Hikes, lagoons, and the Huascaran national park are the main points. But there are some archeological sites too. Wilcawain is near Huaraz city, but it's a short visit.
Chavin de Huantar is a must. It's a beautiful trip where you cross the "cordillera blanca", White mountains, and you enter "Callejon de Conchucos", a paralell valley where the Chavin temple is located. It's a full day trip. And yes, since you cross the cordillera thru a tunnel, you go thru higher roads, higher than Huaraz, but it's just a couple of hours or less (4500mt aprox).
And of course a visit to Yungay is another must. An important place in (tragic) history, the city covered by a huge avalanche in 1970.
Huaraz and "Callejon de Huaylas" is one of my favorite places in Peru