The easiest way to trek or climb in the Huaraz area is to sign up, in advance, for a trip with a reputable agency and let it take care of all the details. But you can also get together a group, custom design a trip, and then hire one of these agencies to take care of logistics (transport, food, lodging, porters, arrieros, cooks, and certified guides).

Often a private trekking or climbing guide, available for US$70–80 per day from the Casa de Guías (Parque Ginebra 28-G, tel. 043/42-7545, agmp [at] casadeguias [dot] com [dot] pe, www.casadeguias.com.pe, 8 a.m.–1 p.m. and 4–8 p.m. Mon.–Sat., open Sun. during high season) in Huaraz, can make trip arrangements. Or you can do it all on your own, which is not hard if you speak a smidgen of Spanish.

The traditional trekking and climbing season in Huaraz is May–August, but the best weather and snow conditions are in June and July. Most of Huaraz’s best hostels are booked solid during these months, a problem that reaches crisis proportions near July 28th and the Fiestas Patrias, Peru’s biggest national holiday. Hotels are often booked July 25–August 5.

If you are gunning for a main peak or trekking route, you will encounter fewer people during the tail ends of the season in May or August. The weather is often just as good in these months, and you can call a Huaraz guide agency in April to determine snow conditions. A heavy snow year will rule out certain routes in May, while a light snow year exposes crevasses early and makes certain summits more technical or altogether impossible by late August.

But there are always loads of options in the Cordillera Blanca, and it is easy to switch from one route to another at the last minute.

Here are links to a few tips and things to keep in mind while planning your trip; Whether you're planning to use a guide or agency, trying to trek on a budget, or planning to go on your own, you're sure to find some useful information.

Here are additional links to helpful planning information regarding entry fees, maps and guidebooks, gear, acclimatization, and hazards and precautions.