Peru - Lonely Planet Publications [350]
Hostal Tumshukaiko (39-2212; Melgar 114; s/d S60/80) Located five blocks north of town is this hotel with fine, modern 2nd-floor rooms decorated in a rustic theme and featuring excellent mattresses and hot showers. Downstairs is a cactus garden and a Spanish-influenced restaurant that serves bonza buffet breakfasts (S9). There’s a small discount in the off-season.
Eating
Heladería Caraz Dulzura (Plaza de Armas; ice cream S2; 8am-9:30pm) This popular ice-cream place gets packed on hot days. It also serves some local meals, but the ice cream is what it’s really all about.
Pollería Jeny (39-1101; Plaza de Armas; meals S5-10; 7am-10:30pm) Good set lunches and the best chicken in town attract the indigent; slightly pricier à la carte items include steak and trout. Breakfast, snacks and sandwiches are also available.
Cafetería El Turista (30-1518; San Martín 1127; breakfast S5-10; 7am-noon & 5-8pm) A great place to grab an early breakfast, this tiny little cafe is a one-woman show run by the exuberant Maria. It’s filled with a warren of crafts and knickknacks – all for sale.
Café La Terraza (30-1226; José Sucre 1107; dishes S5-15; 7am-11pm) Does some of the best coffee in town and has lots of breakfast options (pancakes!), pizzas and pastas – all in a cavernous but cheerful art-covered space.
Café de Rat (/fax 39-1642; José Sucre 1266; meals S7-15, large pizzas S18-25; 7am-11pm Mon-Sat) Don’t mind the name, the menu has been cleared of rodents. This atmospheric wood-beamed restaurant and cafe serves sandwiches, pastas, coffees and drinks throughout the day, as well as a massive buffet breakfast (S12). It also has a book exchange, darts, a bar and music; it’s a top spot to hang out. There’s a fireplace and you can gaze onto the plaza from its upstairs balcony. Find it above Pony Expeditions.
Villa del Sabor (39-1273; Villar 224; meals S10-18; 7am-7pm) Right off the Plaza de Armas, the flower-filled ‘House of Flavor’ serves ají de gallina and trout almost any way you can think of. The best day to come is Sunday, when pachamanca is served for S18.
Getting There & Around
Caraz is often the final destination for buses heading from the coast to the Callejón de Huaylas. Most coastal buses go via Huaraz.
BUS
Long Distance
Transportes Rodríguez (39-1184; Cordova 141) has a Lima via Pativilca bus at 8pm (S30, 10 hours), while Cooperativa Ancash (39-1126; Cordova 139) has a service at 11am, 7pm and 8pm (S30). Movil Tours (39-1922; cnr Cordova & Santa Rosa) has comfortable Lima buses at 8am and 8:30pm (S24 to S30), as well as a semi-cama (semi-sleeper) Trujillo bus via Pativilca at 7:30pm (S45, 12 hours).
Yungay Express (39-1693; Villar 316) has three buses a day to Chimbote via the Cañón del Pato leaving at 9am (S20, eight to nine hours) and via Casma (S21, six to eight hours) at 7pm and 8pm. Transport Huandoy (39-1236; Villar 224) also has a 12:30pm Chimbote bus through the Cañón (S20) and Casma bus (S20) at noon, 4pm and 8pm.
Caraz Area
Minibuses to Yungay (S2, 30 minutes) and Huaraz (S5, 1½ hours) leave from the station on the Carretera Central.
TAXI
Colectivo taxis for Cashapampa (S5, 1½ hours) for the northern end of the Llanganuco–Santa Cruz trek leave when full from the corner of Ramón Castilla at Santa Cruz. Colectivos to Huallanca, for the Cañón del Pato and onwards, leave from the corner of Cordova and La Mar when full (S5, 1½ hours). From the corner of Ramón Castilla at Santa Cruz are 4am, 7am, 11am and 1pm colectivos to Pueblo Parón (S4, 45 minutes) for the famous Laguna Parón, which is about 9km further on foot or by truck.
Taxis (S2 to S3) and mototaxis (S1) trundle around town.
SOUTH OF HUARAZ
Covering the southern extent of the Cordillera Blanca and the majestic Cordillera Huayhuash, this part of the Andes refuses