Lares Hike To Machu Picchu
The Lares Hike to Machu Picchu or short Inca trail to Machu Picchu leads nicely into our Inca Trail 4 day Trek to Machu Picchu. This short trek really has amazing mountain scenery on trails that not many people travel to. It is part of the Inca’s original trail to Machu Picchu. From the sacred be will be hiking on the north side of the sacred valley. We will be hiking in between two mountain ranges with peaks like Sawasiray 5,766m/ 18,917 feet and Pitusiray 6,048m/ 19,842 feet and on the other side Puma Huanca 5,330m/ 17,486 feet and Capac Salla 5,644m/ 18,517 feet.
If you are trekking the Lares trek to Machu Picchu you will trek for 3 days before dropping down into Ollantaytambo for the night and then continuing onto the Traditional Inca Trail trek to Machu Picchu. Inca trail covers 26 miles over 4 days. We cross over 3 passes with the highest at 4,215m/ 13,828 feet. Cusco sits at 3,400m/ 11,152 feet and the city of Machu Picchu sits at 2,430m/ 7,972 feet on the edge of the Amazon.
A little bit more about our Lares hike to Machu Picchu
The Lares trail to Machu Picchu has some high passes with the highest pass at 4758m/ 15,610 feet. From the sacred valley between Pisac and Urubamba. Huaran will be the starting point to freedom. We meet up with the horsemen and pack up the horses. Leaving the Sacred Valley behind us, we trace northwards following a gentle ascending trail along the small Cancha Cancha River. It takes approximately 6 hours to reach our destination, a small village named Cancha Cancha 3,800m/ 12,477 feet where we spend the night.
Leaving Cancha Cancha we continue north-east up the valley, passing small thatched stone houses, jagged mountainous ranges and typically Peruvian transverse landscapes. After 3 hours the path plateaus out, after the intense ascension of the last 2 hours, we arrive to the highest pass called Pachacutec Pass 4,758m/ 15610 feet. We will be greeted with the superb views of Pachacutec Lake and the snowy mountainous peaks of Pitusiray. We will take in this special place and enjoy the marvelous sites before us and to feel the suns rays replenish us. We then head down for the next 2 hours and get to enjoy a refreshing lunch. After lunch we will descend for another 1.5 hours into the valley’s with several glacial lakes, herds of alpacas, llamas and sheep.