Lares Trek and Short Inca Trail 4 Days

Today you will be woken up around 5 a.m., with our service of hot drinks. You will have spectacular views of the colorful lake and the valley of Kiswarani. You will see the local people will already be up and about, taking their llamas and alpacas out to graze. Breakfast will be served once you have finished packing your gear. Then we’ll fill up our water bottles, organize snacks, and you will begin your expedition to Machu Picchu. It will be a three or four-hour climb to get to the summit of the mountain. This pass is called Pachacute, or Condor Pass. We’ll zigzag our way up to compensate for the steep uphill. The views of the area are stunning. You will see lakes, waterfalls, llamas, and alpacas. We will have an emergency horse to ride in case you are tired. Once you arrive at the Condor Pass, you will be above the clouds, above the mountain peaks, and the surrounding 360-degree views are astounding. In front of you will be the beautiful mountain of Pitusiray, which is at 5,700 m/ 18,700 ft high, and the Condor pass is at 4,680 m/ 15,354 ft high. Afterward, we will enjoy a hot drink service that your porters will carry with them. We will take advantage of some phenomenal photo opportunities and start our descent.

You will begin the one hour, downhill, descent towards El Mirador (Vista Point), where you will enjoy lunch. There will be some llamas grazing nearby. After lunch, you will hike the last three hours downhill, with fantastic views of many lakes, llamas, and alpacas, before arriving at your campsite, the village of Cancha Cancha, which is the only village that does not have modern technology. Located at (3,750 m / 12,303 ft), where people still practice original Inca traditions. In this Incan village, 85 percent of the houses are still built by ancient construction methods, made of stone and grass-thatched roofs. Unlike any other village in the Lares Valley, this village has no electricity or cars. Here, you will not only enjoy the wilderness, but your porters will also set up your tents. You will have some time to meet with the local children. We provide them with food and school supplies, so we invite our travelers to share this support in the education and the health of this native village. You can bring anything you would like to give to these Quechuan-speaking children that you think they could use for school or home. When you are done, your guide will take you to one of the local family’s houses, where you will learn about the lifestyle of the locals. You will see how they raise their guinea pigs, and learn about the traditional hand-woven textiles made of llama and alpaca wool. In the evening you will enjoy hot drinks and dinner.

Walking Distance: 14 km/8 miles

hight Elevation: 4,680 meters / 13,723 ft

Camp Elevation: 3,750 meters / 12,303 ft

Weather: Cold

Food: breakfast/ Lunch/ Dinner

At 6:10 am we depart Ollantaytambo train station to Km 104, which is the beginning of the trail. At Km 104 the train stops to get off and go walking to the main checkpoint for the respective registration, this place is located at an elevation of 2,150 m/ 7,052 ft, after the registration we will walk for a couple of minutes and we will reach the first Incan site called Chachabamba that consists in having temples, the main patio, sacred rock, etc. In which, our guide will deliver a great information about this site. Afterward, we will continue walking gradually uphill enjoying the spectacular sceneries until reaching the Wiñaywayna Incan temple whose meaning is “forever young”, where our guide will deliver you a great history of the site. After the exploration of Incan temple, we’ll take our snacks or packed lunch at the Checkpoint of Wiñaywayna. We’ll then continue hiking to Machu Picchu for two more hours, entering in this wonder of the world through the Gate of the Sun, from where we’ll have the first views of the famed Incan city, and take our time to make great shots from this point. Once we arrive at Machu Picchu we’ll take our time to make great shots of the Incan city, as the afternoon is usually with fewer people. We’ll then take the bus to Machu Picchu town (Aguas Calientes town) where we’ll stay at cozy hotel Cabaña, and have dinner at the restaurant (this dinner is not included).

• Hiking distance: 12 km / 7.46 miles.
• Hiking time: 6 – 7 hours.
• Lowest elevation: 2,150 m / 7,052 ft.
• Highest elevation: 2,650 m / 8,692 ft.
• Physical rating: Moderate.

Today a great breakfast at the hotel makes us ready for a full morning exploration of Machu Picchu on a private tour with your Trek Leader. We’ll take the bus back to Machu Picchu early in the morning for an amazing tour until 12:00 pm (Machu Picchu permits will issue for the first group which is from 6:00 am to 12:00 pm). If you have booked a permit for Wayna Picchu mountain, you’ll climb the mountain after the tour; however, spaces are subject to availability. In the unlikely event that Wayna Picchu permits are not available for your departure date, you will climb Machu Picchu Mountain instead.
After a great time at the Incan emperor’s palace, we’ll take the bus down to Machu Picchu town (Aguas Calientes town), where we’ll have lunch (not included). In the afternoon we’ll take the train back to Ollantaytambo train station and/or Poroy train station, as of this place continue driving to your hotel in Cusco.