Lares Trek + Short Inca Trail to Machu Picchu 5 days

Your Andean Mountain adventure through the Lares Valley to Machu Picchu begins early with your pickup at 5:00am from your Cusco hotel. Within an hour, we will arrive at the ancient ruins of the truly awesome Pisac Inca Citadel. Visit the ruins before any other groups arrive, enjoying the tranquility of the morning. Your guide will share with you the unique history of the Pisac Inca Citadel and its importance both before and during the Inca Empire.

Breakfast is served in a comfortable and private Pisac guest house. You will be impressed with your chef’s hearty and delicious breakfast, which will be just what you need to get ready for the first day trekking! Driving onward for 40 more minutes to Huaran, we meet your horsemen and horses. Time to get ready, boots on, and begin our first 3 hours gradually ascending towards Cancha Cancha. Along the way, your lunch will be served next to the river, replenishing your energy for the trek ahead with a delicious meal prepared by your trekking chef.

Cancha Cancha (3,900m/12,800ft) is one of the most isolated and traditional communities, self-sustaining as it has been for hundreds of years. There is no road to the community and they were recently connected to electricity in December, 2019. After settling into your tents and having afternoon tea, you will have the opportunity to visit a local family or play a sport with the local kids. You will learn all about life in a traditional Andean village, with your guide as your interpreter. After dinner, your guide will show you the Inca constellations on which they depended and still depend on for their agricultural guidance. Look forward to clean and private toilet facility, that are excusively reserved for our clients.

• Meals included: Breakfast – Lunch – Afternoon Tea – Dinner
• Accommodation: Camping facilities with private toilets
• Distance: 9kms / 5.6 miles
• Time: 3.5hrs approximately
• Difficulty: Moderate 

Your guide will wake you with a hot cup of tea or coffee to enjoy in your sleeping bag before you get up for breakfast. Feeling all revved up to begin our second day, after another delicious breakfast, we begin our 7 hour hike northeast. It starts out as an intense walk, accomplishing high passes on our way to the highest point of our trek at Pachacutec Pass(4,500m /14,800 ft). This is where you pat yourself on the back and embrace the satisfaction and exhilaration for making it up to the summit. Motivating you along the trail for this intense part of the trek are the views of glaciers, remote lakes, alpaca herds, rugged valleys and spectacular mountain vistas. Keep your eyes on the sky for the Caracara falcons and Andean geese!

After enjoying the summit, we descend for 3 hours until we reach our campsite located by the Quiswarani community, (3,700m/12,139ft). On the way, we will be taking off on an isolated trail where we will see indigenous highland people in their traditional outfits herding their llamas and alpacas. The local indigenous people will open their hearts and interact with you in the Quechua language (the indegenous language of Peru). Your guide will act as your interpreter, translating and teaching you some Quechua phrases. When you arrive at the spectacular seven waterfalls, you are almost to the campsite!

At the campsite, everything will be ready. Enjoy hot drinks and appetizers before dinner, then snuggle in for a comfortable night sleep.

• Meals included: Breakfast – Lunch – Afternoon Tea – Dinner
• Accommodation: Camping facilities with bathroom building
• Distance: 12kms / 7.5 miles
• Time: 7hrs approximately
• Difficulty: challenging

Your adventure continues as you begin the most scenic day yet!  We begin our ascent for 3 hours until we reach the Willqaqasa Pass, (4,200m/13,779ft) getting a bird’s eye view of the miror image reflection of the mountains on the glacial lakes. The majestic Colquecruz and Pitusiray Mountains are awe inspiring from the pass. We continue our trek through the Puna grasslands, undulating and productive agricultural sites and natural pristine lakes. Time to descend for 2 hours to the Cucani community. Connecting with the local indigenous children, you may have the opportunity to visit their school and share some quality time with the students.

From Cuncani we meet our driver and make our way down through a lush valley with extensive agricultural areas, fruit bearing trees, varied flora, and native flowers like begonias and wild orchids. Finally, we reach our destination, the Lares Hot Springs (3,100m/ 10,170ft), to soak in the natural volcanic hot springs for an hour,followed by a  scrumptious lunch and a bit of relaxation. Time for our goodbyes to our remarkable chef and horsemen. 

After lunch in Lares, we take our private transport to 2.5 hours Ollantaytambo, where we have dinner together and spend the night in our hotel.

• Meals included: Breakfast – Lunch – Afternoon Tea – Dinner
• Accommodation: EL Aberque
• Distance: 15kms / 9.3 miles
• Time: 6 hrs approximately
• Difficulty: Moderate

We start this exciting day early; your guide will leave the hotel with you at 5:30am. When you arrive at the train station, your guide will give you your lunch to add to your daypack. Your train departs Ollantaytambo at 6:10am and you will have just over an hour on the train to enjoy the scenery and have breakfast (not included), Your hotel can provide a picnic breakfast for you to take with.

Your train stop is  at the famous Km104, where your hike begins! (2,000m/6,560 ft. above sea level) After crossing the Urubamba river on a picturesque foot bridge, you will show your passport at the checkpoint and visit your first Inca site nearby. The first hour and a half  is a gentle uphil hike, with several shelters along the way to get out of the sun for a bit, or a small break from the rain, depending on the season. Along the way, you will stop at several outlooks where you have an expansive view of the Urubamba River and Valley. You will also pass through several microclimates, including cloud forest, so be ready for damp or even rain during all seasons of the year. For the next hour and a half the hike is at a slightly steeper uphill, however you have a  beautiful waterfall as your reward at the end of the hike!

After crossing the bridge below the waterfall, take some time for photos and then you will find yourself gazing up at the spectacular Wiñay Wayna! (2,600m/8,500ft above sea level) These amazing Inca ruins have a fascinating history and some parts are still hidden by the dense jungle. This close to Machu Picchu, you are hiking through lush sub-tropical jungle. Your guide will tell you all about the ruins, plus the incredible flora and fauna of this microclimate and answer any questions you have before the short 5 minute walk to your lunch spot.

You have lunch at a covered shelter at the Wiñay Wayna campground, which is the last campground for those hiking the four day Inca Trail. Nearby are outdoor sinks to wash your hands and also restrooms. Take your time enjoying your hearty, gourmet lunch and admiring the tropical flowers around the campground. 

After lunch, your walk to the Sun Gate is predominantly, from which you have your first view of Machu Picchu! Though the hour long walk gently rolls up and down, it does end with a set of steep stairs carved directly into the bedrock by the Inca. Once you reach the stairs you will know that you’re almost at the Sun Gate! The granduer and size of Machu Picchu will leave you speechless, pictures don´t do it justice, so take some time to savor the moment and capture this once on a  lifetime moment. The last 45 minutes down from the Sun Gate provide many opportunities to take more photos of Machu Picchu from this unique vantage point. There are also a couple more important Inca sites between the Sun Gate and Machu Picchu, so make sure to go slowly, enjoy your time walking in the footsteps of the Inca along the Inca Trail and ask your guide questions about these historical places on the last bit of your hike to Machu Picchu.

Once you reach Machu Picchu, you will have time to take more photos from the viewing platforms above the site, like the Guard House. You arrive in the afternoon, as the archeological area starts to empty of tourists, which gives you the opportunity to take beautiful photos in the afternoon light with fewer people in your shot. Take your time to enjoy this magical experience before you take the bus down to Aguas Calientes to check into your hotel. You will have a delicious dinner, then have time to walk around this picturesque little town, visit the hot springs or just go to your hotel to rest after such an exciting day.

• Meals included: Breakfast, lunch, dinner in a restaurant in Aguas Calientes
• Distance: 12 kms/7.5 miles
• Time: 6hrs approximately
• 3* Accommodations: Ferre´ Hotel Machu Picchu
• Difficulty: moderate

This is the day you’ve been waiting for! After an early breakfast at your hotel, you’ll take one of the first busses up to Machu Picchu so that you can be there to witness the sunrise. It is truly an extraordinary site and not something you’ll want to miss! Your guide will give you a tour, which takes about two hours. You will see most of the most important parts of Machu Picchu Citadel. You will also learn about how Machu Picchu is divided into three sectors: agricultural, residential and religious.

After your tour, those who have booked in advance for the extra hike of Huayna Picchu or Machu Picchu Mountain, they will have time to embark on the hike and enjoy the  views on their own. When you have had your fill of the exceptional views of Machu Picchu, we will take the bus back down to Aguas Calientes for lunch (not included). Depending on your train departure time, you may also have time for some shopping, sightseeing or a visit to the museum or hot springs. Your train will depart at 2:55pm or 3:20pm.

The train will take you back to Ollantaytambo, following the spectacular Urubamba River. Close to Aguas Calientes, the canyon is narrow and the river has many beautiful sections of whitewater. You can also see Wiñay Wayna from the train, if you look up high on the steep canyon wall! Back at Ollantaytambo, your driver will meet you at the exit from the train station to take you back to your hotel in Cusco in our private vehicle. You can expect to arrive at your hotel between 7:00pm and 8pm.

• Meal included: Breakfast
• Difficulty: Easy

***IMPORTANT:

• You can upgrade to the Vistadome Train for the same times, 2:55pm or 3:20pm, 4:22pm, or 4:43pm. The cost is $67 USD.
• Early trains can be organized on request and it has to be done at the time of booking.
• The Huayna Picchu Mountain Hike depends on availability and let us know about it at booking time. It books out extremely fast.