The Epic Andean Experience Trek
Our exciting four-day trek from Lares to Machu Picchu offers a magical and breathtaking experience that you’ll never forget! It’s a wonderful option for those who want to enjoy an off-the-beaten-path trek and see incredible scenery while in great company.
Along the trail, you’ll find rivers, lakes, waterfalls, and awe-inspiring views of the Andes mountain range’s snow-capped peaks. If you’re interested in Andean Culture, this trail is the perfect choice. You’ll get to visit various countryside communities where they raise sheep, llamas, and alpacas and get up close and personal with the communities.
Our Classic Lares Trek is the perfect option for those who want to escape large crowds, hike among stunning scenery, and witness rural Andean life up close. You can choose this trek whether you travel alone, with a partner, or in a group.
The path is intense but not as extreme as others. Along the way, rivers will roar by your side, and impressive waterfalls will appear in front of you, catching you by surprise and helping you relax along the rushing waters. You’ll also see teardrop ponds of different colors: blue, green, and turquoise.
You’ll stop off at different small communities and share some special moments with the people who live there. You’ll get to learn some of their customs and traditions and witness how they live off the land in these rural parts of the world.
After these magical few days in the mountains, you’ll finish your trek with a visit to one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World: The Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu. Explore this incredible site with your guide and then by yourself as you uncover its secrets and feel its amazing energy. Don’t miss out on this epic trek!
Day 1: Cusco | Calca – Lares Hot Springs – Cuncani – Willkikasa – Quiswarani
Visit Lares Hot Springs before embarking on our hike. Stop at Pacchayoc waterfall before heading to our camp for the night in the community of Quiswarani.
Day 2: Quiswarani | Qoyalay Lake – Pachacutec Pass – Cancha Cancha
Trek to the highest point at the Pachacutec Pass before heading to our camp in Cancha Cancha. Spend time with local families and learn their customs and traditions.
Day 3: Cancha Cancha | Huaran – Maras Salt Mines – Ollantaytambo – Aguas Calientes
Hike to Huaran in the morning before visiting the Maras Salt Mines. Enjoy dinner in Ollantaytambo, and end the day with the train journey to Aguas Calientes for the night.
Day 4: Aguas Calientes | Machu Picchu – Ollantaytambo – Cusco
Explore the Inca fortress of Machu Picchu and then take the train to Ollantaytambo. Our transport will take you to your accommodation in Cusco.
Highlight of the day: Relaxing in the hot springs and visiting local families.
A Relaxing Start to Your Trip.
This exciting journey begins at 5:00 am. with a pickup from your accommodation. You’ll witness the city waking up to the world as we drive toward the Sacred Valley of the Incas. We’ll stop off after an hour and a half of driving to visit the local market in Calca and stock up on last-minute supplies, like snacks, fruit, or water. We’ll then make our way for two more hours until the Lares hot springs and be spoiled with an energizing breakfast.
After breakfast and with the incredible view of the towering mountains in the background, we’ll dip in the thermal waters at any of the pools, ranging in various sizes and temperatures. These pools’ volcanic waters are therapeutic and help treat bone and muscle illnesses. It’s also said to relieve stress and headaches.
After some rest, we’ll continue driving to the hike starting point in Cuncani (3,800 m / 12,467 ft). Here, we’ll meet our trekking team of horsemen and chefs, who’ll accompany us on the route. They will transport your luggage on horses, so the only thing you’ll need to worry about is enjoying the trek!
Soon, you’ll find yourself in front of the impressive Pacchayoc waterfall, a true gift of Mother Nature, and keep walking until you reach an area filled with gorgeous little lakes. There, you’ll enjoy a sumptuous lunch made by our chef right in the middle of the mountains! Later, we’ll proceed to the Willkikasa pass (4,400 m / 14,436 ft), the day’s highest point. From here, we’ll trek downhill for an hour and a half to the campsite for the night in Quiswarani.
You’ll have plenty of time to explore the village and learn about the lifestyle and traditions of the people from this rural area. We’ll also see the school where children speak Quechua, their native language. If you like, you can bring toys, or other school supplies for them, which will be very appreciated, as they live far away from the nearest town or city.
We’ll enjoy warming hot drinks while the sky darkens and the starry constellations begin to show themselves. Finally, we’ll have a tasty dinner, and you’ll be able to stargaze before heading to your tent to rest.
Please note: You won’t have access to your items during the day, so carry what you need in a daypack.
There, you’ll enjoy a fantastic Andean cultural experience.
Highlight of the day: Witnessing the beautiful scenery and learning local customs and traditions.
The Day of Stunning Views and Local Andean Culture.
Today, you’ll wake up around 5:30 am with a hot drink to get you going. The people from the town will already be taking their llamas and alpacas out to graze at this early hour. Breakfast will be served as soon as we finish getting our gear ready. We’ll fill our water bottles and get our snacks to start the day with plenty of energy for the hike ahead.
There’ll be a 4-5 hour ascent toward the highest point on the whole trek, the Pachacutec Pass at 4,700 m / 15,420 ft. We’ll hike upward in a zigzag pattern to make the hike uphill at this high altitude more manageable. The landscapes here will astound you, so make sure you have your camera at the ready. You’ll spot the stunning lake of Qoyalay and the impressive Qanchispaccha (seven waterfalls).
We’ll soon find ourselves above the clouds once we get to the Pachacutec Pass, from where you can enjoy a beautiful 360-degree view. Right in front of you, you’ll see the majestic mountains of Pitusiray and Qolqe Cruz. Take this opportunity to capture some fantastic photos because soon, we’ll begin our hike downhill. We’ll walk for half an hour on a descent down the slope to where we’ll enjoy our lunch. Don’t give up just yet; we still need to walk two more hours!
We’ll find our campsite in the village of Cancha Cancha (3,950 m / 12,959 ft). 85% of the houses here are made with traditional techniques and materials, such as stone walls and thatched roofs. Our support team will set up the tents, which means you’ll be free to mingle with the friendly locals. Afterward, your guide will take you to one of the community houses to learn all about the lifestyle of these peoples’ remote regions. You’ll also see some traditional hand-made alpaca and llama wool textiles. Later on, you’ll enjoy hot drinks and another nourishing dinner before retiring to your tent.
Highlight of the day: Descending from the cold high altitude to the warm Sacred Valley and visiting Maras Salt Mines.
Savor the Sacred Valley of the Incas.
Just like every morning, our team will wake you up with a hot drink to start the day in the best way possible. Once you’re ready, we’ll be on our way with the last leg of the trek. We’ll walk 4 hours downhill along a path where you’ll see herds of sheep, llamas, and alpacas again. It’s beautiful to see them grazing in their natural habitat. We’ll pass by fields of potatoes, fava beans, and other Andean products. Take this great opportunity to learn more about Andean agricultural techniques that play such a huge role in the lives of these communities.
Then, we’ll start descending to the Sacred Valley of the Incas. You’ll feel the drastic change between micro-climates and notice different crops from those you saw in the higher altitudes. The Sacred Valley cultivates corn, quinoa, kiwi, peaches, avocados, and many other types of fruits. This area is full of history and Inca culture and was an extremely important part of their empire. We’ll end this part of the tour in the small town of Huaran (2,920 m / 9,580 ft), where you’ll say goodbye to the trekking team and enjoy a nutritious lunch made with local produce.
Our transportation will be waiting for us to drive through the Sacred Valley to the Maras Salt Mines at 3,000 m / 9.843 ft. This is a truly unique part of the world due to its nearly 3,000 small evaporation chambers that have been used since pre-Inca times to harvest salt. Thanks to the minerals in the salt, it has curative properties and turns a beautiful pink color. There’s a small shop at the mine where you can buy some of the pink salt if you’re interested. It’s great for cooking and makes it an excellent gift.
Afterward, we’ll continue for nearly 50 more minutes to the quaint town of Ollantaytambo, the last intact inhabited Inca town that exists. There, you’ll see water canals, houses, and walls that are over five centuries old. Your guide will drive you around to see more of this small town until it’s time for dinner in a local restaurant. We’ll then board the train to Aguas Calientes, the town at the base of Machu Picchu. When we arrive at Aguas Calientes, you’ll check in to a hotel. You can now relax and prepare for the most astounding day of the trip tomorrow.
Highlight of the day: Stepping foot for the first time inside the Inca Citadel, Machu Picchu.
Tour the World Wonder of Machu Picchu.
Today is reserved for the glorious Machu Picchu. You’ll explore this magnificent feat of humankind, one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World and Historical and Cultural World Heritage Site.
After a great night’s rest, we’ll wake up for a quick breakfast while it’s still dark outside and get going to beat the large crowds. This way, you can enjoy the serenity of this place in the warm morning light. The entrance opens at 6:00 am, and we want to be there as one of the day’s first visitors.
You´ll take a guided tour of approximately two hours to see the magnificent architectural feats of the Incas. The guide will lead you through several key points of the citadel, including some stops to enjoy the spectacular citadel views and listen to updated, curious data from our guide, its history, and construction. You’ll be astounded by how they sustained an entire and planned city and sense their deep and bonded connection with nature.
You can climb Huayna Picchu or Machu Picchu Mountain if you have tickets in advance. Then, you’ll head back down to Aguas Calientes to grab lunch in a restaurant of your choice before heading to the station.
We’ll take the train for an hour-and-forty minutes ride to Ollantaytambo and then take our private transport back to Cusco. We’ll drop you at your hotel, where you can finally rest your legs and share the incredible experience you had in the Andes.
At Pacha Peru Explorers, we specify the included and non-included services under all the tour itineraries listed on our website. We take care of all the logistics, but please pay attention to the details to avoid missing anything. Some items may be different for specific programs, so please read carefully before booking with us.
Entrance Ticket for Lares Hot Springs
Entrance Ticket for Maras Salt Mines
Entry Ticket to Machu Picchu Archaeological Site
The “Machu Picchu Circuit 2” ticket offers the most complete tour of the Machu Picchu citadel and is also the most requested. For this reason, we recommend booking it well in advance to secure your entry.
You’ll meet your trekking guide and group in our office for an orientation before your trek. There, we’ll provide you with the duffle bags, which our horses will carry. The meeting will be at 5:00 pm the evening before the trip begins.
Experienced Tour Guide
Our official tour guides speak English and Spanish and are professionally trained and certified. We choose them for their experience, responsibility, unbridled passion for exploring, and pride in sharing our culture and history. In every experience, they will keep you safe and comfortable so you can enjoy your time worry-free!
Private Camping Equipment
We have spacious dining rooms and kitchens at each campsite so you can enjoy your meals comfortably and worry-free. Our horses will carry all equipment like tables, chairs, and cooking supplies.
Portable Travel Toilet
One Duffle Bag
On the trek, you can carry your personal belongings up to a maximum weight of 7 kg / 15.4 lb (this weight includes your sleeping bag).
Medical Kit or First AID Kit
All Pacha Peru Explorers guides have received specialized training in first aid. We hold mandatory training sessions with our guides every February. Your guide will always carry a first aid kit to face basic emergencies (altitude sickness, travelers’ diarrhea, cuts, scrapes, etc.) as well as oxygen. If necessary, we’ll evacuate you from the path as quickly as possible and ensure that you arrive at a clinic for treatment.
Lodging in Campsites
We have a series of campsites that offer you true comfort. Besides that, just like our ancestors, we have a profound link of affection and respect for our Mother Earth. Because of this, we are insistent that our campsites don’t generate any negative environmental impact. Remember that the accommodations are double and shared.
Our Sleeping Tents
Pacha Peru Explorers uses the best equipment to ensure your safety and comfort. Every 2 people will share Kaylas-Doite tents with a capacity for 4 people.
Confortable Hotel in Aguas Calientes
The last night of this trek is spent in a hotel in Aguas Calientes with a double or triple room, private bathroom, hot shower, wifi, breakfast, and luggage storage while you visit Machu Picchu.
3 Breakfast, 3 Lunchs, 3 Dinners
Our chef prepares the best dishes in the middle of the mountain. Our passengers love our food! We respect all diets (vegetarian, vegan, or special menus are available at no extra cost), so let us know if you have any particular allergies or restrictions on your reservation form and remind your guide during the briefing. You’ll enjoy breakfast, lunch, and dinner, in addition to hot drinks and snacks.
Water on the Trail
We’ll provide you boiled, filtered, and cooled water during your hike, from your first lunch to your last breakfast. For this, you need to bring a camel bag or an empty bottle (we recommend a capacity of 2 liters)
Wake up Tea
Every morning at the campsite, you’ll be woken up with a cup of hot coca tea. Our staff will bring the tea to your tent so that you will be warmed from inside out before you start your day.
Tea Time or Happy Hour
Every afternoon before dinner, the cooks will provide you with popcorn, cookies, coffee, hot chocolate, tea, hot water, etc. After a long day of hiking, you won’t have to wait until dinner to relax, warm up, and enjoy a bite!
Snacks on the Trail Daily
Before starting your trekking, your tour guide will provide you a cloth bag with local fruits, cookies, chocolate, caramels, etc. Every morning, we’ll refill it so that you can enjoy your snacks during the walk.
One-Way Consettur Bus Ticket from Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu (Day 4)
Train Tickets
Personal Belongings Transportation
On days 1,2, and 3, cargo mules will carry all the camping equipment and your baggage allowance (7 kg / 15.4 lb). Muleteers will be responsible for your duffle bag and personal items.
ll our travelers need a sleeping bag to camp. Inflatable mattresses and walking sticks (with rubber tips) are optional but highly recommended. If you do not have them, don’t worry, you can rent them with Pacha Peru Explorers.
Huayna Picchu Mountain
You can climb the famous mountain you always see in the photos behind the archaeological site of Machu Picchu. It’s 45 minutes uphill, and coming back down can be scary if you fear heights. You can take this excursion once your guided tour to Machu Picchu ends. The permit must be issued at least two to three months in advance due to high demand. Consider that there could be changes to protect your integrity, mainly due to weather conditions.
The ticket for Huayna Picchu Mountain has an extra cost of US$ 80.00 per person.
Machu Picchu Mountain
Machu Picchu Mountain is another of the mountains that surround the archaeological site of Machu Picchu. It offers less steep, wider, and visually less frightening trails than Huayna Picchu, and it takes 1.5 hours to reach the top. This walk requires an entrance ticket which we can secure for you if we have time in advance.
The ticket for Machu Picchu Mountain has an extra cost of US$ 80.00 per person.
Breakfast (Day 1), Lunch in Aguas Calientes and Dinner in Cusco (Day 4)
Personal Hiking Clothes and Gear
Travel Insurance
Tips for our staff
Tipping is the norm on any excursion to Machu Picchu. Although we pay good salaries to our entire team, something extra is always welcome, especially considering the hard work they do. Typically, group participants collect their tips to hand out to the horsemen and chefs together.
Additional costs or delays beyond our control
Landslides, bad weather conditions, itinerary modifications due to a safety concern, illness, pandemia, government policy changes, political instability, strikes, act of God, etc.
During this tour, your main luggage will remind in your hotel in Cusco, or you can leave with us. To the Trek, you will take your daypack plus a duffle bag that Pacha Peru Explorers will provide during the briefing held the day before your tour in our office in Cusco.
During the briefing at 6.00 pm, your tour guide will provide the final details of your trip and give you the duffle bags to put up to 7 kilos of your stuff. Our porter will carry this bag together with the food and camping equipment.
For 3 days, you will be out in the mountain with no route, electricity, or cellphone signal. Having all the necessary equipment for this hike with you is essential; still, pack very light.
The backpack will always be with you; you are responsible for carrying it while hiking during the day, and it must be as light as possible. Remember that duffle bags you will find only at the campsite and all you need during the day must be in your daypack.
The duffle bag will be provided during the briefing held the day before in our office. You can out up to 7 kilos, including your sleeping bag and air mattress.
“The Classic Lares Trek to Machu Picchu” can leave any day of the week, from January through December.
2025 Land Cost
Group Price: US$ 640.00 per person
Required Pre-payment: US$ 300.00 per person
Balance (Cusco): US$ 340.00 (Commonly paid in Cusco after the briefing).
This small-group journey is guaranteed to operate with just two guests.
Notice that PayPal, credit cards charge a 6% fee for the use of their secure payment gateway. This tax is just for online and card payments. You can also pay the remaining balance in cash (the briefing day) without charges.
Extras & Upgrades
There are complementary services and upgrades you can include in this trip.
Price Guarantee
Once your booking has been confirmed, we guarantee the Price won’t increase, whatever the circunstances. So please, before booking, ensure you’ve read all our important tour information.
Student Discount
US$20.00
Student discounts apply to anyone 17 years old or younger. To receive the discount, we require a copy or clear photo of the passport at the time of booking. It must be valid and not expire within the travel dates. Please send it to [email protected]
Thank you for your interest in having and adventure travel experience in Peru curated by Pacha Peru Explorers. Please take a moment to complete our short form, so one our friendly Adventure Consultants could provide you all the information for your trip of a lifetime in Peru.
Our Pledge | Your privacy is respected and protected. the Pacha Peru Explorers Company will never share, sell, or make public any of your personal contact information to third parties.
Remember | One of our Travel Experts will contact you soon to confirm the availability of the trip you chose, give you more information, and/or provide you alternative options. Once availlability is established, we will ask for a deposit and a completed online registration to confirm your spot on the trek. Please call us at (+51) 950 705034 with any questions or to confirm availability over the phone.
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Inca Trail ( Classic ) 4D/3N Group tour
Experience the famous Inca Trail for 4 amazing days, and pass through the Sun Gate for that first magical sighting of Machu Picchu …
Price, From
$ 795.00
per person
Inca Trail ( Classic ) 4D/3N Group tour
Experience the famous Inca Trail for 4 amazing days, and pass through the Sun Gate for that first magical sighting of Machu Picchu …
Price, From
$ 795.00
per person
Inca Trail ( Classic ) 4D/3N Group tour
Experience the famous Inca Trail for 4 amazing days, and pass through the Sun Gate for that first magical sighting of Machu Picchu …
Price, From
$ 795.00
per person
Inca Trail ( Classic ) 4D/3N Group tour
Experience the famous Inca Trail for 4 amazing days, and pass through the Sun Gate for that first magical sighting of Machu Picchu …
Price, From
$ 795.00
per person
Pacha Peru Explorers is a 100% peruvian, separates ourselves by our dedication to both our customer and our team. We work very hard to make sure that all our clients needs are taken care of throughout the tour with us. At the same time, we never forget about our brothers and sisters working tirelessly for us to make all of this possible. Responsible and sustainable tourism that gives as much to our community as to our clients.
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Let us arrange everything for you properly. Contact us, and one of our travel specialists will provide you with everything you need to make this an unforgettable experience.
