4 Day Lares trek to Machu Picchu

Welcome to our Lares trek machu picchu, after doing the pre arrangements during your briefing the day before, we will collect you early this morning, and head for Patakancha village.  This is a Quechua village  community, where people keep very much alive all their traditions. 

People at Patakancha are using the same principles in doing their homes, from Inca times, as well much of their clothing, the way they work the land with foot ploughs and live off their llamas and alpacas or supplementing their income working as porters.  Our visit to this  community is  meet part of your trekking crew who will take care of your equipment during your Lares trek machu picchu.  

At some point we will be leaving the village and get into the andean scenery which is very different from flat terrain. All around us is unique, the grass, Polylepis trees, Llamas, mountains are displaying their glamor. We will be climbing for around one and half hour, until we glimpse the colours emerald and blue together on the ground surface and perceive the beautiful lake Ipsaycocha.

We have crossed our first high pass of Ipsaycocha pass at( 4,600m / 15,456ft) above the sea level and the rest of your hike will be downhill towards campsite (4,200m/13,780ft).

Lunch and dinner are included.

Yesterday, it was a day full of views from different landscapes, and wildlife. Today our  Lares trek machu picchu will not be different as we will encounter another community and natural elements.   As soon as we charging our energy with a good breakfast will be ready to leave the campsite. 

we will be descending the mountain for around 3 hours until we reach the community of Huancahuasi.  Most village grows different types of crops,  you will see potato, barley, quinoa and corn fields as they are very abundant here.

People of Huancahuasi village, are very self sufficient, built their own houses using stone and thatched roofs,  and produce beautiful colourful textiles.  Local people will be keen show us their weaving techniques and their high quality ponchos, chullos (wool hats) and other garments.

Afterward of interacting with the local community of Huancahuasi, we will stop at the hot springs near the colonial village of Lares at 3400m.  The Lares hot springs are famous for the curatives powers.  Near the hot springs we will set up our camp, have dinner and spend the night to continue Lares trek machu picchu the following morning.

After finishing our daily breakfast, we will be walking for a couple of hours by the Totora Canyon. At some point, a private transport will be waiting for us to get us all the way down the valley up to Ollantaytambo village.  We will have a break in Ollantaytambo, look around and have lunch before continuing with our Lares trek machu picchu.

Once we finish our lunch, we will get ready to leave this Ollantaytambo and get a train to Aguas Calientes  The train journey is an odyssey, worthy of a film start in which you have the main role in the peruvian Andes.  You will notice the highlands and lush of tropical vegetation as we near Aguas Calientes town. The journey time by train is about 1½ hours. We will spend the night in a hotel in Aguas Calientes and relax under a hot shower! It will be very wise to have an early night as we will get you up very early for your Machu Picchu visit the following morning.

Today we will get to our final destination, Machu Picchu and complete the whole Lares trek machu picchu. 

After taking your breakfast at 05:45 am we leave this town and get the first bus to Machu Picchu. The ride will take us around 20 minutes to get to the top of the hill.  Our aim is to get to the ancient citadele when the sunrise over the city.  

The first impression of Macchu Picchu is its fantastic location which mix very well with the whole nature around it.  Very far away at the back the Andean mountains and snow peaks.  The whole view it will just take your breath away that is for sure.

Our guide will give you a 2 hour guided tour and after this you can explore the mysterious city by yourself.

If you have done the arrangements during your Lares trek machu picchu, you will know that in order to climb the mountain of Huayna Picchu at 2.720m/8,890ft above the sea level, you will need a permit. To climb the Huayna Picchu mountain which is the one facing the ancient city, It takes around 45 minutes to reach the top.

Once you finish exploring the city or part of it,  your guide will meet you in Aguas Calientes to have lunch and to receive your train tickets back to Cusco. The return to Cusco takes about four hours with a bus transfer in Ollantaytambo to Cusco.

If desired, we can arrange for you to have an extra night in the town of Aguas Calientes. Please let us know whether you would like to stay an extra night when booking your tour.

You got so far here because we have captivate your attention on what is going to happen on this Lares trek machu picchu adventure.  You can also review the magnificent  5 day Salkantay trek to Machu Picchu.

Attractions we will visit

Ipsaycocha lake,  

• At 4,200 m above the sea level, is located next to the  Cordillera Vilcanota which we will visiting during our Lares trek machu picchu.

Huacahuasi, 

• It is a traditional weaving village in which trekkers often try their hand weaving skills invited by the locals meanwhile we visit the place within the Lares trek machu picchu.

Patakancha,  

• A traditional Quechua farming community about an hour’s drive above Ollantaytambo on a dusty road. This farming community, welcome travelers doing the Lares trek machu picchu or other trekking routes.
• Village of Lares, A remote area, in which this community keep its ancestral traditions.  On our Lares trek machu picchu you will see the local people farming their land well as being occupied making colorful textiles using the ancient Inca technique. 
• Ollantaytambo, located in the Sacred Valley, the village form part of the local Inca site, famously known for its temple of the sun.  This temple has enormous blocks of rock perfectly carved and polished, also has stone water fountains, stairs and terraces.

Aguas Calientes

• Officially called  Machu Picchu Pueblo, it is a small town at the bottom of the valley next to Machu Picchu, and the principal access point to the ancient city on our  Lares trek machu picchu.

Machu Picchu

• A Royal estate, dated to the period of the two great Inca rulers, Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui (1438–71) and Túpac Inca Yupanqui (1472–93). It is estimated that no more than 750 people lived there at a time.
• The citadel was declared locally as a Peruvian Historic Sanctuary in 1981, by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1983 and In 2007, Machu Picchu one of the New Seven Wonders of the World from worldwide Internet poll.  

Huayna Picchu

• It seems was the residence for the high priest and the local virgins.  The Incas built a trail up the side of the Huayna Picchu and built temples and terraces on its top at 2,693 metres (8,835 ft) above sea level. You can access with a permit during your Lares trek machu picchu.

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