The Lares Trek to Machu Picchu and Inca Trail tour offers a unique experience for hikers to combine the beauty of the Andean mountains, Local villages, and the last part of the original Inca Trail, arriving at Machu Picchu twice.
Lares Trek to Machu Picchu and Inca Trail tour combines a cultural hike in the mountains with the short version of the Classic Inca Trail, visiting the ice glaciers, piercingly blue glacial lakes and stunning waterfalls, train ride to the Inca trail and arrive at Machu Picchu through the Sungate. Come and join us on this natural and cultural expedition to the legendary city of Machu Picchu. Student Discount: Day 1: Cusco – Lares Thermal Baths – Kiswarani Falls – Blue Lagoon (9 km, 4 hrs), pick you up from your hotel around 4:30 and drive for 3 hours to Lares thermo-medicinal baths. The water is excellent for your bones, muscles, stress, and headaches. After breakfast, you’ll start the 4-hour hike to the Campsite at the Blue Lagoon (3850 m/ 1230 ft). Along the trail, you’ll see traditional Andean houses, waterfalls, and hike with llamas and alpacas. Day 2: Quiswarani – Condor Pass – Cancha Cancha Community (16 km, 9hrs), Wake you up bright and early with a hot cup of coffee or cocoa tea and prepare for the longest and most challenging day, You’ll start climbing for 4 hours to Condor Pass (4700 m / 15354 ft) – the highest point of the trek, then another 2 hours down to the Campsite located at Canchacancha Village (3750 m / 12 303 ft). Along the way is possible to see lakes, snowcapped mountains, he’s of Llamas, alpacas, and birds. Day 3: Cancha Cancha – Huaran – Ollantaytambo (12 km, 4 hrs), After breakfast, you’ll visit the Local houses and experience their way of life and interact with villagers to later start descending for 4 hours into the Sacred Valley for a special lunch. After enjoying a PACHAMANCA barbecue, you’ll drive to the Salineras where locals get Salt since Inca Times, then drive to Ollantaytambo (Last Living Incan City) to explore the beautiful Inca Streets. Spent the night in a hotel and dinner is a Local Restaurant. Day 4: Ollantaytambo – Km104 – Machu Picchu – Aguas Calientes (15km, 8hrs), breakfast in the hotel and take the first trains to Km104 to start the Inca Trail, the hike takes about 7 hours following the ancient Inca Trail, You’ll see several archeological sites such as Chachabamba, Wiñaywayna, Intipata, and arrive at Machu Picchu in the afternoon through the Sungate. Spend the night in a hotel and dinner at Indio Feliz restaurant. Day 5: Machu Picchu (The Lost City of the Incas) – 3 hours, On the final day you’ll enjoy breakfast at the hotel, take the first buses up to Machu Picchu and explore with your tour guide. The guided tour begins with a hike to the Inca bridge, visit the terraces, temples, palaces, and most essential places in Machu Picchu. After the guided tour, you can explore by yourself or hike to Huayna Picchu or Machu Picchu Mountain (Different from the citadel). Vistadoem train back to Cusco and finish the tour around 7.30 pm in your hotel.
DAY 1: CUSCO – LARES THERMAL BATHS – KISWARANI FALLS – BLUE LAKE TreXperience team will pick you up from your hotel at around 4:30 am (depending on your location) and drive you through the beautiful landscape of the Sacred Valley of the Incas to the famous Lares thermo-medicinal baths – arriving at approximately 8:00 am. We’ll jump straight into the medicinal pools – all of which are set at different temperatures. The water is great for your bones, muscles, stress, and headaches, and therefore this is the perfect way to prepare for your TreXperience! After soaking our bodies, we will enjoy breakfast in a beautiful location surrounded by the majestic Andean mountains. After breakfast, we have time to enjoy nature and take in your beautiful surroundings. Today’s route is relatively easy with a 2-hour trek uphill until we reach Kiswarani village. Our chef will be waiting with a delicious lunch that has been freshly prepared using natural, organic, local produce. It’s then another 2-hour walk to our Campsite, located on the bank of a beautiful blue lake at (3750 m/ 1230 ft). Along the trail, we will pass picturesque landscapes adorned with traditional Andean houses made of adobe bricks and thatched roofs. Here local villages survive by farming potatoes and raising llamas, alpacas, and sheep. We will pass beautiful streams and a waterfall, which is the source of the Amazon river – the largest in the world. On reaching our Campsite, your tents and a hot cup of tea will be waiting for you. This is a perfect place to relax, stargaze, and learn about Inca astronomy. DAY 2: QUISWARANI – CONDOR PASS – CANCHACANCHA COMMUNITY We will wake you up bright and early with a hot cup of coffee or cocoa tea. This is our longest and most challenging day, and after breakfast, it is a 4-hour hike uphill to Condor Pass (4700 m / 15354 ft) – the highest point of this journey. Along the way, we will enjoy beautiful lakes where Wallatas (Andean geese or ‘love birds’) swim in the crystal clear waters and pass the imposing Andean mountains of Pitusiray, Sawasiray, Qolquecruz, all of which are over 18,000 ft. At the summit of Condor Pass, we will serve you a well-deserved cup of hot tea, and you can take some time to rest while your tour guide performs a spiritual offering ceremony to the sacred mountains. It is then over a 3-hour descent through the breathtaking scenery. You will be able to see lagoons, exotic birds, llamas, alpacas, vizcachas (which look a lot like rabbits), and Wallatas along the way. Our Campsite is located at Cancha Cancha (3750 m / 12 303 ft) – the only village in the Lares Valley that is completely isolated from any modern technology. This includes no drainage system, electricity, computers, internet connection, or cellphone service. Here they speak only Quechua – the ancient language spoken by the Incas. You will have the afternoon free in Cancha Cancha meet and interact with the local people, visit a local school, and help teach and play games with the children. The villagers will welcome any donations of food, school supplies, or anything else you would like to give to help support the health and education of this isolated community. Late in the afternoon, your guide will take you to visit one of the families’ homes. Here you can experience first hand their traditional lifestyles passed down from the Incas, sample traditional food, and see how they raise guinea pigs, llamas, and alpacas. By the evening, our chef will have prepared dinner for us to enjoy together before a well-earned night’s rest. DAY 3: CANCHACANCHA – HUARAN – OLLANTAYTAMBO Start the day with a beautiful view of the mountains and a delicious breakfast, then prepare for our final descent from the hills into the sacred valley. First, we will say goodbye to the last remaining village still practicing Inca traditions, and isolated from all modern technologies, before we begin our 4-hour trek downhill. Along the way, you can observe different types of ecosystems – from the colder mountains, where only potatoes are grown, to the fertile soils of the sacred valley, where maize is the primary product. Our TreXperience concludes in a small town called Huaran (2700 m / 8856 ft), and from here, a private bus will drive us to Ollantaytambo; “Last Living Incan City.” Or as it is sometimes known, “World Capital of the Native American.” We will take some time to explore these ancient streets and the water channel that has been in use since Inca time. We will have dinner in a local restaurant in Ollantaytambo and spend the night in a hotel. DAY 4: OLLANTAYTAMBO – KM104 – AGUAS CALIENTES After an early breakfast in your hotel, we will take the train for 1 hour 30 minutes along the Urubamba river from Ollantaytambo (in the mountains) to km 104 at Chachabamba (in the cloud forest). We will head straight to the checkpoint at Chachabamba to start your TreXperience! Please note, you will need your original passport to pass through the checkpoint. Our first stop is a beautiful Inca ruin, also called Chachabamba. We will then hike along an ancient Inca trail, that was abandoned in the 16th century and led to Machu Picchu. The first section of the trail is a gradual uphill hike for 4 hours until we arrive at Wiñay Huayna (the place that never gets old). At this point, we will take some time to explore this stunning archaeological site and enjoy the spectacular views of the Andes. A packed lunch and refreshments will be provided. Once fed and energized, we will continue our hike to the Sun Gate to catch your first glimpse of the Lost City of the Incas – a truly unforgettable sight. From the Sun Gate, its a one hour downhill walk to the city, with breathtaking views along the way. We will arrive at Macchu Picchu in the afternoon and will, therefore, have the unique opportunity of experiencing the city almost empty. This is the perfect photo-taking opportunity! We will then take the bus down to Aguas Calientes, where we will have dinner and spend the night in a hotel. DAY 5: MACHU PICCHU (LOST CITY OF THE INCAS) On our final day, we have to get up very early to prepare for the highlight of your TreXperience, visiting Machu Picchu – the Lost City of the Incas. We will go straight to the line to wait for the first bus going up to Machu Picchu at 5:30 am. Arriving as the sky brightens, we will walk up with incredible views of the city along the way. On a clear day, you can watch the spectacular sunrise over Machu Picchu. This is truly an unforgettable sight. Your guide will take you on a 2 to 3-hour comprehensive tour of the city before leaving you in Machu Picchu to explore on your own or climb either Huayna Picchu or Machu Picchu Mountain (tickets must be booked as far in advance as possible). Your guide will explain how to take the bus from Machu Picchu back to Aguas Calientes for lunch (not included) and then take the train and bus back to Cusco. The TreXperience Team will meet you off the train and return you safely to your hotel.
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Highlights of the Lares Trek to Machu Picchu and Inca Trail
Price Per person: 790.USD ….Get a 10% discount using TX2020, valid for a limited time.
To book the Lares Trek to Machu Picchu & Inca Trail, you need to make an initial payment of 140.USD per person, the remaining balance can be paid online, on installments, or in Cusco with any credit card at no booking fees at all.
All travelers under 17 will have a $30. If you are 25 years old or under at the time of traveling, you can get the 30$ discount with your student ID. Please advise by email to give you a code for the discount.
Day by day summary of the Lares Trek to Machu Picchu and Inca Trail
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