Huayhuash Circuit emergency & health guide: altitude, hospitals, rescue and community rules

Emergency numbers

There is no mobile signal on most of the Huayhuash Circuit, no ranger and no rescue post. Carry a satellite messenger (inReach or Zoleo) and use its SOS only in a life-threatening emergency. Travel insurance must cover trekking to 5,000 m and helicopter evacuation. Leave your itinerary with your agency or someone at home, and know the exits: Llámac and Quartelhuain in the north, Huayllapa (road to Cajatambo) in the south-west and Queropalca in the east.

Rules to know

• There is no national park ticket. Eight communities charge cash fees for their land and campsites (2026, per person): Llámac S/50, Pocpa S/20, Queropalca S/40, Quisuarcancha S/30, Tupac Amaru S/30, Uramaza S/30, Huayllapa S/50 (plus S/10 for the Cutatambo valley) and Pacllón S/30. Allow about S/300 in soles and keep every ticket: later checkpoints ask for them.
• Unguided trekkers: in February 2026 the Huayhuash communities announced that they would no longer admit independent tourists, with a checkpoint at Llámac. Enforcement is unclear, so check with iPerú or a registered Huaraz agency before you go and plan on a guide or arriero.
• Camp only at the community campsites, pay the fee to the person who collects it and do not haggle: the fees are the communities' main income from tourism and have kept the range safe since the robberies of the early 2000s.
• The Cordillera Huayhuash is a Zona Reservada (reserved zone, SERNANP) surrounded by community conservation areas. Use the campsite toilets, carry out all rubbish, do not wash with soap in lakes and streams, and ask before fishing or photographing people.
• Altitude: every day crosses a pass of 4,300 to 5,000 m and all camps but Huayllapa are above 4,000 m. Acclimatise for 3 to 5 days in Huaraz first, climb slowly and go down at once if a headache gets worse, you feel confused or you are breathless at rest.
• Season: the trekking season is the dry season, May to September; rains start in October. Even in the dry season expect hail or snow on the passes and nights well below freezing at camp.
• Alpine variants: Huayllapa banned crossing the Rasac glacier pass to Jahuacocha in 2024, with a fine of S/2,000. Glacier passes need a mountain guide and equipment; check the current status before leaving the classic route.
• Transport: a daily Turismo Nazario bus leaves Huaraz at about 5 am for Chiquián and Llámac, and returns from Llámac around 1 pm. Agencies drive to Quartelhuain in about 5 hours. Huayllapa has a dirt road to Cajatambo, the usual exit if you have to leave early.

Nearest hospital for each stage

Hospitals

Health posts and clinics

There is no clinic on the circuit. Llámac and Queropalca have small health posts with a nurse or technician, Cajatambo (by road from Huayllapa) and Chiquián (on the road to Huaraz) have health centres. All serious cases go to the Víctor Ramos Guardia hospital in Huaraz, 4 to 5 hours by road from Llámac, or from the Huayllapa side to Barranca on the coast.

Pharmacies, cash and supplies

• Pharmacies:
• ATMs:
• Shops: Huayllapa, Llamac
• Bus stops: Llamac

There is no pharmacy on the circuit and Peru has no duty-pharmacy rota here. Chiquián and Cajatambo have small pharmacies; Huaraz has many. Buy everything in Huaraz before you start: altitude medicine (acetazolamide needs a doctor's advice), treatment for stomach bugs, rehydration salts, a blister kit, sunscreen and lip balm. The campsites have no power: carry a power bank or a small solar panel.

Pharmacies, ATMs, shops and stops: © OpenStreetMap contributors. Hospitals and health centres checked online.