点评:If you’re searching for THE company to guide your Huayhuash trek, look no further. Los Amigos de Huayhuash is a woman & local owned business that provides a robust offering for private tours of groups of 1-10+ people, custom itineraries, top notch crews, 5 star gear and food, intimate historical knowledge and expertise of the area, and ethical treatment of the land and animals.
This is probably the most incredible natural area/trek of the world I’ve ever been. Every day we’d get to camp and say wow that was probably the most incredible day - and would be blown away all over the next. If you’re debating where to go - I highly recommend doing the Huayhuash before it becomes too popular and more regulated. They told us this season you’re only allowed to go with a guide because of frequent deaths of solo backpackers. We were hesitant having never trekked with guides and it felt too bougie for us — but in hindsight compared to our other treks/trail runs in different countries this was a much richer experience because we had built in cultural brokers and teachers who could share about their culture, lives, etc. We laughed the entire trip & left missing the people even more than the place.
We went in early May and had some rain most days but had smaller crowds, very comfortable temperatures, and wildflowers galore. It felt like the perfect time. They told us July and August gets PACKED and there currently aren’t regulations on how many tours can be in the area which is creating a lot of problems for the campgrounds.
Anamin and her brothers grew up in one of the rural farming communities close to the Cordillera Huayhuash range & her husband Wilder grew up in Huaraz. Among the group they have a wide range of skills from accounting/management to trekking, mountaineering, cooking & donkey driving. The best part is that as soon as you arrive they treat you as part of their extended family. Anamin was quick to respond when we inquired about a very short notice early season 6 day trek with a detailed itinerary and cost breakdown. We got quotes from a few other groups our friends who had traveled to the area went with that were about half as expensive — so initially we were hesitant about spending more money but read a few reviews about things going wrong with other companies and we are SO glad we booked with Los Amigos. After being in the area it is clear that cost negotiations with other companies have an immediate and tangible impact on the staff and quality of the trip (eg the team eating different food than the tourists, hiring “guides” who are not licensed mountain/trekking guides, decreasing the number of donkeys/mules and just overloading the animals that do go on the trek, knockoff gear) that we would have been profoundly uncomfortable with ethically and also would have made our trek more uncomfortable.
Los Amigos uses top notch gear; tents were included and we rented sleeping pads and sleeping bags from Los Amigos instead of packing our own.
Our donkey driver Abner (Anamins brother) was a natural with animals and is able to navigate a group of 6+ donkeys with just his movement and voice. He’d get to camp well before us, scout out the best place, and our tents would be set up waiting for us (what a treat)!
Our cook Crispin made 4+ incredible meals a day that accommodated our pescatarian needs. Cooking on a camping stove and producing meals better than we make at home was unbelievable. There was a surprise around every corner and we laughed our way through every meal. The food was incredibly fresh and pre-trip they spend 6+ hours going around the different stores and markets in Huaraz to find the best stuff. Every day we’d have a snack bag with fruits, granola, and some bars. We’d have a hot breakfast, lunch either at camp or on the trail, tea time with snacks, and dinner with dessert. We ate like royalty, learned a lot about local food and fruit, and never once had any GI issues on the trek. They’d boil enough water for us to fill our bladders and bottles so we didn’t need to worry about filtration either!
Our guide Don Rafa we learned after the trek is a renowned mountain guide in Peru, the president of the guide association and has trained all over the world. He was an encyclopedia of all our random questions. He is bilingual but was very happy to mostly speak Spanish when we told him we wanted to work on our language skills. We’ve never trekked with a guide before so weren’t sure what to expect; being able to just walk, talk, and take in the world around us was so peaceful. He’d read the clouds and suggest when we should put on rain gear, took us the less traveled alpine routes every day so often we wouldn’t see any other humans until we got to camp. It was an absolute treat. Make sure you do Santa Rosa pass as part of your trek 😍
We live at 6,000 feet and regularly run mountains around 8-10,000. We took diamox as soon as we landed in Huaraz and drank a ton of coca tea. My sister from sea level had some headaches but we otherwise felt great. We didn’t have more time to acclimate in Huaraz because of a tight timeline but felt the acclimatization hikes were key! Physically the trek is a series of medium to long day hikes, not technical, and usually include one bigger climb and some valley. We felt the altitude in our speed but it was definitely the first time my lungs/heart have felt out of shape compared to my legs. Doable for people who are regularly adventuring without training, if you aren’t hiking regularly I’d recommend some 3,000 foot climbing days beforehand!
We stayed at Anamin & Wilders house the first three nights to acclimate and the day after the trek before flying out. If you’re not sure where to stay in Huaraz & their guest rooms are open, stay with them! We immediately felt at home, stayed up way too late laughing and exchanging stories, and left feeling like Anamin was part of our sister crew. She came to dinner with us a few times & helped coordinate exploration treks our first few days. She has two huge rooms with multiple beds, two bathrooms with showers and a beautiful indoor/outdoor concept kitchen and dining area. Her house is about a 20 min walk into town and felt like a great separation from the hustle and bustle of the town. Highly recommend staying with her!
All in all, I CANNOT recommend Los Amigos de Huayhuash enough. We hope to return in the future to see Anamin & go on a longer trek. We felt immediately at home, safe, comfortable, and well cared for. It’s been hard to write this review because it feels like the final chapter of our trip. Book the trek and go with Los Amigos!!
翻译:如果您正在寻找一家能带您体验瓦伊瓦什徒步之旅的顶级公司,那就别再犹豫了。“瓦伊瓦什之友”(Los Amigos de Huayhuash)是一家由女性和当地人共同经营的公司,提供丰富的私人定制旅行服务,可接待1至10人以上的团体,包括定制行程、一流的团队、五星级的装备和餐饮、对当地历史的深入了解和专业知识,以及对土地和动物的尊重。
这可能是我去过的世界上最令人惊叹的自然区域/徒步路线。每天到达营地后,我们都会惊叹:“哇,这大概是我经历过的最棒的一天了!”而第二天,我们又会被眼前的景色深深震撼。如果您还在犹豫去哪里,我强烈建议您在瓦伊瓦什变得过于热门、管理更加严格之前去体验一番。他们告诉我们,由于经常有独自徒步旅行者丧生,本季必须由向导带领才能前往。我们之前从未跟向导徒步旅行过,所以一开始有些犹豫,觉得这种方式对我们来说太“高档”了——但现在回想起来,与我们在其他国家的徒步旅行/越野跑相比,这次的体验要丰富得多,因为我们有向导和老师陪伴,他们可以分享他们的文化、生活等等。整个旅程我们都笑声不断,离开时,我们甚至比想念风景更想念那里的人。
我们五月初去的,虽然大部分时间都下雨,但游客不多,气温非常舒适,野花遍地盛开。感觉时间刚刚好。他们告诉我们七八月份会非常拥挤,而且目前该地区对旅行团数量没有限制,这给露营地带来了很多问题。
阿纳明和她的兄弟们在瓦伊瓦什山脉附近的一个乡村社区长大,她的丈夫威尔德则在瓦拉斯长大。他们团队成员各有所长,从会计/管理到徒步旅行、登山、烹饪和驾驴,应有尽有。最棒的是,你一到那里,他们就把你当成家人一样对待。我们临时咨询了一个早季的六日徒步旅行,Anamin很快就回复了,并提供了详细的行程安排和费用明细。我们咨询过几个朋友之前去过的旅行团,价格大约只有Los Amigos的一半——所以一开始我们有点犹豫要不要多花钱,但后来看了些评论,发现其他公司出了问题,我们非常庆幸最终选择了Los Amigos。到了那里之后,我们才明白,和其他公司讨价还价会对工作人员和旅行质量产生直接而切实的影响(比如,团队成员吃的和游客不一样的食物,雇佣没有登山/徒步向导执照的“向导”,减少驴/骡子的数量,让剩下的牲畜超载,使用劣质装备等等)。这些做法在道德上让我们非常不舒服,也会让我们的徒步旅行体验更加糟糕。
Los Amigos使用一流的装备;帐篷是包含在行程里的,我们从Los Amigos租了睡垫和睡袋,而不是自己带。
我们的驴夫阿布纳(阿纳明的兄弟)天生就和动物打交道,他只凭动作和声音就能驾驭六头以上的驴群。他总是比我们早到营地,找到最佳位置,然后我们的帐篷就搭好了(真是太棒了!)
我们的厨师克里斯平每天做四顿以上的美味佳肴,完全满足了我们这些素食主义者的需求。用简易炉灶做饭,做出的饭菜比我们自己在家做的还要好吃,真是令人难以置信。每顿饭都充满惊喜,我们一边吃一边笑。食材非常新鲜,出发前,他们花了六个多小时在瓦拉斯的各个商店和市场里寻找最好的食材。每天我们都会收到一个零食袋,里面装着水果、格兰诺拉麦片和一些能量棒。我们每天享用热腾腾的早餐,午餐在营地或路上吃,下午茶时间吃点心,晚餐还有甜点。我们吃得像皇室成员一样,了解了很多当地的食物和水果,而且徒步旅行期间从未出现过任何肠胃问题。他们会烧开足够的水给我们灌满水袋和水瓶,所以我们也不用担心过滤的问题!
徒步旅行结束后,我们才知道我们的向导唐·拉法是秘鲁著名的登山向导,是向导协会的主席,并在世界各地接受过培训。他简直就是一本活的百科全书,能解答我们提出的各种奇奇怪怪的问题。他会说两种语言,但当我们告诉他我们想提高语言能力时,他非常乐意主要用西班牙语和我们交流。我们以前从未和向导一起徒步旅行过,所以不知道会是什么样子;能够只是走路、聊天、欣赏周围的世界,这种感觉真是太惬意了。他会观察云层,建议我们什么时候该穿雨具,每天都带我们走人迹罕至的高山路线,以至于我们经常直到到达营地才见到其他人。这真是一次难忘的体验。一定要把圣罗莎山口纳入你的徒步行程哦😍
我们住在海拔6000英尺的地方,经常去海拔8000-10000英尺的山上跑步。我们一到瓦拉斯就吃了乙酰唑胺,还喝了很多古柯茶。我妹妹来自海平面,她有点头疼,但我们感觉都很好。由于时间紧迫,我们在瓦拉斯没有更多时间适应高原环境,但我们觉得适应性徒步至关重要!从体能上来说,这条徒步路线由一系列中长距离的日间徒步组成,难度不高,通常包含一次较大的爬坡和一段山谷路段。我们感觉到了海拔的影响,速度有所下降,但与腿部相比,我的肺和心脏感觉明显不适应,这绝对是我第一次有这种感觉。对于经常进行户外探险的人来说,即使没有专门的训练也能完成。如果你不经常徒步,我建议你事先进行一些海拔3000英尺(约914米)的攀登训练!
我们在阿纳明和威尔德斯家住了三个晚上来适应高原环境,并在徒步结束后第二天飞离之前也住在他们家。如果你不确定在瓦拉斯住哪里,而且他们的客房还开放,那就住他们家吧!我们立刻就有了家的感觉,经常熬夜聊天说笑,离开的时候感觉阿纳明就像是我们姐妹团的一员。她来和我们一起吃了几次晚饭,还帮我们安排了头几天的探索徒步行程。她有两个很大的房间,里面有多张床,两个带淋浴的浴室,还有一个漂亮的室内外相连的厨房和餐厅。她家离镇中心步行大约20分钟,感觉就像远离了小镇的喧嚣。强烈推荐住在她家!
总而言之,我强烈推荐Los Amigos de Huayhuash。我们希望以后有机会再来,拜访Anamin,并进行一次更长的徒步旅行。我们立刻就感觉像回到了家一样,安全、舒适,而且受到了很好的照顾。写这篇评论有点难过,因为这感觉像是我们旅程的最后一章。预订徒步旅行,选择Los Amigos吧!