Lares Trek to Machu Picchu 4D/3N

You will leave Cusco at 5:00 am by van to Lares Hot Springs where the hike begins. This takes about 3 hours. The crew of local horseman, cooks, and guide will take care of all the details during the hike. Once in Lares Hot Springs, you can enjoy the natural hot pools surrounded by the mountains and the river. After a hearty lunch you will pack up and start the hike to the village of Wacawasi which takes approximately 4 hours. You will start ascending gradually on the uphill path from 3300 masl to 3800 masl and on the way you can see llamas and alpacas eating on the grassy hills. You will also see beautiful scenery with a variety of flora, changing with the seasons. This type of landscape will be our company during the hike. After 4 hours beautiful hiking, you will reach Wacawasi village, where our tents will be set. Horses carry the majority of the gear so you will only need to carry a small daypack with water, rain gear, snacks, camera, sunscreen, etc.

(Lunch and Dinner included).

Today you will begin your hike at the village of Wacawasi. Early in the morning, you will wake you with hot coca tea delivered to your tent. After a hearty breakfast, you will start your hike up to Auraccasa pass. You will hike uphill through a stage of rocky mountains and grassy hills, appreciating stone houses on top of the hills, farmers growing potatoes on the vertical hillsides, and llamas and alpacas grazing on the hills. After a 3-hour uphill hike, you will reach Auraccasa, the highest point of the trek at 4550m. Once at this point, you will celebrate by offering coca leafs to the Andean gods and take pictures of the view. Afterwards, you will start descending down to Auraccocha Lake to enjoy our delicious lunch. In the afternoon you will have 3 more hours of hiking down to Yanahuara village, another beautiful location. From the lunch spot to Yanahuara, the scenery changes very fast from rocky mountains to the dense vegetation of Queuñas Woods. Here you will see plants characterized by twisted trunks, some trees reaching 15-20 m tall and trunks with 2 m in diameter. You will sleep in Yanahuara Village. After walking and enjoying the Yanahuara village, you will go to the campsite where your tent will be set.

(Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner included).

Today you will have many things to do and see. After breakfast you will start our hike around 8:00 am moving downhill towards the Sacred Valley of the Incas. This section of the Sacred Valley is very interesting because you will have the opportunity to see corn and potato plantations. You will also visit a family to learn how to prepare chicha (corn beer), a sacred drink for the Incas that is still prepared today. After tasting the chichi, you will drive for 30 minutes to Ollantaytambo.

Once in Ollantaytambo, you will have the chance to explore the picturesque town. Ollantaytambo is a living Incan town where you can see original Incan streets and stairways. If you have enough time you can climb up to Pinkuylluna Mountain, which takes about half an hour. From Pinkuylluna Mountain you have a panoramic view of Ollantaytambo. In the afternoon you will catch the train for a relaxing, scenic ride to Aguas Calientes, where you will have accommodation in a hotel and dinner at a restaurant in town.

(Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner included).

After breakfast in the hotel, you will leave early in the morning and drive up to Machu Picchu to arrive at 6:00 am and hopefully catch the sunrise, weather permitting. Afterwards, the guide will show you around the city for about 2.5 hours, explaining facts and answering questions. Then you have free time to explore Machu Picchu by yourselves. If you booked the extra tickets for Huayna Picchu or Machu Picchu Mountain you are going to climb one of these mountains.

Machu Picchu is a formerly lost city located upon a granite mountain edge. There are no records about it from both the Incas and Spanish conquistadors. Machu Picchu was under the dense vegetation until July 24th 1911. When the American historian Hiram Bingham (who was in search of Vilcabamba) discovered it, calling it the “lost city of the Incas".  You are going spend several hours in Machu Picchu. After which, you will go back to Aguas Calientes in order to catch the train back to Ollantaytambo. From Ollantaytambo,  you will go back to Cusco by car and drop you off near or at Plaza de Armas.

(Breakfast included).