Overview
This great hike to the majestic Machu Picchu will take you in transport through the Sacred Valley of the Incas, watching green landscapes, colonial villages, incan monuments and a trek in which we will contemplate unique landscapes of crystalline lakes close by glaciers, waterfalls, typical flora and fauna of the Peruvian Andes creating a magical scene. We will spend time with the inhabitants of traditional villages and we will visit the famous medicinal hot springs of Lares.
Summary travel plan
- Day 1: Cusco – Huaran – Cancha Cancha Community
- Day 2: Cancha Cancha – Quiswarani
- Day 3: Quiswarani - abra Huiquijasa - Cuncani
- Day 4: Cuncani - Lares - Ollantaytambo - Aguas Calientes
- Day 5: Aguas Calientes – Machu Picchu Citadel – Cusco
Itinerary Lares trek to Machu Picchu 5 days / 4 nights
Day 1: Cusco – Huaran – Cancha Cancha Community
6:00 am we will pick you up from hotel in Cusco, to board the transport and head to Huaran. On the way we will observe the well-known archaeological center of Pisaq from a viewpoint and different traditional villages of the Sacred Valley like Pisaq, Coya, Lamay and Calca. This journey will last approximately one and a half hours. Once we reach the Huaran gorge, we will begin our ascending trek, at a slow pace where we will see crops, rock formations and birds until we arrive at the community of Cancha Cancha, where its inhabitants will share with us their traditions and way of life. We will spend the night in a camp.
Day 2: Cancha Cancha – Quiswarani
Early we’ll have a good breakfast and we'll continue our slow ascent to Pachacutec Pass, located at 4600 masl, where we’ll enjoy an incomparable landscape surrounded by gorgeous lakes, rivers, waterfalls, typical andean vegetation and snowy peaks of the Urubamba Range, where you can take as many pictures as you want.
After this unmatchable scene, we'll descend heading to Quiswarani Community, where we’ll dine and camp.
Day 3: Quiswarani - abra Huiquijasa - Cuncani
After breakfast, once again we’ll start an upward trek, making brief stops to take a break, heading to Huilquijasa Pass at 4200 masl, from where you'll be able to admire the magical beauty of the snow-covered peak of Colque Cruz and the surrounding high-altitude lakes.
A little bit later we'll descend to the community of Cuncani, a high Andean village where everything is traditional; the houses are made of stone and mud, with thatched roofs; all the inhabitants wear typical costumes; we will be able to see its fields of lizas (smooth potatoes), potatoes among others in addition to animals such as llamas, cows, sheep, etc. We will spend the night in the campsite.
Day 4: Cuncani - Lares - Ollantaytambo - Aguas Calientes
This last day's trek will leave at approximately 8am heading to Lares, in route we will observe other traditional peoples, flora and fauna characteristic of the inter andean valley.
At the end of the refreshing bath, we will take a tourist transport that will take us to Ollantaytambo to board the train to the town of Machu Picchu (Aguas Calientes) and we will go to the reserved hotel where we will settle.
Day 5: Aguas Calientes – Machu Picchu Citadel – Cusco
We’ll have breakfast in the hotel, then we'll head to the bus station to take the bus that will take us to Machu Picchu Citadel. Once we reach the famous ruins, the guide will lead a two-hour guided tour of the site. Afterwards, you'll have some free time to explore independently and enjoy the beauty of the ruins and their surrounding.
Eventually, we'll take a return bus back down to Aguas Calientes, where you'll have time to have lunch independently before you need to board the return train to Ollantaytambo. There, tourist-class transport will be waiting to take you back to Cusco, where you'll be dropped back off at your hotel.
This tour includes
- Hotel Pickup
- Tourist-Class Transport: Cusco - Huaran
- Professional Guide
- Meals during the trek: 04 Breakfast, 03 Lunches, 03 Dinners
- Roundtrip Train: Ollantaytambo – Machupicchu
- Tourist-Class Transport: Lares - Ollantaytambo
- Horses & Horseman for equipment and provisions
- Camping Equipment: Kitchen Tent, Dining Tent, Tables & Stools, Tent & Camping Mattress
- Admission: Machu Picchu Citadel
- Lodging: Aguas Calientes
- Tourist-Class Transport: Ollantaytambo - Cusco
- Cook
This tour does NOT include
- Sleeping Bag
- Breakfast on Day 01
- Lunch on Day 04 & 05
- Dinner on Day 04 & 05
- Extra Horse
- Roundtrip bus Aguas Calientes - Machu Picchu
- Admission: Huayna Picchu Mountain (optional excursion)
- Admission: Machu Picchu Mountain (optional excursion)
- Extra expenses
- Extras
