Trekking Machu Picchu & Lares trek is the best of both trails in just four days. During the Lares trail section, you will visit and interact with some of the most isolated indigenous communities to date. You will also hike along some of the regions most scenic trails with views of majestic glaciers, blue glacial lakes, crystalline waterfalls and heard of llamas and alpacas.
To compliment, you will also hike along a section of the iconic Inca Trail. During this section, you will explore ancient religious Inca cities, arrive directly at the Inti Punku to catch some of the best panoramic views of Machu Picchu, and see Machu Picchu twice! Once in the afternoon for sunset hours and the next morning for your guided tour.
LARES TREK HIGHLIGHTS
Lares Valley, Huacawasi, Yanacocha, Yanahuara, Ollantaytambo, Inca Trail, Wiñay Wayna, Inti Punku & Machu Picchu.
ITINERARY
TREKKING LARES ITINERARY
- DAY 01: CUSCO – CALCA – LARES – WACAHUASI
- DAY 02: WAKAHUASI – SACSALLAULLY MOUNTAIN PASS – YANAHUARA
- DAY 03: YANAHUARA – INCA TRAIL – WIÑAY WAYNA – INTI PUNKU – AGUAS CALIENTES
- DAY 04: MACHU PICCHU – CUSCO
LARES TREK DETAILED ITINERARY
DAY 1
CUSCO – CALCA – LARES – WACAHUASI
Trek to lares
Lares Trek, Our day will begin with an early morning pick up from your hotel in Cusco. From Cusco, we will travel to the Sacred Valley in our private transportation. On the way, we will take stops at panoramic lookout points from where to admire the vast plains of the valley and take photos. Continuing, we will head to the town of Calca, where we will take a short stop to visit the local market and see the wide variety of products.
Trek to Calca
From Calca, we will drive for approximately 2 more hours to the town of Lares (3,100 m.a.s.l.). Once here, we will greet our team of cooks and muleteers before heading to the thermal baths. We will have the time to enjoy the thermal baths said to have medicinal powers.
Trek to Wacahuasi
Continuing our Trekking Machu Picchu, after the thermal baths, we will finally begin hiking to our first camping site in the village of Wacahuasi. The first two hours of hiking will be along gently rolling terrain, perfect for acclimating. We will grab lunch before continuing the last stretch of today’s hiking (3 hours). During our hike, we will most likely see children from the surrounding villages wearing their local attires and welcoming us to their lands.
Our campsite will be ready to go upon our arrival to Wacahuasi. Today’s night temperatures will be cold, so we will enjoy a warm tea time before dinner to share our day’s experience.
Estimated hiking time: 4 to 5 hours
Total distance: 11 KM
Campsite altitude: 3,750 m.a.s.l
DAY 2
WAKAHUASI – SACSALLAULLY MOUNTAIN PASS – YANAHUARA
We will begin our hiking early in the morning to have the best views of the surrounding mountains. After breakfast, we will begin our hike uphill towards our first mountain pass, Sacsallaully (4,646 m.a.s.l.). This hike will take approximately 3 hours.
From here, we will be granted some much-deserved views of the valley, the snow-capped mountains and the Aruray Cocha lake. We will also appreciate native bird species such as geese (Cara Cara), ducks, etc. and other typical animals of the area such as llamas, alpacas, vicuñas and guanacos.
Lagoons Trek
From the Sacsallaully Mountain Pass, we will descend to the two lagoons known as Aruraycocha and Yuraccoha, with the Queuñas forest (typical tree of the Incas). On the shore of one of the lakes we will have our Andean lunch with beautiful views.
After lunch, we will only have about two more hours of hiking and before our arrival in Mantanay (3850 m / 12631 ft.). In this section of the trail, we will see a great change in the landscape. The remainder of the trek is downhill through a picturesque Queuñares (native) valley with ample photo opportunities of Andean flora. Then we arrive at Yanahuara (2,780 m / 9,120 ft.) A cozy warm town with a comfortable climate, located near the Urubamba Valley (Sacred Valley of the Incas).
Estimated hiking time: 8 to 9 hours
Total distance: 18 KM
Campsite altitude: 2,780 m.a.s.l
DAY 3
YANAHUARA – INCA TRAIL – WIÑAY WAYNA – INTI PUNKU – AGUAS CALIENTES
After breakfast, our team will come to pick you up from your Yanahuara to take you to the town of Ollantaytambo. From Ollantaytambo, we will board the train that will take us to the trailhead at KM 104. This train ride will only last about an hour.
Trekking Machu Picchu
From KM 104, we will continue our Trekking Machu Picchu and our our hike along the famous Inca Trail. We will reach the first archaeological site of the trail just 15 minutes after having passed the first trail checkpoint. This site is known as Chochabamba and along with Choquesuysuy, it is hidden within the lush semi-tropical forest of the area.
Wiñay Wayna Trek
Our next section of today’s hike will be mostly uphill, along Inca stone trails and steps. This section will take approximately 3 hours and will take us to the famous site of Wiñay Wayna (2,650 m.a.s.l.). This archaeological site is the perfect example of what agriculture was like in the time of the Incas, since along its slopes lie a large number of circular terraces, where the Incas cultivated different agricultural products.
The name of Wiñay Wayna comes from a beautiful orchid that abounds in the area and that has the meaning in Spanish of “Eternally young.” Our visit in this site will take approximately 1 hour. Here, we will enjoy a delicious box lunch before continuing with the Trekking Machu Picchu.
Tambos and Sun Gate
The hike from Wiñay Wayna to Machu Picchu will take approximately 2 hours. During this trekking Machu Picchu, we will pass several tambos (resting places), walk up some Inca steps and hike along gently rolling Andean flats. Our entry point to Machu Picchu will be the Sun Gate (Inti Punku) (2,720 m.a.s.l.), which during the Inca Empire, served as an entry checkpoint to Machu Picchu. From here you have an impressive panoramic view of Machu Picchu and the entire valley that surrounds it.
After breathing in some of the views from the Inti Punku, we will descend to the gates of Machu Picchu. We will board the buses down to the town of Aguas Calientes where we will spend the night. If you are not too tired, you can head to the town’s hot springs, a popular choice for travellers. Dinner will be served in one of the best restaurants in town.
DAY 4
MACHU PICCHU – CUSCO
Today we will enter the Sanctuary of Machu Picchu! After breakfast, we will head to the bus station in town to take the bus to the main gates of Machu Picchu. Once inside, we will have a tour of approximately 2 hours. The guided tour will take you along the designated visiting circuits of Machu Picchu and will have you visiting some of the sites most iconic temples and paths. After the tour you will have some free time to explore on your own.
After your much deserved visit of the Machu Picchu Sanctuary, we will make our way to the town of Aguas Calientes. To do so, we will take the buses available. Once in Aguas Calientes, we will have time to grab lunch (not included) before boarding your train back to Cusco in the afternoon.
Your return to Cusco will be by train from Aguas Calientes to Ollantaytambo and by car from Ollantaytambo to Cusco. Your estimated arrival time in Cusco will be between 20:00 hrs to 20:30 hrs and our team will make sure to drop you off at your hotel accommodation respectively. And thus, we completed our Trekking Machu Picchu.
INCLUDED
Included:
- Pick up from your hotel in dela morning hours.
- Private transport from Cusco to Lares (the starting point of the walk).
- Professional bilingual tour guide.
- Food 3 breakfast / 3 lunches / 3 dinners
- Cook and cooking equipment.
- Horsemen and horses (to carry tents, food and cooking equipment).
- Transportations form Yanahuara to Ollantaytambo
- Train ticket Ollanta to Km. 104
- Professional bilingual tour guide (English-Spanish)
- Entrance to the Inca Trail and Machu Picchu.
- Bus ticket Machu Picchu – Aguas Calientes (outward / return).
- 1 night hotel in Aguas Calientes (hab. Double).
- First aid kit, oxygen bottle.
- Sleeping bag.
- Trekking poles.
- Train ticket from Aguas Calientes – Ollantaytambo.
- Transportation Ollantaytambo – Cusco.
Not Included:
- First breakfast and last lunch.
- Entrance to Huaynapicchu or Machu Picchu Mountain ($ 75 USD optional).
- Visit the thermal baths in the village of “Aguas Calientes”.
WHAT TO BRING
Recommendations to bring
- Bring original passport “With expiration date not less than 7 months”
- ISIC card (www.isic.org) if applicable (must be submitted at the time of booking).
- Carry hiking boots and sandals (very important).
- Coats: layers of varying temperatures, especially at night. Thermal / gloves / scarves: woolen socks / woolen hat for cold nights, shirts for the whole trek.
- Carry a headlamp(Very important)
- Carry a camera and extra batteries.
- Carry sunscreen / hat and sunglasses.
- Carry personal medical kit.
- Carry insect repellent.
- Rain gear: a good raincoat and rain pants and a rain poncho plastic.
- Carry toilet paper.
- Carry a small towel.
- Extra money for drinks and gratuities, souvenirs, etc. (soles or dollars).
- Carry swimwear for the hot springs.
- Carry a water Bottle (recommended 1 liter).
PACKING LIST
TREKKING LARES ESSENTIALS:
- Passport
- Valid, STUDENT CARD (if you booked as a student)
- Immigration Card (given on the plane as you enter Peru)
- Good daypack (the smaller, the better)
- Water storage: Water reservoir like Camelbaks are encouraged – but enough for at least 2-3 liters.
- Comfortable hiking boots (lightweight with good soles)
LARES TREK FOR YOUR DUFFEL:
Lares Trek Porters will carry up to 7 kg of your personal items. This must include your sleeping bag and mattress (these two items weigh around 3.5 kg.)
- 2-3 long sleeve shirts
- 2-3 hiking pants
- 4 sets of underwear.
- 4 sets of hiking socks
- 1 Fleece
- 1 Warm, down jacket: gets very cold at night
- 1 Rain jacket and pants
- 1 sun hat
- 1 wool hat
- Headlamp: essential
- Waterproof gloves (even if they are ski gloves, take them)
- Comfortable shoes for camp
- Walking boots
- Waterproof jacket
- Small Quick Dry towel.
- Small bottle of soap: we provide warm water each day to clean – might make you feel fresh if you had a little soap.
- Battery Charger: There is no place to plug in while trekking!
- Large plastic bags: to help organize and keep clean from dirty.
- Sleeping bag (We will provide you on the briefing time).
TOILETRIES:
- Sunscreen
- Face moisturizer
- Bug spray
- Handsanitizer
- Wet wipes
- Toothbrush and paste
- Toiletpaper
- Personal medication
- First aid kit: band aids, moleskin, etc.
INSIDE YOUR DAYPACK:
Daypacks can be any size for hiking, but we always recommend the smaller, the better. Inside Machu Picchu, no bag larger than 25L will be allowed in. If larger, you will need to store outside citadel gates.
- Water: we supply clean water at each meal. You are responsible for your first morning of water only as we won’t have time to boil water until your first lunch.
- Sunhat
- Rain gear
- Fleece
- Camera
- Music (Phone)
- Handsanitizer
- Toilet paper and small plastic bag for waste
- Extra Money for Souvenirs, Drinks & Tips
- Earplugs
Departure dates:
- We have groups for the inca trail every day of the year. except February, when the Inca Trail is closed throughout the month. The month of February you can visit Machu Picchu by train. is not possible to do the Inca Trail on february.
Availability:
- To the Inca road of 2D / 1N Only 250 people per day are allowed. This figure includes tourists, guides, porters and cooks. The quotas are for all the people who wish to carry out the Inca Trail. So to make the Inca Trail it is essential to book months in advance. The availability of seats for the Inca Trail is the same for all agencies. Therefore before making your reservation, please check availability by contacting our