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FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
Guides tell us that the lakes of the Circuit are definitely getting fished out — especially from net fishing. We recommend you not fish Lagunas Yahuachocha, Solteracocha, Mitacocha & Carhuacocha. Seek out little visited lakes away from villages & the main trails. Bring barbless hooks. Catch & release is advised. Better yet, fish other areas in South America. May to September is spawning season in the Huayhuash. Yes, though it is not easy. Our arriero tried to buy cheese (after a dog stole ours out of the cook tent night 1 of the Circuit) but was unable to find any for several days. The only commercial shops are in the town of Huayllapa about three quarters the way around the Circuit. Use Huayllapa to top up any provisions running low. Your arriero at most campsites can rustle up some beer or soft drinks from herding families, if you get desperate. If you have pack animals, bring too much food. Leftovers go to your arriero as part of the tip. Are there toilets on Huayhuash? No. You might be able to squat in a port-a-pottie tent brought by larger trekking groups. (Ask first.) Or rent your own toilet tent. No showers anywhere en route. We washed up — and eventually swam — in freezing creeks. But half way around the Circuit are the excellent thermal hot springs near Atuscancha. We bathed there the night of arrival and next morning before departure.
Our arriero was savvy enough to put up our camp on the mountain side of Rio Pumarinri — the hot springs on the other side. This is because the river (more of a deep creek) becomes almost impassible each day. The water level rises & falls daily for hydroelectricity. Check with your arriero on this. There is a second hot springs shown on the (Alpine Mapping Guild 2004) map near Quartelhuain. We took a jaunt across the valley to find it — shallow & lukewarm when we were there. Not worth the sidetrip. Wildlife spotting is far better in the Huayhuash than in the Cordillera Blanca. This is an important reason to hike here rather than Alpamayo.
Others report seeing Andean foxes. Birds were definitely the highlight for us — we saw condors almost every day, up to 8 at a time. On a scramble up a ridge we watched condors gliding below & above us simultaneously. The smaller raptor — the mountain caracara — is common too. You will certainly see falcons, Andean geese & ducks, flamingos. Laguna Jahuacocha in particular is wonderful for birds.
Good chance to see hawks, hummingbirds, American kestrels, puna ibis & Andean swifts. Two vicuna scrambling the scree over a high pass were the first we had seen in the wild. That was superb. |
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