Lares – Machu Picchu 4 Days – 3 Nights

We will pick you up at your hotel at 5:00 am to start traveling. It will be a three hours trip along the wonderful Sacred Valley landscape and the Andes, until we reach the thermal baths located in Lares Village where you will have breakfast and enjoy the hot springs. After this heartwarming bath in these waters we will keep traveling for about 20 minutes until the trail start that is called Punta Cerretera at 3,300 meters above sea level. This is where you will hand over your canvas bags, to the porters, to be taken to the camp. The walk will continue for about 2 hours, until the first town Kiswarani is reached. Here, we can enjoy a delicious meal prepared by our chef. After eating you will appreciate a ceremony with llamas. Villagers will show you these beautiful animals and explain their importance from ancient times to our days. You will have time to explore the town and visit some local houses and so appreciate the lifestyle and the ancient traditions of the settlers. After the visit we continue with the tour until reaching the camp. Once there our staff will welcome you and set your tent up. Meanwhile you will enjoy some hot drinks and a delicious dinner prepared in this place. To finally go to our tents to rest.

enter About 5:00 am you will wake up and get ready to drink some hot drinks. You will see the incredible view of the colorful Lake and Valley of Kiswarani. Local people will already be on their feet, taking out their llamas and alpacas for grazing. Breakfast will be served as soon as you finish packing your luggage. It is here where you will be able to fill your bottles of water for the journey that awaits us, it will be a three or four hours walk until arriving at the top of the mountain called Pachacútec, or Paso del Condor. The views of the area are breathtaking. You will see lakes, waterfalls, llamas and alpacas. Once we reach Paso del Condor which is above the clouds, the surrounding 360 degree views are marvelous. In front of you will be the majestic Pitusiray Mountain, which is 5,700 meters above sea level. You will start descending towards El Mirador. Once there you will enjoy lunch.

We continue with the downhill walk, with fantastic views of many lakes, llamas and alpacas, you will get to the camp in Cancha Cancha village, where people still practice the Incas real traditions. In this Inca village, most of the houses still consist of an old and original construction, made of stone, with thatched roofs. Your guide will take you to one of the local family houses, where you will learn about the villager’s lifestyle. You will be able to see how they raise their guinea pigs, and also observe the traditional handmade textiles using llama and alpahaca. In the evening you can enjoy hot drinks and have dinner.

You will wake up early to enjoy a hot drink and a remedial breakfast. After breakfast there is time to pack bags and then exploring the town and the local primary school, where the ancient Inca language, Quechua, is still taught. Once you are ready, the last stage of your trip to Lares begins. It will be a four hours downhill hike. Along this trail you will continue observing llamas and alpacas; visiting farms where potatoes, beans and many other traditional tubers are cultivated as well as other crops such as corn, quinoa, kiwi, peaches, avocados and different types of fruits. The tour will end in the small town of Huaran, in the Sacred Valley, where you will say goodbye to the staff who accompanied us on the trip.

source From Huaran, a transport will be taken for a short trip to visit the salt mines in the city of Maras. It is a place where a spring of salt water gushes out of the mountain slope. After visiting Salineras, we will go to a town called Ollantaytambo- It is the only Inca town alive and intact. It still has many Inca water canals, houses and walls. Your guide will take you around this small town until dinner time in a local restaurant. At 7:00 pm a train will be taken to the city below Machu Picchu: Aguas Caliente (Important: Train schedules may vary, depending on availability). Upon arrival in Aguas Calientes, you will check in your hotel and have time to relax.

The fourth day is the most magical due to you will finally experience Machu Picchu. You will get up early to take one of the first buses (around 5:30 am), for the 30 minute drive to Machu Picchu and be able to see the sunrise. Your guide will take you on a two-hour informative tour. In the afternoon, you will take a two-hour train back to Ollantaytambo, followed by a transport back to Cusco, where we will transfer you to your hotel.