A whirlwind few stops from Cusco and the final 'high altitude' stop on the move to the northern coast was in a town called Huaraz.

The town is nestled in the snow capped mountains of the Andes and a main stop for hikers and mountain climbers looking to take on some of the big peaks.

The first day we just went on a walk around town and up to a viewpoint... Absolutely knackered before we even started on the main trek!

The main trek was up to Laguna 69 and one of the main treks in the area. We started around 10am at the base of the mountain, after stopping briefly at an amazing turquoise lake to take a few photos.

The trek to Laguna 69 started flat, then went up 2 or 3 really steep inclines. Each time we reached the top of an incline we thought the Laguna was there, only to find another flat and another incline! Eventually after 3.5 hours hard trekking we made it and it was unbelievable! Even the hardened trekkers in our group found it tough.

The lake was the most amazing blue we'd ever seen, it was surrounded by huge glaciers, some of which fed waterfalls into the lagoon below. The water was ice cold and changed colour when the sun came out from the clouds...

After some food we headed back down, although much quicker it was still hard making our way to the bottom. The rain picked up about 15 minutes from the bus but we made it in one piece. Probably the hardest trek of the trip so far but well worth it.

The final day we chilled and pottered around town. A night bus further north and back to sea level for the first time properly since Bolivia! We decided to 'flash packer' it again and take the 1st class seats on the bottom deck! Needed for another night bus in quite quick succession...