Lares Trek Peru 4D & 3N.
The Experience
The three or four day Lares Trek Peru is the perfect trek for hikers who want to avoid the more crowded Inca Trail . The hike combines beautiful mountains with azure lakes, llamas and authentic Quechua communities. You will meet local people in traditional costumes and pass small villages where time seems to have stood still. At the top of the village of Lares you can enjoy the wonderful hot springs. The city of Cusco is the starting point of the Lares Trek Peru.
The Lares Trek Peru consists of two nights in tents and one night in a hotel in the town of Aguas Calientes, near Machu Picchu. The trek will take place with a minimum of two hikers.
What's Included
- Transportation from Cusco to Lares (via Calca)
- Visit to the Lares hot springs
- Professional bilingual trekking guide
- All meals during the trek (unless otherwise specified)
- Camping equipment (tents, sleeping mats) for nights 1 and 2
- Luggage transport by pack animals (limited weight per traveler)
- Overnight in hostal in Aguas Calientes (night 3)
- Train tickets: Ollantaytambo → Aguas Calientes → Cusco (or Ollantaytambo)
- Bus Aguas Calientes ↔ Machu Picchu
- Entrance ticket to Machu Picchu
- Guided tour of Machu Picchu archaeological complex
- Return transportation to your hotel in Cusco
What's Not Included
- Entrance to Huayna Picchu or Machu Picchu Mountain (optional – must be booked in advance)
- Sleeping bag (can usually be rented)
- Walking poles (optional)
- Breakfast on Day 1 / lunch & dinner on Day 4
- Entrance to hot springs in Aguas Calientes (optional)
- Personal snacks, water, tips
- Travel insurance
Day-by-Day Itinerary
You start the Lares Trek Peru early in the morning. Together with your guide, you travel by bus to the village of Calca, a bus ride of approximately one hour. Here, you stop for half an hour to do some last-minute shopping at a local market. Next, you continue by bus for three hours to the village of Lares. Along the way, the bus passes the highest point at 4,265 meters, from where you have a beautiful view of the Sawasiray Glacier and Mount Pitusiray.
Next, you descend by bus to the Lares Valley at an altitude of 3,207 meters. After a visit to the thermal baths of Lares, the trek officially begins. You hike towards Huaca Wasi at an altitude of 3,800 meters. You walk through the beautiful valley with charming villages where the inhabitants are dressed in traditional costumes. Along the way, you will see wild orchids and begonias. You spend the night in tents at a campsite near the village of Waca Huasi.
Hiking time = approximately 4 hours
Today is the toughest day of the Lares Trek Peru. You climb to the summit of Huaca Wasi at an altitude of 4,500 meters in about 4 to 5 hours. Along the way, you walk past herds of llamas and alpacas, as well as huts made of adobe mud bricks. From the top, you have a beautiful view along both sides of the pass. You can see, among other things, the beautiful Lake Auroray, which means "blue lagoon." The water in this lake is meltwater from Mount Pumahuanca.
You descend to the edge of the lake for lunch. Birds such as the Andean Ibis can be found near the lake. In the afternoon, you descend in just under 2 hours to the Miski Unuyoc campsite, located near the village of Manatnay at an altitude of 3,800 meters. The campsite is situated next to a river of fresh snowmelt water, with views of snow-capped mountain peaks.
Walking time = approximately 6 hours
Early in the morning, you descend in 4 hours to the village of Yanahuara at an altitude of 2,950 meters. This village is located in the middle of the fertile Sacred Valley. Along the way, you see a forest of Queuña trees that is protected by the Peruvian government. From Yanahuara, you take the bus to Ollantaytambo, a half-hour bus ride.
In Ollantaytambo, take the train to Aguas Calientes in the afternoon, a one-and-a-half-hour train ride. You will spend the night in a hostel in Aguas Calientes.
Walking time = approximately 5 hours
You get up early and depart for Machu Picchu. In the morning, your guide will give you an archaeological tour of the complex. Afterwards, you will have plenty of time to wander around the complex on your own. True enthusiasts can also climb Mount Huayna Picchu to view the ruins of Machu Picchu from the other side.
In the afternoon, you depart by bus to the village of Aguas Calientes, about a half-hour drive from Machu Picchu. In this village, there are many restaurants where you can have lunch, and there is also the option to visit the hot springs of Aguas Calientes. In Aguas Calientes, you take the train to Cusco in the late afternoon. Your guide will tell you whether you need to get off in Ollantaytambo and be taken from this village to the city of Cusco by private bus, or if you travel directly by train from Aguas Calientes to Cusco. In Cusco, you will be taken to your hotel.
Note: It is also possible to skip the last day of the Lares Trek Peru and travel back to Cusco on day 3. This option is particularly interesting for travelers who have already visited Machu Picchu.