Classic Lares Trek

The team will pick you up from your hotel at around 5:00 am (depending on your location) and drive you through the beautiful landscape of the Sacred Valley of the Incas to the famous Lares thermo-medicinal baths – arriving at approximately 8:00am. We will jump straight into the medicinal pools – all of which are set at different temperatures. The water is great for your bones, muscles, stress and headaches and therefore this is the prefect way to prepare for your trek! After soaking our bodies we will enjoy breakfast in a beautiful location surrounded by the majestic Andean mountains. After breakfast we have time for an energising meditation session to help you feel at one with nature and take in your beautiful surroundings. Today’s route is relatively easy with a mellow trek uphill until we reach Kiswarani village. Our chef will be waiting with a delicious lunch that has been freshly prepared using natural, organic, local produce. It’s then another couple of hours walking to our campsite, located on the bank of a beautiful blue lake at (3750 m/ 1230 ft). Along the trail we will pass picturesque landscapes adorned with traditional Andean houses made of adobe bricks and thatched roofs. Here local villages survive by farming potatoes and raising llamas, alpacas and sheep. We will pass beautiful streams and a waterfall which is the source of the Amazon river – the largest in the world. On reaching our campsite your tents and a hot cup of tea will be waiting for you. This is a perfect place to relax, stargaze, and learn about Inca astronomy.

We will wake you up bright and early with a hot cup of coffee or cocoa tea. This is our longest and most challenging day and after breakfast it is a tough hike uphill to Condor Pass (4700 m / 15354 ft) – the highest point of this journey. Along the way we will enjoy beautiful lakes where Wallatas (Andean geese or ‘love birds’) swim in the crystal clear waters and pass the imposing Andean mountains of Pitusiray, Sawasiray, Qolquecruz, all of which are over 18,000 ft. At the summit of Condor Pass we will serve you a well-deserved cup of hot tea and you can take some time to rest while your tour guide performs a spiritual offering ceremony to the sacred mountains. It is then a long descent through the breathtaking scenery. You will be able to see lagoons, exotic birds, llamas, alpacas, vizcachas (which look a lot like rabbits) and wallatas along the way. Our campsite is located at Cancha Cancha (3750 m / 12 303 ft) – the only village in the Lares Valley that is completely isolated from any modern technology. This includes no drainage system, electricity, computers, internet connection or cellphone service. Here they speak only Quehua – the ancient language spoken by the Incas. You will have the afternoon free in Cancha Cancha meet and interact with the local people, visit a local school and help teach and play games with the children. The villagers will welcome any donations of food, school supplies or anything else you would like to give to help support the health and education of this isolated community. Late in the afternoon your guide will take you to visit one of the families’ homes. Here you can experience first hand their traditional lifestyles passed down from the Incas, sample traditional food and see how they raise guinea pigs, llamas and alpacas. By the evening our chef will have prepared dinner for us to enjoy together before a well-earned nights rest.