Quitaraju, Mountain summit in Cordillera Blanca, Peru.

Quitaraju is a 6,036-metre summit in the Cordillera Blanca, Ancash Region, Peru, within Huascarán National Park. It rises on a side ridge branching west from the main range, between Santa Cruz to the west and Alpamayo about 2 km to the northeast. A glacier on its north flank flows down to Lago Jancarurish, while Lago Jatuncocha lies below its south flank.

Quitaraju was first climbed on 17 June 1936 by the Austrian mountaineers Arnold Awerzger and Erwin Schneider. The peak rises to 6,036 m in the Cordillera Blanca, in the Santa Cruz District of Huaylas Province, Ancash. Its slopes lie within Huascarán National Park, and its parent peak is Nevado Santa Cruz.

The name Quitaraju possibly comes from Ancash Quechua: kita, dam, and rahu, snow or ice. The peak rises between the Santa Cruz valley and Alpamayo, and its slopes lie within Huascarán National Park. The lakes below it — Ichiccocha, Jatuncocha and Quitacocha — are named in Quechua as well.

Quitaraju rises between the Santa Cruz valley and Alpamayo, with its south flank above Jatuncocha and its north glacier feeding Lago Jancarurish, reached via the Quebrada Los Cedros. Approaches come from the Santa Cruz valley or from Los Cedros; the nearest higher peak is Nevado Santa Cruz, about 4.9 km away. Its slopes lie inside Huascarán National Park.

Climbers must navigate a series of ice cliffs situated between the Alpamayo and Quitaraju mountains to reach Camp 1 at 5,550 meters. This section presents one of the most technically demanding parts of the journey.