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 will 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

• Book with Confidence and Flexibility
• 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: 580.USD  Book Now..….Get a 10% discount using TX2020, valid for a limited time.

To book the Lares Trek, you need to make an initial payment of 50.USD per person, the remaining balance can be paid online, in installments, or Cusco with any credit card at no booking fees at all.

Student Discount:
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 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 Lares’ hot springs; there are several natural pools with different temperatures. After breakfast, we start the first day with a 4-hour hike to the Blue Lake banks’ campsite.

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 two 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 explore Machu Picchu with your guide to later take the Panoramic train 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 on the morning of the tour.
• All transportation during the duration of the Trek
• Duffle bag up to 7 kilos for your stuff carried by horses
• Professional highly trained mountain tour guides
• Experienced chefs, porters, and horsemen
• Pachamanca Cooking demonstration
• Two nights camping in the mountains with comfortable equipment
• One 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:

Huayna Picchu Mountain – The tickets must be booked in advance, and the cost is $75 per person.
Montaña Machu Picchu – The tickets must be booked in advance, and the cost is $75 per person.

Covid-19 measures to keep you safe during traveling

• Temperature checks for all travelers are mandatory.
• Face masks required for travelers and staff in public areas
• Hand sanitizer available to travelers and staff at all times
• High traffic places and equipment are sanitized regularly between use.
• Maximum eight people per group to reduce crowds
• Transportation and touristic sites capacity will be reduced to 50%
• Printed material such as maps or vouchers will be avoided.
• 100% online payments with no booking fees at all
• Flexible bookings during COVID – 19 outbreak

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 will have time to jump straight into the medicinal pools with different temperatures good for bones, muscles, stress, and relax with the mountain’s beautiful views. Then you will have an energizing breakfast prepared by your trekking chef. The hike starts after 30 minutes ride from the hot springs. The first part is 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 will meet the horsemen team from the surrounding villages and start hiking for another 2-hour walk to our campsite along with llamas and alpacas. The camp is located on a beautiful blue lake bank at (3880 m/ 12730 ft). Along the way, you will 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 most challenging day of the Lares trek. After breakfast, you will begin 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 at 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 is 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 visit a local school later. You can even teach some English and learn Quechua from them as well. Since we have the afternoon free, you will visit one of the families’ homes to understand 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 will say goodbye to the last remaining village, still practicing Inca traditions, isolated from 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 will 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 an extra hike before starting the 2-3 hours guided tour of the citadel.

The guide will take you to the most important places and explain the history, mysteries, and the incredible 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 on the morning of the tour; your hotel must be located in Cusco, Urubamba, or Pisaq, the tour starts in your hotel, and it will end at your hotel well.

* All transportation during the Trek, modern van to travel, and train tickets included.

* Duffle bag up to 7 kilos for your stuff carried by horses during the duration of the Trek, you also a daypack that you will take.

* Professional, highly trained mountain tour guides are highly trained in First Aid, mountain rescue, flora, fauna, and our country’s history.

* Experienced chefs, porters, and horse riders from local communities empower women chefs and porters. You will able to see our entire 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 two 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.