Private Journeys

Active Peru: The Santa Cruz Trek

10 days from £1,890pp

(based on two people sharing & excluding flights)

Peru

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Places visited

Overview & Highlights

This is a beautiful trek for experienced walkers among the spiky, ice-tipped Andean peaks and turquoise glacial lakes of the Cordillera Blanca in northern Peru. A very different landscape from the harsh mountains around Cusco. 

This is an awe-inspiring  holiday designed for experienced mountain or hill walkers who want to experience the beauty and solitude of the landscapes covered by one of Peru’s many and various Andean treks. You travel inland from the desert coast north of Lima to a dazzling white, snow-crested range of jagged mountains: the Cordillera Blanca.

You start with a couple of days to acclimatise among ice-blue lakes in the deeply glaciated scenery around the attractive little town of Caraz before setting off on the Santa Cruz Trek, which takes you through some of the most spectacular scenery in the Cordillera Blanca, Peru's premier trekking region.

The region is defined by its plunging valleys, dotted with glaciers and gemstone blue and minty green glacial lakes. Human activity is represented by tiny pockets of agriculture and isolated indian villages, dwarfed by the grandeur and scale of the scenery. This is a wild, uncompromising landscape, its harshness mitigated by the friendliness of its people.

Read More
  • Caraz: Guided excursion to Lake Parón
  • 4-day Santa Cruz Trek

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Lina

Lina Fuller

Travel Expert

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Bartolome, Galápagos

What our clients say

  • "It was a magical experience, a well organized trip that gave me piece of mind, which is what a holiday should be. Well done Journey Latin America."

    LM, Arbroath
  • There are several experiences we enjoyed on this trip. The lguacu Falls are amazing, couldn't stop taking photos. In the Pantanal the variety of birds was superb and we were…

    JT, Hemel Hampstead
  • Most memorable experience? - Seeing the eruption of volcano El Fuego at Antigua - though from a distance - but we still saw the red lava. The unspoilt Pacific Coast near…

    CB, Beckenham
  • The colourful people of Guatemala, the beautiful scenery at Lake Atitlan and the wonderful atmosphere of Antigua City.

    JR, Prudhoe
  • An amazing mix of experiences right from the start - sites/sights/sounds/climates/flora/fauna/city/country & so on!

    DR, Baldock
  • Most memorable experience - Sitting in the bar in Leon as the thunderstorm and wind developed and listening to the wild hand ringing of the church bell. Interesting and well…

    WA, Kingston
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Our Expert's Opinion

As an avid trekker myself, I designed this holiday for mountain walkers who want to trek and camp in some of Peru's most awe-inspiring landscapes. We've built in some time to acclimatize to the high altitudes and kept the trip short so that it can be combined with treks in the south of the country, where the landscape is very different.

Lina
Lina Fuller Travel Expert Lina's passion for the continent where she was born really took off when she moved to Córdoba (Argentina) to study, spending the holidays travelling between Argentina and her native Colombia.

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Our exciting range of articles on Latin America explore everything from iconic destinations and lesser-known cultural gems to delicious traditional recipes. You’ll also find exclusive travel tips, first-hand client reviews and the chance to get your personal questions answered by our travel experts.

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Bartolome, Galápagos

Meet our team

Real Latin american experts

  • Charlotte
    Charlotte Daubeney - Travel Expert

    Charlotte's fascination with Latin America began with a family holiday to Belize. She went on to study Spanish in school and at university before spending a year living in Santiago, Chile.

  • Carrie
    Carrie Gallagher - Travel Expert

    A former JLA tour leader, Carrie brings a wealth of on-the-ground experience to our London-based Tailor-made and Group Tours department.

  • Chris
    Chris Rendell-Dunn - Travel Expert

    Anglo-Peruvian Chris grew up in Lima and spent much of his adult life in between London and Cusco as a tour leader, before settling permanently in our London-based Tailor-made and Group Tours sales team.

  • Hannah
    Hannah Waterhouse - Travel Expert

    Hannah had an early introduction to Latin America when her family moved to Ecuador and she returned to study in Buenos Aires for a year before backpacking across the continent.

  • Ben
    Ben Line - Travel Expert

    Ben fell in love with Latin America on a six month backpacking trip from Colombia to Mexico in 1995. Since then he has explored most of South America, including living in Peru for a year. He is now Head of Sales.

  • Paul Winrow Giffin
    Paul Winrow-Giffin - Travel Expert

    After graduating in Computer Science, Paul spent seven months travelling from Colombia to Argentina and came home hooked on Latin America.

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