In this hiking guide you will find different ways to get to Laguna Paron with pros and cons, what you should bring and of course all the details you need to know about the hike. As a bonus track, I will share information about 2 more Lagunas in the area that aren’t commonly known. It’s up to you to judge if they are worth it or not.
Where is Laguna Paron located?
Laguna Paron is in Ancash region Peru, in Huascaran National Park, 32km away from Caraz and 100 km from Huaraz. It’s the largest lake in the cordillera blanca and is above 4200 meters above sea level. Check this article If you want to know How to get to Huaraz from Lima.
Laguna Paron is perfect for the first hike in this area. It is relatively easy and it is high enough to acclimatize your body and also your mind ^^.
In case you are doubting where to stay, read this article Stay in Caraz or Huaraz?
How do you get to Laguna Paron
Good news, there are options for everybody: for travelers on a budget, for solo adventurous or even for a small group that want some privacy.
1. Travel agency tour
If you want to go to Laguna Paron and don’t have to worry about the transportation, this is the best option. It’s a day trip, if you are in Huaraz, it takes 9h approx. (8 am to 5 pm) and if you are in Caraz 6h (9.30 to 3.30).
Price: S/60- USD $ 16 per person. Please note this cost doesn’t include neither lunch nor entrance fee (S/5- USD $ 1.30).
Pros: This is the cheapest and best option if you are not really into hiking.
Cons: If you like to have some flexibility when you travel, you should keep in mind as an organized tour you have to abide a schedule. Once you arrive to the lake, you will have 2 hours for exploring the area by your own.
2. Public transportation
If you are planning to get to Paron by your own, I suggest you to be patient. Sadly, in Peru our public transportation has unreliable timetables. So keep in mind, that you will probably have to wait some minutes.
If you are in Huaraz, take the first colectivo (normally at 5 am) to Caraz (1h30m). Then from the bus station, take the second colectivo to Pueblo Paron (45m) for S/10/ USD$2.61 pp.
Once you arrive there, you have to walk 15 minutes to the entrance gate. After that you hike up about 10 km to Laguna Paron.
The last ride from Pueblo Paron is supposed to be at 4.30- 5 pm. So you need to keep an eye on time.
Pros. You can go explore Laguna Paron as you want to.
Cons. If you don’t come back to Pueblo Paron on time, you risk to be stranded there. In my case I didn’t want to take that risk. If I had a tent I would have stayed one night at Laguna Paron and the day after I would have gone with no rush.
3. Private transportation
I asked for this option just for curiosity, since it wasn’t expansive I chose it. I’m pretty sure this alternative is always available with all travel agencies. Keep in mind if you are in Huaraz, it will cost more (for the distance).
I hired a taxi through Pony’s expedition which I highly recommend.
I paid S/190/ USD$ 49.55, the taxi driver picked me up at the hotel in Caraz. This cost included 2 hours of waiting. After that, the taxi driver charged S/10- USD $2.60 per hour for each passenger. In my case, we were 2 persons, so we paid S/20- USD$5.20 per hour.
Pros. Most agencies tours have the same schedules, they usually arrive at 11 am -1 pm to Laguna Paron. Sometimes, this can be crowded. Especially if it’s the weekend or even worse a Peruvian National Holiday, please check this article to know those dates. The taxi picked me up at 5.30 am, I arrived at 7.00 am there. At that time, I literally just saw one camping couple, I really enjoyed a peaceful place.
Cons. If you are traveling solo probably this isn’t affordable.
Beyond Laguna Paron
Usually travel agencies don’t talk about the lakes beyond Laguna Paron. Probably it’s because you will not pay for a tour and as far as I know is their core business. As I said before tour operators only gives you 2 hours to explore this place, this isn’t enough time to go hiking other lagunas, unless you are a very outsanding athlete (I’m not😬). However it’s possible to visit on a day trip Laguna Artesoncocha and Laguna Congelada at your own pace.
Laguna Paron Hiking Guide
Once you are at Laguna Paron, you can go to the right if you want to see the mirador or go to the left is you want to go to Laguna Artesoncocha/Laguna congelada. It takes 2-3 hours to skirt Laguna Paron.
Almost at the end of the Laguna you will see 2 paths, take the one that goes up. No one explained me this, so I just continued to go straight. It wasn’t a sign neither. When I arrived at the end of the path, I realized the only way to go farther was swimming for a little while. I said no way. I went up instead of coming back to the fork. This was a mistake, I waste time and spent too much energy climbing the rocks over there. In case this happen to you, you know what to do.
Once you arrive to a flat land, keep straight until you find a sort of a bridge.
Cross the bridge and keep going in the direction of Piramide de Garcilazo Nevado. How do you know which one is? It’s very simple, is the one with a perfect triangle form
You will see a rocky landscape. Beware almost all are loose rocks, so walk firmly to avoid a slip.
After some meters, you will find a sign, if you take the right you will go directly to Laguna Artesoncocha, if you take the left you will go up to Laguna Congelada.
I couldn’t go to Laguna Congelada, time was very tight, when I saw the sign it was 12 and I had to be back to the trailhead at 4.30 pm. Something important to know is the control gate closes at 5 pm. If I wouldn’t have wasted time with the wrong path at Laguna Paron, I would have made it.
Anyways, I was happy with the hiking.
LAGUNA PARON HIKING DETAILS
- Total Hiking distance: From the trailhead in Laguna Paron to Laguna Artesoncocha is 11.8 Km/ 7.3 miles. The trail ends at the same point where it starts.
- Difficulty: It’s a mix between easy and intermediate.
11.8 Km/ 7.3 miles is not a short distance but almost the whole trail is flat. The only thing I regret is I wasn’t acclimatized (I did it a day after I arrived to Caraz), so I got sick the last hour.
If you want to know the best time to visit Peru. Check this article.
- Duration: It is hard to estimate hiking time in the altitude. Basically, it depends on your physical condition and this is very difficult to know. In any case, I will share approximate hours.
-Skirting the whole Laguna Paron takes 2-3h one way, 4-6h round trip.
-From the bridge, it takes 45 minutes to arrive to Laguna Artesoncocha and 1h. 30 to Laguna congelada. I got this last information when I met a guide there.
-Coming back from Laguna Artesoncocha to the starting point takes between 2h.30- 3h.30.
In my case I did the whole hike in 8 hours.
LAGUNA PARON HIKING DETAILS
- Take good hiking shoes with you.
- Bring SPF 50 sunscreen, if you have a sensitive skin SPF 100 and also Mosquito Repellent.
- Bottled water and snacks.
- The weather in the mountains can be changeable, in a few hours you can pass from 5 °C to 25°C / 41 °F to 77 °F. It is recommended to wear layered clothing. Even if a rainfall isn’t predicted, you should bring a rain jacket.