Lares Trek to Machu Picchu 4D/3N

Lares Trek to Machu Picchu takes you far off the beaten track to where you can meet and interact with members of traditional Andean communities. You’ll learn all about life in these isolated villages, become familiar with their culture and traditions, and even visit a local school. We finish your TreXperience spending an unforgettable day exploring Machu Picchu.

Highlights of the Lares Trek

• Visit the natural hot springs of Lares
• Take part in a  PACHAMANCA(underground cooking)
• Explore the Maras Salineras and Ollantaytambo
• Beat the crowds to Machu Picchu before the sunrise
• Enjoy the exclusive panoramic train on the way back (Vistadome or 360°)
• Support social projects in the villages we visit

Special Price per person: 522.USD

Book now
Book your tour now with only 25% initial payment per person, the remaining balance can be paid online or in our office in Cusco upon arrival.

Enter the code TX2020 to get this special 10% discount, valid for a limited time.

Discount:
Students under 25 years old at the time of travel with valid ID will get a $30 off. The ID must-have the university name, full name, photo of the student, and an expiration date no later than December 31 of the year of travel. Traveler under 17th don’t need ID to get discount

Day by day summary of Lares Trek

Day 1: Cusco – Lares Thermal Baths – Kiswarani Falls – Blue lake (9 km, 4 hrs)
Start in your hotel in Cusco and drive for 3 hours to the hot springs of Lares, these are several natural pools with different temperatures, After breakfast, we start the first day with a 4-hour hike to the campsite at the banks of the Blue Lake

Day 2: Quiswarani – Condor Pass – Cancha Cancha Community (16 km, 7hrs)
Wake up with a cup of coffee or tea and enjoy breakfast with the mountains and lake, it’s then a 4-hour hike up to condor pass at 4750mts, then 2 more down to lunch which is also the campsite located at 3600mts, afternoon free and camping near the village of Canchacancha.

Day 3: CanchaCancha – Huaran– Ollantaytambo – Aguas Calientes (12km, 4 hrs)
Wake up in your tent and breakfast, we start hiking down to the Sacred Valley for 4 hours where we will have a special PACHAMANCA underground hot-stone barbecue, visit Salineras, Ollantaytambo, and take the train to Aguas Calientes

Day 4: Machu Picchu (The Lost City Of The Incas) – 4 hrs 
After breakfast, we take the early buses up to Machu Picchu for the sunrise, visit the Sungate or Inca Bridge and then we explore Machu Picchu with your guide to later take the Panoramic train and bus back to your hotel in Cusco

Included In the Lares Trek

• Safety briefing the day before the tour at 6:00 pm in our Office
• Pick up from your hotel in the morning of the tour
• All transportation during the duration of the trek
• Duffle bag up to 7 kilos for your personal stuff carried by horses
• Professional highly trained mountain tour guides
• Experienced chefs, porters, and horsemen
• Pachamanca Cooking demonstration
• 2 nights camping in the mountains with comfortable equipment
• 1 night in a 3-star hotel in Aguas Calientes
• All meals during the Trek with local organic ingredients
• Entrance ticket to Lares, Salineras, and Machu Picchu
• Buses up and down to Machu Picchu
• Panoramic Exclusive train on the last to come back to Cusco

 Not Included in the Lares Trek

• Sleeping bags, air mattress, or trekking poles
• Last day Lunch
• Huayna Picchu or Montaña entrances
• Tips for porters, chef, guides

Optional hikes after the Machu Picchu guided tour:

DAY 1: CUSCO – LARES THERMAL BATHS – KISWARANI FALLS – CAMPSITE

Depart Cusco at 4.30 am by van to the famous Lares thermo-medicinal baths – arriving around 8:00 am. You’ll have time to jump straight into the medicinal pools with different temperatures good for bones, muscles, stress, and relax with the beautiful views of the mountain, then you’ll have an energizing breakfast prepared by your trekking chef. The hike starts after 30 minutes ride from the hot springs, The first part its a 2-hour trek uphill until we reach Kiswarani village where the chef will be waiting with your lunch that has been freshly prepared using natural, organic, local products.

After lunch you’ll meet the team of horsemen from the surrounding villages and start hiking for another 2-hour walk to our campsite along with llamas and alpacas, the campsite is located on the banks of a beautiful blue lake at (3880 m/ 12730 ft). Along the way, you’ll pass beautiful streams and a stunning waterfall. 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. 

• Campsite Altitude: 3880 m/ 12730 ft
• Trekking distance: 9 km/5.59 miles
• Duration: 4 hours
• Meals: Breakfast, snacks, lunch, dinner
• Accommodation: Camping under million stars
• Difficulty: Easy

DAY 2: CAMPSITE – CONDOR PASS – CANCHACANCHA COMMUNITY

Wake up bright and early with a cup of coffee or tea, start packing for the hardest day of the Lares trek. After breakfast, you´ll start the longest and most challenging day with a 4-hour hike uphill to the highest pass, the Condor Pass (4700 m / 15354 ft).  Along the way, you will be able to enjoy beautiful lakes where Wallatas (Andean geese or ‘lovebirds’) swim in the crystal clear waters, upon arrival to the summit of Condor Pass, we will serve you a well-deserved cup of tea and you can take some time to rest while your tour guide performs a spiritual offering ceremony to the sacred mountains.

The second part of the day it’s a 3-hour descent from the top of the mountain down to Canchacancha village through the breathtaking scenery. Upon arrival, you will find lunch and your tents ready to later interact with the local people, visit a local school, and you can even teach some English and learn Quechua from then as well since we have the afternoon free you will visit one of the families’ homes to learn at first hand their traditional lifestyles passed down from the Incas, sample traditional food and see how they raise guinea pigs, llamas, and alpacas.

• Campsite Altitude: 3750 m / 12303 ft
• Highest altitude: 4700 m / 15354 ft
• Distance: 16 km/ 9.9 miles
• Duration: 7 hours
• Meals: Breakfast, snacks, lunch, dinner
• Accommodation: Camping
• Difficulty: Moderate to challenging

DAY 3: CANCHACANCHA – SALINERAS – OLLANTAYTAMBO – AGUAS CALIENTES

Starting the day with a beautiful view of the mountains and a delicious breakfast, prepare yourself for the final 4-hour trek downhill from the highlands into the sacred valley. First, you’ll say goodbye to the last remaining village, still practicing Inca traditions, isolated from all modern technologies. Along the way, you can observe different types of ecosystems – from the colder highlands, where only potatoes are grown, to the fertile soils of the sacred valley, where maize is the main product.

The Lares Trek to Machu Picchu concludes in a small town called Huaran (2700 m / 8856 ft), and from here a private bus will drive you to Salineras and  Ollantaytambo; “Last Living Incan City”. Or as it is sometimes known; “World Capital of the Native American”. You’ll take some time to explore these ancient streets and the water channel that has been in use since Inca time. Dinner in a local restaurant in Ollantaytambo before catching the 7:00 pm train to Aguas Calientes, where we will spend the night in a hotel.

• Campsite Altitude: 2700m / 8856 ft
• Highest altitude: 3,750 m / 12,303 ft
• Distance: 12 km / 7.4 miles
• Duration: 4 hours
• Meals: Breakfast, snacks, lunch & dinner
• Accommodation: Hotel
• Difficulty: Easy

DAY 4:  MACHU PICCHU (LOST CITY OF THE INCAS)

Enjoy the final day waking early in your hotel, breakfast, and taking the first buses up to Machu Picchu to watch the spectacular sunrise over Machu Picchu. The tour guide will take on an extra hike first before starting the 2-3 hours guided tour of the citadel.

The guide will take you to the most important places, explain to you the history, mysteries, and the great Inca technology used to build Machu Picchu. Later you will have time to Explore by yourself or take the extra hikes like Huayna Picchu or Montaña, both mountains have to be booked in advance. Once you are done with the citadel, you need to take the bus from Machu Picchu back to Aguas Calientes for lunch (not included) and then take the exclusive panoramic trains back to Ollantaytambo and s private van back to Cusco. Drop is back to your hotel around 7:30 pm.

• Highest altitude: 2700m / 8858ft
• Distance: 6km / 3 miles
• Duration: 3 hours
• Meals: Breakfast (hotel)
•  Difficulty: Easy

Included during the Lares Trek

* Safety briefing held the day before the tour at 6:00 pm in our office, here you can pay the remaining balance, request for rentals, what to take, and pick up information.

* Pick up from your hotel in the morning of the tour; your hotel must be located in Cusco, Urubamba or Pisaq, the tour starts in your hotel and it’ll end at your hotel as well.

* All transportation during the duration of the trek, modern van to travel, and train tickets included, we include an oneway exclusive panoramic train in alñl out the tour

* Duffle bag up to 7 kilos for your personal stuff carried by horses during the duration of the trek, you also a daypack that you’ll carry.

* Professional highly trained mountain tour guides, all of them highly trained in First Aid, mountain rescue, flora, fauna, and history of our country.

* Experienced chefs, porters, and horsemen from local communities, we empower women chefs and porters, you will able to see our exclusive female trekking team.

* Pachamanca Cooking demonstration, this is a traditional underground stone barbecue.

* 2 nights camping in the mountains with a comfortable 4-men Eurejka tent provided for every two travelers.

* 1 night in a 3-star hotel in Aguas Calientes, Intinupku or similar

* All meals during the Trek with local organic ingredients, except last day lunch 

* Entrance ticket to Lares, Salineras, and Machu Picchu

* Buses up and down to Machu Picchu

* Panoramic Exclusive train on the last to come back to Cusco

Not Included In the Lares Trek

•  Sleeping bags, air mattress, or trekking poles ( Can be rent from us)
•  Last day Lunch in Aguas Calientes
•  Huayna Picchu or Montaña entrances (can be done after Machu Picchu tour)
•  Tips for porters, chef, guides (optional)

For the Lares Trek, you need a warm sleeping bag for camping 2 nights over 3000m,.We recommend a sleeping bag that keeps you warm during temperatures as low as -15C. Air mattresses and trekking poles are optional but recommended. If you don’t want to bring all these bulky items from home, you can rent them from us.