Maparaju is considered one of the mountains of easy ascent, whose name comes from the Quechua Mapa- Raju which means “Colored Mountain”. It belongs to the Chinchey Massif and it is located in the head of the Cayesh ravine. Maparaju Mountain is perfect to acclimatize in preparation for climbs of higher altitude and technical difficulty.
Duration: 3 days/ 2 nights
If you want to do this type of climbing, it is necessary to acclimatize previously for several days and be in good physical/technical conditions.
The itinerary is a model to follow, however, situations such as natural disasters, climate change, landslides, political unrest, strikes, demonstrations, changes in government regulations or other force majeure, may cause this program to vary.
We will start our expedition from the city of Huaraz on an hour bus ride to the Quilcayhuanca ravine where we will begin our hike. We will hike up the Quilcayhuanca revine until arriving at the Cayesh crossing. Then we will deviate to the right side of the ravine called Cayesh. After hiking about 5 to 6 hours from the start we will arrive at Maparaju base camp located at 4250 m.
We will begin our ascent at 2 am from base camp and proceed to make our way through the moraine field until we reach the glacier. The ascent to the summit is of moderate difficulty, navigating through the glacier until we reach Maparaju summit 5,326 m. From the summit we have front view seats to various snow-capped mountains that surround this beautiful mountain, among them the more majestic ones like San Juan, Cayesh and the Huantsan. Soon we will return to the base camp. 6 to 7 hours approx.
We return by the same route of ascent, making our way back through the entire valley below the Quilcayhuanca ravine. After 4 to 5 hours of hiking we arrive at the park entrance where a private transportation will be waiting to take us back to the city of Huaraz.
This program is designed exclusively for private groups in order to provide you a better experience. We have local certified guides and support team at your disposal. If you have any questions regarding our packages and pricing options please feel free to contact us.
I climbed Mateo as an acclimatization for Vallunaraju.
This was my first climb with Alex and he boosted my confidence immensely and catered for my bad knees.
We then successfully climbed Vallunaraju and it is a beautiful climb.
Alex is very experienced but also a pleasure to climb with.
