Hi
Browsing through the Thorn Tree, I understand that it's better staying at Chavin for a couple of days rather than getting there on a 'rushed' day visit from Huaraz.
Can you get there by public transport from Lima or do you have to go to Huaraz first? If so, is there a public bus from Huaraz to Chavin? I saw someone mentioning a taxi for 50$. How long does it take?
Many thanks
DOM
breizhsunsnake
1
bad_hiker
A good and deep visit to Chavin could take 2 hours or maybe three, and there are few things to do in the town of Chavín, but you could spend some time going to Huari very early in a morning, and from there to laguna Purhuay, to take some very good pictures and enjoy landscape.
2
cecilia
Back in 1998 there was one daily bus from Huaraz to Chavín de Huantar, it left sometime around noon and was supposed to take 5 hours. It broke down 3 times, flat tyre every time.... and it only had 2 spare tyres with it. So after the 3rd breakdown a tyre needed to be completely fixed. We and lots of other people on the bus did not want to wait anymore and hitched a rid with a passing open truck which was a great experience even though it started to rain. When we almost reached Chavín, our bus with some people still in it overtook us and was there first. :-)
On the way back we hitched a ride with a truck again, this time we were seated in the front. You pay a common fee for a ride (ask locals what the price should be).
All this was 9 years ago but I'm sure there are still buses between Huaraz and Chavín, and trucks to hitch rides with too.
3
rafgar
Lima - Huaraz 8 hrs.
Huaraz - Chávín (a couple of hours), the road is completely isolated it passes through no towns or any sort of tourist attraction.
There should be tours from Huaraz, although u could stay in Chavín, it's a nice small town.
In case you might find it interesting, crossing the Andes to the other side of the "Cordillera Blanca" has some places to visit, small towns in the main route that goes at the back of the range mountains; but have in mind that all those routes can only be done by kombis, those small VANs that are used in Peru for basic transportation.
4
sputen
There are big buses (no combis) from Huaraz to Chavin departing at 8AM and coming back at 6PM. There are other times also but these seem to be the best to enjoy some time in the ruins (you can spend several hours there plus grab some lunch in town.). The trip takes 3 hours and the scenery is great. Two companies do the trip leaving from the centre of Huaraz. Ask in the tourist office in the Plaza de Armas and they will tell you where to take the bus. It cost 10 soles each way. I did it a couple of weeks ago and didnt reserve a seat altough the bus was quite full so, if you can, try to book it the night before. Also, this way, maybe you can get seats at the front. The back is very bumpy.
Hope it helps.
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