Pastoruri Glacier Small-Group Tour from Huaraz

Walk to a glacier shrinking from global warming, then touch the snow at 5,000 meters.

This small-group tour from Huaraz takes you south into the Cordillera Blanca to Pastoruri Glacier, where you hike for about an hour to reach the ice at 5,000 meters above sea level. The day includes a Spanish-speaking guide, vehicle transport from Huaraz, and stops at high-altitude towns, natural springs, and the Puya Raimondi plant before the final walk to the glacier's ice walls and frozen lagoon. Food, drinks and park entrance fees are not included.

Step-by-step itinerary

Explore Pastoruri Glacier and surroundings

• Travel south from Huaraz
• Stop in Recuay, Ticapampa, and Catac
• Drink coca tea against soroche
• Visit carbonated water source
• Detour to Pachacoto Gorge
• See Patococha lagoon and wild ducks
• Visit Pumapampa gasified water spring
• View Umapashimin seven-colored lake
• Observe representative Andean plants
• Stop to see Puya Raimondi plant
• Observe cave painting murals
• Walk to snowy Pastoruri glacier
• Tour glacier ice walls and frozen lagoon
• Enjoy mountain landscape views
• Lunch in Catac
• Return to Huaraz

The experience

The route climbs through three mountain towns (Recuay, Ticapampa and Catac) each higher than the last, with a stop for coca tea to help with altitude. You'll pass natural carbonated springs and a small lake called Umapashimin before reaching the Pachacoto Gorge, where wild ducks live on Patococha lagoon. The Puya Raimondi plant, which grows up to 12 meters tall and produces thousands of flowers before it dies, marks the approach to the glacier itself.

The walk to Pastoruri takes about an hour one way. At the glacier, you see the ice walls and understand the scale of retreat from warming: the frozen lagoon sits where the glacier once extended further. You can touch the snow and stand at the altitude where the landscape opens into mountain views on all sides. After lunch in Catac on the way back, the group returns to Huaraz.

What’s included

• Your tour includes a Spanish-speaking guide.
• pickup and drop-off from your Huaraz hotel.
• and transport in the tour vehicle to and from the glacier.

Before you book

Days and timesEvery dayDeparts at 09:00

GroupUp to 15

Live guideEnglish and Spanish

Meeting point and pickupHotel pickup included.You can choose from 34 pickup points.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.

Prices and times updated today

Good to know

Low physical effort

Operated by IZI PERU

Is this one for you?Book this if you're hiking at high altitude for the first time: small groups mean your guide can pace the one-hour trek to match the thin air, rather than pushing through or waiting for others.

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Top questions

What languages is the tour guided in?

Live guide in English and Spanish.

What altitude will I reach on this tour?

Pastoruri Glacier sits at 5,000 meters above sea level, and the towns you pass through range from 3,422 to 3,466 meters. The tour is suitable for all fitness levels, though the altitude and the one-hour hike to the glacier are the main physical demands of the day.

How long is the hike to the glacier itself?

The walk to Pastoruri takes approximately one hour one way. Once you reach the glacier, you have time to explore the ice walls and frozen lagoon before the group heads back down.

What are the Puya Raimondi plants I'll see?

Puya Raimondi is a representative plant of the Peruvian Andes that can grow up to 12 meters high. It produces clusters of up to 8,000 flowers and lives for about 100 years, but dies once it blooms. You'll see them during the approach to the glacier.

Does the tour include meals and park entry?

The tour includes a Spanish-speaking guide, vehicle transport and pickup from Huaraz, plus a lunch stop in Catac. Food, drinks and the glacier park entrance fee are not included in the price, so budget for those separately.