley behind us. On both sides of the valley, we could see gorgeous waterfalls!

Section 3: Second Valley

After finishing the first switchback section, the path flattened out again. We came across a small lake where we stopped for a break and a snack. We were told this lake is called Laguna Esperanza or “Hope Lake” (perfect name for the “almost there” point). The sign by the lake said we had 1 hour to go to Laguna 69!

Section 4: The Deadly Switchbacks

It wasn’t until the last kilometer and switchback section that we started to struggle! The path was quite steep and the air was becoming thinner and thinner. We had to stop often just for a few seconds to catch our breath. This last kilometer seemed to take forever but the final push was worth it!

Section 5: Reaching Laguna 69

We finally got our first glimpse of Laguna 69! 4604m elevation! We arrived at the lake at 10:45am. It took us 2 hours and 15 minutes to reach Laguna 69 from the trail head.

Everything we read said the colour of the lake was breathtaking, but it was truly spectacular in person! It was such an incredible shade of blue/turquoise. A thin waterfall can be seen feeding into the lake from the glacier above. There were only about 10 people there when we reached the lake so we were able to enjoy the view without a huge crowd. We decided to climb up some of the rocks for a better view and to enjoy our lunch!

More and more people started to arrive over the next hour. We climbed back down to the lake shore and sat by the water for a bit! Some people were brave enough to jump in but we just put our toes in the chilly water.

Since it didn’t take us too long to reach the lake, we were able to relax at Laguna 69 for an hour and 45 minutes.

Back to the trailhead

We started to hike back down at 12:30pm. The hike down was quite easy. We took our time taking more photos on the way back to the trailhead. After passing many cows on the trail, we reached the trailhead at 2:20pm.

We still had a while before the bus would be leaving so Brett bought us a (warm) coke and we wandered around a bit.

Back to Huaraz

The bus left around 3:20pm. We stopped twice on the way back to Huaraz. The first stop was at the same restaurant as the morning to use the bathroom. We also stopped in a small town outside of Huaraz to get ice cream! At 6:00pm, we were dropped back off near our hostel.