The Llanganuco Lagoon is located at 3800 meters and comprises two lagoons: Chinancocha (female lagoon) and Orconcocha (male lagoon). The first, commonly visited by tourists, has a turquoise green color in its waters. Its length is 1450 meters, its width of 393 meters, and its depth of 28 meters and is located in the foothills of Mount Huascaran, the highest in Peru. Orconcocha, smaller but no less beautiful, is not accessible to conventional tourist. Celestial waters run in 910 meters long, 368 meters wide and 7 meters deep. Both lakes were formed due to melting of glaciers Huascaran, Huandoy, Pisco, Chopicalqui and Yanapaccha, the water temperature averages is 7 ° C on the surface and -3 ° C in the background. The union of these gaps is possible thanks to Chopicocha River, which in turn flows into the river Ranrahirca. ´
These lagoons have an incredible beauty for many reasons; the first is for the color of the water. The second is that the lagoons are surrounded by wonderful flora. And the third reason is because are located in a glacier valley.
The lagoons deployed the best colors in the morning, because the sun shines directly on them, which is why is recommended to arrive early around 8 am. This becomes in a fascinating and natural show to the people eyes that will leave breathless.
The weather is dry and mild, with an average temperature of 10 ° C. The recommended season to visit is from April to November, when it does not rain.
Activities to do there
There are numerous tours to visit the beautiful Llanganuco Lake and its surroundings, the activities that the visitors can do there are usually, hiking and climbing to the peaks of the cordillera (including the Huascaran, Peru’s highest). Also it is possible to practice all kinds of sports, such as:
*Hiking,
*Ice-climbing,
*Rock-climbing,
*Snowboarding,
*Mountain
* Biking,
*White water rafting, etc
And even more while you appreciate the beauty of its landscapes.
The first lake is Chinacocha, where the visitors will be able to rent rowboats between 8 a.m.–3:30 p.m. The second lake is called OrconCocha, and the best views of the mountains are a little further on.
These lakes are one of the starting points for the popular Santa Cruz trek. The base camp for climbing Pisco and the newly built Refugio Peru in a four-hour hike from the Llanganuco lakes at 3,865 meters up to 4,665 meters. The best time to visit these stunning lakes is at midday when the sun is brightest. The lakes fall into shade in the afternoon, when chill winds whip their waters.
Getting to the Lakes
The highway from Yungay passes these lakes en route to Portachuelo Llanganuco, a high pass at 4,767 meters, and leads to the towns of Vaquería, Cochabamba, and Yanama in the Callejón de Conchucos. Shortly before the lakes, there is a control booth of the National Park, which charges an entrance fee to the visitors of $2 and for longer-term visitors $20.
You can get to these faultless lakes in a comfortable way by travel agency which offers a variety of services of transport, tours, guides etc, but if you prefer using a local transportation to go to Yungay, further North in the Callejon de Huaylas, and change there to a ‘combi’ bus or taxi (about 40 sol for a full taxi) to go up to the lakes.
Also another alternative is to take a bicycle (using a bus) up the unpaved road at the end of the valley where you will have a fantastic view all over the mountains and take it down all the way down to Yungay.
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