Main Info
OVERVIEW AND HIGHLIGHTS:
Explore the beautiful landscapes of Queuñas, magic lagoons and warm people during this 4-day adventure. Here you will have the opportunity to enjoy an off-the-beaten path interacting with local villagers and of course, discovering Machu Picchu. This adventure tour is also known as the Weavers’ Circuit because along the way, you will learn the ancestral weaving techniques of the native villages.
The Lares Trek has a medium difficulty. Compared to the Inca Trail or the Salkantay Trek, this route is less arduous. The difference is that its trails are located in high altitude geographies.
WHAT IS INCLUDED
- Pick up from your hotel in the morning and transfer in private transport to start point of the trek.
- Entrance ticket to Machupicchu citadel
- Campsite fees
- Personal tents: 2 people in each 4-people-capacity tent, to allow for higher comfort and a safe keeping of backpacks. Our tents are 3-season, highly maintained to ensure an excellent performance in field.
- Dining tent with tables and chairs.
- Kitchen tent.
- Toilet tent with bio-degradable toilet facilities.
- English speaking professional and official tourist guide (2 guides for groups of over 8 people).
- Chef and cooking equipment.
- Pack animals (to carry tents, food and cooking equipment).
- Pack animals to carry personal gear up to a maximum of 7kg per person (including sleeping pad and sleeping bag).
- Accommodation for all our staff.
- Meals (2 breakfast, 3 lunches, 2 dinners). Vegetarian menu is available at no extra cost.
- Filtered boiled water from lunch time on 1st day onwards.
- First-aid kit including emergency oxygen bottle.
- Private transport from Lares to Ollantaytambo.
- Round Trip bus ticket Aguas Calientes – Machupicchu – Aguas Calientes.
- Round trip train ticket Ollantaytambo – Aguas Calientes (Expedition or Voyager service)
- Transportation from Ollantaytambo to Cusco (hotel)
- Accommodation in Aguas Calientes or Machupicchu on day 3.
WHAT IS NOT INCLUDED
- Breakfast on the first day.
- Dinner on the third day.
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner on the last day
- Huaynapicchu entrance fee: if you would like to climb this mountain an additional fee of US$ 80.00 per person.
- Travel Insurance – You are strongly recommended to take out travel insurance for the duration of your trip
- Inflatable sleeping pad
- sleeping bag per person: You are able to rent from us: our sleeping bags are -10ºC- comfort, mummy form.
- Tips for muleteers, chefs and trek guides.
- Personal Snacks.
- Personal tent, if you want it is 40 USD extra for the trip.
WHAT TO BRING AND ADVICES
- A Daypack with a change of clothes for the whole period of the program
- Rain gear (jacket and pants if available) or rain poncho (plastic ponchos can bepurchased in Cusco)
- Strong footwear, waterproof trekking boots recommended
- Sandals or jogging shoes for a higher comfort while at camp
- Warm clothes, including jacket, fleeces. Thermal clothing is also recommended, especially for sleeping
- Flashlight/headlamp and batteries
- Camera and batteries (batteries consume more quickly under cold conditions)
- Hat or cap to protect you from the sun, rain and cold
- Sun block
- After-sun cream or hydrating cream for face and body
- Insect repellent – minimum recommended 20% DEET – no malaria risk has been reported
- Handkerchiefs
- Toilet paper
- Snacks: biscuits, energy bars, chocolate, raw fruits, muesli, etc. Please note that we do provide a daily morning snack and our meal service is very complete and well supplied. This recommendation applies for all clients being used to a specific snack, as it may happen that it is not included in our selection
- Water container and water for the first morning. Important notice: plastic water bottles are no longer allowed into the Inca Trail. Plastic water containers (i.e. Nalgene) or metal ones are recommended
- Optionally: water- sterilizing tablets in case you pick up water from streams or rivers along the route. Otherwise, we provide filtered boiled water, which is safe to drink and has not reported any health problem so far.
- Small towel
- Swimsuit (if you wish to take a bath in the hot springs)
- Cash in soles and/or US$
- Original passport
- Walking sticks or poles (rubber covers required in order not to damage archaeological sites)
- Inflatable sleeping pad.
- Sleeping bag per person: You are able to rent from us: our sleeping bags are -10ºC- comfort, mummy form.
Itinerary
Download BrochureWe leave Cusco at 4.00am in a private transport and drive for 2h towards Huarán, the starting point of our trek. On this first day, we walk for approximately 5 hours following an uphill path that starts in a valley with lush vegetation and that will take us to our first campsite in Cancha Cancha, a small farming community in the middle of a spectacular mountain scenery. We will stop for lunch along the way. Once we get to Cancha Cancha, we set our camp and get to know the local people and their way of living.
- MEALS: Lunch, Dinner
- ACCOMODATION: Cancha Cancha Campsite
- ACTIVITY LEVEL: moderate to difficult.
- WALKING DISTANCE: 7/8 km
- WALKING TIME: 4/5 hours
- MINIMUM ELEVATION: 2256m / 7401.57ft
- MAXIMUM ELEVATION: 3950m / 12959FT
We leave our camp after breakfast to start walking along an ascending path that will lead us to the first mountain pass of the trek, the Abra Pachacutec (4400m/14432ft/3h), from which we can enjoy awesome views of glacier lagoons and the surrounding valleys. Along the hike, we may
also have spectacular views of the snow-capped mountains in the area, such as Colquecruz,
Minas and Sirijuani. We will have lunch after the pass, to then descend to Quiswarani, a small peasant and textile community, from where we continue following an uphill path until we reach the beautiful lagoon of Queuñaqocha, where we set up our second camp.
- MEALS: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
- ACCOMODATION: Queuñacocha Campsite.
- ACTIVITY LEVEL: Challenge
- WALKING DISTANCE: 7km
- WALKING TIME: 03/04 hours
- MINIMUM ELEVATION: 3950m / 12959ft
- MAXIMUM ELEVATION: 4400m/14432ft
Today we continue our hike towards the second mountain pass, the Abra Willkiccasa (4100m/13448ft/2h), offering impressive views of both sides of the pass, especially of the Colquecruz and Pitusiray mountains. The trail continues along changing puna, lakes and agricultural areas with roaming deer until we arrive in Cuncani 3 hours later, another small peasant community from where we follow our hike down a fertile valley with more vegetation, crops and agricultural communities. Along the trail we may see native flowers such as begonias and wild orchids. After an approximated 2h walk we arrive in Lares, capital of the district with the same name, a large village whose principal attraction are its pleasant hot springs, where we can enjoy a dip. After lunch, our private transport will drive us to Ollantaytambo, where we board an afternoon train that will take us to Aguas Calientes. Upon arrival, we are accommodated at the selected hotel.
- MEALS: Breakfast, Lunch.
- ACCOMODATION: 3* Hotel at Aguas Calientes
- ACTIVITY LEVEL: Moderate to Difficult
- WALKING DISTANCE: 04 km
- WALKING TIME: 02 hours
- MINIMUM ELEVATION: 2040m / 66692ft
- MAXIMUM ELEVATION: 4100m/13448ft
After an early breakfast, we board a bus to go up to Machupicchu and then immediately begin a complete guided tour of the Inca citadel that will take approximately two hours. In the afternoon, we meet in the town of Aguas Calientes where, if you like, you can visit and relax in its hot springs. From here we take the train back and Bus to the city of Cusco, where we arrive after nightfall.
- MEALS: Breakfast, Lunch.
- ACCOMODATION: Not included
- ACTIVITY LEVEL: moderate.
- WALKING DISTANCE: 02km
- WALKING TIME: 2 hours
- MINIMUM ELEVATION: 2040m / 66692ft
- MAXIMUM ELEVATION: 4100m/13448ft
