Santa Cruz Trek Experience

In May 2026, I took on the 3-night, 4-day Santa Cruz Trek with Explorandes – something I was a little apprehensive about in the weeks and months leading up to it, but that ended up being one of the most enjoyable, rewarding, and memorable experiences I’ve ever had and really cemented my love for Peru.

I’ve done a few similar treks prior to this one: the Salkantay Trek, also in Peru, being one of them, as well as some long-distance hikes throughout the UK and Europe, but the Santa Cruz Trek was just that little bit more special, and I wanted to share my experience.

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Flying from London to Huaraz for a solo adventure

This was a solo adventure I was taking on, so I flew the 3 flights from London into the picturesque city of Huaraz and was immediately met by the friendly Explorandes team. Our hotel was lovely, and we headed straight out on a small hike to acclimatise. I’m someone who has always been extremely sensitive to altitude, and although I hike quite often, I’ve found it so hard in the past to contend with the effects of altitude, so this time I was prepared with altitude sickness medication and a ton of electrolytes, and although I felt the breathlessness, thankfully, I had no worse symptoms than that.

First acclimatization hike near Huaraz

The first acclimatisation hike just outside of Huaraz made me feel like I was in a Peruvian fairytale… scenic lakes reflecting the giant mountains beyond, horses and donkeys wandering by, local indigenous natives living their simple, peaceful lives, and seeing their livestock roaming free and happy, it was such a nice introduction to Peru and a short hike to shake off the cobwebs.

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Lake Churup: a challenging hike before the trek

The next acclimatisation hike the following day was a 7km trek up to Lake Churup at 4450m and this was a little tougher with me contending with a mixture of jetlag and altitude, but the views were breathtaking (even more than the altitude) and I was so appreciative of our guide who let me take as many breaks as I needed and made sure our pace was really slow, steady and manageable. I felt SO proud of myself for finally reaching the lake at 4450m and couldn’t get over the views of the crystal clear turquoise lake and the giant towering mountains around it. It made the tough parts of the hike totally worth it, and the descent was far easier. I was skipping down in sections and enjoying the panoramic views of the Huascaran National Park.

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The Santa Cruz Trek Day by Day

And then the 5 am alarm was set, and it was time for the trek to begin… I wasn’t overly excited about the 5 hour drive but once the sun rose the scenery was so incredible that it sort-of became part of the experience, driving through small villages and seeing locals and animals and vast mountain landscapes and stopping off at some stunning roadside wanders like the most turquoise lake I’d ever seen – and then before I knew it we were at the start point for our 4 day trek.

Day 1: Gentle Trails, Valleys, and a Peaceful First Camp

I was grateful that day 1 eased us in gently with 7 miles of relatively flat trails, winding through valleys and farmlands and scenic forests, passing by locals and animals and lush green views. It rained the whole day lightly, but we didn’t even really mind; it was a peaceful introduction to the Santa Cruz Trek, and we didn’t see any other hikers the whole day – something that was a nice change for me after doing the busy Salkantay Trail the previous year.

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Halfway through, our chef Emilio popped up and cooked us fresh, warm chicken fried rice with a bowl of melon and coca tea, which was SO welcome, and the food only got better and better throughout the trip. We arrived at our first camp spot with our tents already set up, our bags, sleeping mats, liners, pillow, and sleeping bag already waiting for us inside, which felt like absolute luxury to me, and then a bucket of warm water was delivered to our tents, which was a godsend to my cold fingers. We then had tea and snacks set up for us in a larger tent, and we spent the night chatting away to the sounds of the rain on the roof of the tent and a delicious 3-course meal cooked by our wonderful porters before getting an early night.

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Day 2: Punta Unión Pass and the Most Scenic Day of the Trek

Day 2 began with hot Coca Tea being brought to my tent at 5:30 am, and the sun rising onto the giant mountain peaks I could see through the door of my tent, with the odd cow wandering past. Something about waking up totally off-grid in nature like that is so good for the soul, and even better, the rain had stopped, and it looked like a sunny, dry day. I was so excited to go again!

Breakfast surprised me yet again with an omelette, warm, fresh bread with butter and jam, yoghurt, cereals, fruit, and coffee, the perfect start to our day. This was due to be our toughest day of the trek, with almost 1000m of elevation and reaching the highest point of 4750m at Punta Union Pass.

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But it was also the most scenic day with impressive, breathtaking views from the minute we left camp. We took it slow and steady, winding upwards through the vast snowy peaks and grateful for the warm sun beaming down on us. Just before the final ascent push, Emilio, our chef, popped up again with a very welcome hot noodle soup, chicken & veggies, and Coca Tea – it really does seem like the food is so well planned out for what our bodies will need each day for fuel and warmth/comfort.

The altitude started showing its effects around 4300m with a mild headache and more breathlessness than I expected, but our slow, easy pace plus regular breaks made it manageable, and finally we reached Punta Union. We celebrated with some pictures, sweets, and a strong high 5 and from there we could see our campsite a few miles down into the valley, reaching our camp after 9 miles.

A long day, but probably my favourite of the whole trek. It was such a relief to finally reach the camp. I soaked my aching feet in the bucket of warm water and stretched out in my tent with my eyes closed, imagining I was in a spa. After inhaling yet another amazing 3-course dinner, we slept under the Milky Way.

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Day 3: Arhuaycocha Lake, Glaciers, and the Longest Hiking Day

I was surprised how little I was aching when I woke up for day 3 – I think our bodies adjust on treks like this, and I was even more surprised to wake up to fresh pancakes from our chefs to start the day. This was going to be our longest day yet, with an initial few hundred metres ascent to Arhuaycocha lake (an optional extra to be added to the day, which I’m SO glad we did).

It was stunningly turquoise with huge snowy peaks and glaciers surrounding it, and then our trek took us downhill, wandering miles through canyons and past lakes until, after 14 long miles, we reached camp no.3 at 3760m. It was the only camp that had a mini shop there with some drinks and a river running through, where we soaked our hot, aching feet and stretched out in the sunshine for a few hours before dinner. This was another great night of off-grid talking, laughter, and games over a delicious dinner of soup, fried chicken, and warmed pear, and again the stars blew our minds.

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Day 4: The Final Walk Back to Huaraz

And finally, it was the final day, I can honestly say I didn’t want the trek to end, and as I drank my coffee, soaking up the last of the views, I was sure I could have easily done another few days before rejoining civilisation. The final day was an easy 10km bimble back down into the village, where our bus picked us up and drove the 3 hours back to Huaraz in a happy, accomplished bubble.

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What Makes the Santa Cruz Trek So Special?

I can’t put into words how much I enjoyed this trek… from the impeccable organisation from the Explorandes team, to the efficiency of the porters, always having our tents set up and taken down and our healthy, tasty meals hitting the spot every time, and then the simplicity of having all luxuries and phone service and normality stripped back to bare essentials and peace and nature and the only task of putting one foot infront of the other for 4 days, surrounded by the best views I’ve ever seen in my life.

I really do feel like it’s a trek for all abilities and would be a great starter trek for anyone looking to do their first high-altitude trail. I recommend taking altitude sickness medication as I did, even just to have as a backup, as that was a game-changer for me and helped me enjoy the experience even more.

I’m already signing up for another, longer trek next year with Explorandes, hoping to take on the mighty Huayhuash trek. And if you’re considering doing the Santa Cruz Trek – I promise you won't regret it.

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