3 Days
Daily Tour
8 people
English
Lares Valley Trek & Huilloc Homestay: Nestled in the Sacred Valley, the Lares Valley gives you a beautiful and cultural experience of life in the Andes. Traditions and ways of life exist from many centuries ago. The inhabitants of this valley always provide a warm welcome for visitors; making this a really special place to spend your time trekking.
Embark on a beautiful 3 day trek through the Lares Valley. A trek through traditional native communities where you can see how these populations survive & thrive using local resources.
Following then; you’ll start at the Hot Springs of Lares Valley you’ll pitstop for lunch; after a fairly long drive from Cusco in the morning. After lunch you follow a trail for about 4 hrs to the first campsite of Huachuasi. Here llamas & horses graze and are kept for many of the farmsteads.
On the second beginning from Huachuasi you’ll head deeper into the valleys of this area and see many traditional quechuan farm practices, whilst also scaling a 4,800m mountain pass. On the descent you’ll pass a mountain lake in Ipsaycocha & descend down to the town of Patacchanta for a lunch.
Afterwards, from this point you’ll trek to Huilloc; a traditional Andean community where you have the opportunity to enjoy a homestay and some of the local customs. The families love to welcome trekkers and a pachamanca style dinner will often be served (food cooked underground with local herbs and all natural). Overnight here in Huilloc with your family then you’ll continue to Ollantaytambo to explore the ruins the following day.
After Ollantaytambo this will cap a great few days before the journey back through to Cusco or the Sacred Valley and onwards to Machu Picchu.
Setting off from Cusco at 6 am, you’ll weave through the mountain routes of the sacred valley doing a small Sacred Valley tour towards Lares arriving in time for some lunch.
After lunch you’ll begin trekking from the ‘Bano Termales’ of Lares & following an old Inca trail along the Rio Huacahuasi. The rustic towns and children help you along the way.
On arriving in Huacahuasi you’ll overnight, in this welcoming Quechuan valley town, with the local community.
Meals included: Lunch, Dinner
On leaving Huacahuasi the route weaves through more local ‘poblados’, with glimpses of the Apu Pitusiray Nevada always in the background. Potatoes being cooked using traditional methods out in the open countryside. Herds of Llamas graze the slopes with valley girls shepherding them high on the mountainsides. Quechua is the native language in these parts of the Andes.
Passing 4,800m the descent then weaves via Ipsaycocha lake, winding down the valley below heading towards Pataccancha. Crop fields here are being harvested by local families.
Pathways carved into the hillsides show the way down to Pataccancha where lunch will be prepared. From here you’ll trek to Huilloc where you’ll enjoy a traditional homestay with a local family, typically Pachamanca is served for guests (food cooked underground with local herbs and all natural).
Staying overnight with the family you’ll enjoy homelife here for a night.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Leaving in the morning from Huilloc you’ll take local transport from here down to ancient archaeological town of Ollantaytambo to explore the many historic Inca ruins here for the afternoon. Then from Ollantaytambo it’s either onwards to Machu Picchu or a drive/train back to Cusco late on in the last evening, which caps a great few days.
1. You can either spend the night in Ollantaytambo, enjoy this lively little town & the ruins here, then have a leisurely morning the following day, followed by a 1.5hr train journey to Aguas Calientes.
Then you arrive by around mid-afternoon in time for the afternoon session tour of Machu Picchu. This is a more tranquil & serene time to explore the citadel as it is less crowded.
There are 2 entrance times for Machu Picchu – 7am & 12pm
You can also include hikes to Machu Picchu & Huayna Picchu mountain
2. Head straight to Aguas Calientes directly after the trek. Most take this option if they want to head up to Machu Picchu as early as possible to see the fabled sunrise. This option makes the last day of the trek a long one & the following day also, but both options are available, it really depends how you’d like to do it.
Built as a seasonal residence for the Inca family, Machu Picchu was rarely home to more than 800 people, and during the royals’ absence, a mere 100 servants would remain at the site to maintain the grounds. Machu Picchu was abandoned 100 years after construction and remained largely hidden to the outside world until the early 20th century.
If there’s time, hike up to Machu Picchu Mountain (optional & depends on ticket availability) for a bird’s eye view of the citadel. Afterward, a tour guide will show you around the site and explain the different buildings and curious corners of the building complex. Approximately one-third of the site has been reconstructed into its original structure, giving visitors a sense for the grandeur and artistry of the original citadel.
After the two-hour tour, take the bus back to Aguas Calientes to connect to your train to Ollantaytambo and your connecting transfer to Cusco.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
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