With a maximum altitude of 3100m above sea level, the Lares hike offers view of stunning blue lakes surrounded by glacier topped mountains. We chose this as an alternative hike to Machu Picchu rather than the classic Inca Trial, as this offered us the opportunity to interact with the local Quechua communities, bring them food essentials and experience their way of living. It’s a less popular route for visitors so you’ll hardly see any other soul during the hike, unless you count alpacas!
We decided to go with Sam Travel Peru as our tour operators for this hike because they strongly mention the fact that they are a sustainable tour operator, using local guides from the area, giving back to their local communities, taking part in social projects as well as environmental projects such as planting trees on the trekking routes they use.
As we’d visited in May, this is a shoulder month so no one else had booked those dates and we ended up having a private tour for the price of a group tour!
Best time to go:
May to August – During these months you’ll usually get warm weather during the day, up to 30°c. However, because of the high altitude, the nights can get freezing so you’ll need to make sure you’ve packed enough layers to get you through the night.
How long to spend here:
You can opt for a 4 day/ 3 night hike or a 3 day/ 2 nights hike
Eco Tip 16: Make a conscious effort to pick up rubbish if you see it. You’ll be doing good for the country and the earth will thank you for it.
Getting There
We flew into Cusco from Lima on a 1.5hr flight with LATAM airlines. Try to arrive here at least 2 days before your trek to acclimatise to the altitude because the city itself is 3399m above sea level. The centre is a 20 minute drive from the airport and there are plenty of taxis waiting outside. Cusco instantly felt safe (in comparison to Lima where taxi drivers tend to hassle you as you as you leave the airport) and we felt completely comfortable getting in a taxi. The starting price they offer is 30 soles, but we managed to haggle this down to 15 soles. When we arrived there were a few protests going on about oil prices so the locals were blocking off the roads so cars couldn’t pass through.
Where To Stay
Cusco is a pretty small town and everything is walking distance so it’s not necessary to hire a car or even need public transport. Visitors tend to use Cusco as a base for seeing Machu Picchu and do hikes around the area.
We stayed at 2 places in Cusco; Monasterio del Inca Machu Picchu for the first night, a lovely old monastery in the centre of town, which costs us US$37.50 a night. We stayed at Samana Inn and Spa for the remainder of the nights after returning from the hike. This cost us US$55 a night, slightly more expensive than the standard Peruvian accommodation costs but we were craving a bit of comfort after 3 nights of camping!
Read more in related article: Staying in the Amazon Rainforest
``Local Quechuan Kids``
Alpacas - One of the most sustainable fabrics out there!
The Hike
The tour started off with a 5am pick up from our accommodation and the first stop was Pisac, an archeological site built by the Incas. After this we stopped at a traditional Calca market where we were able to buy local produce and gifts for the communities we would be visiting during the hike. We also tried a local corn snack they had which was delicious! The whole corn was boiled, then filled with meat and eaten directly from the leaf of the corn.
From here we drove on to the start of the Lares trek. Luckily the porters and horses carry all the essentials for you so they go ahead and set up the tent at the campsite so it’s ready when you arrive. The first day of the trek was moderate and lasted around 6 hours and stopping whenever we needed a rest. The guide offered us some coca leaves to chew on as this helps with altitude and headaches. We also had one of the best lunches that the chef had cooked up for us and tried Cuy for the first time! This is a very popular Peruvian dish and consists of fried or roasted guinea pig usually served with locally grown potatoes and a spicy salsa.
Our campsite was at the Quiswarani community, where we were able to meet the locals and give them the items we had bought from the market. This had to be one of the best experiences of the trip; spending time with them and seeing the way they live. We were able to spend the rest of the day with them as the evening started to get cooler. Because of the altitude here, the days get very hot but the evenings are freezing and we even woke up to ice on the grass!
The second day was a struggle getting up as our legs started to ache from the day before. The guide warned us that this would be a tougher hike and he wasn’t joking! Suddenly the bags felt a lot heavier and so did our feet! We powered through and soon forgot about it after we reached a viewpoint with glacier peaks and deep blue lakes. The hike continued with stunning views for the next 2 days, passing valleys, waterfalls and plenty of llamas and alpacas. The final stop was Ollantaytambo, where we caught the train to Aguas Calientes for the night in a hotel stay.
Our last day was the big day to see one of the most famous archeological sites, Machu Picchu! To catch the sunrise over the UNESCO World Heritage site, we took the earliest bus from Aguas Calientes which meant waking up at 4am. Make sure you have some food or snacks prepared from the evening before for breakfast because there is only one small coffee stall open at that time and you’ll need as much energy as you can get to walk around the site. We spent all morning here admiring the views and walking around the agricultural terraces. We had to leave in the early afternoon to catch the 14.55pm train back to Ollantaytambo and then got driven back to Cusco. Be prepared to go down some extra winding roads so if you’re prone to motion sickness like me, make sure you take some travel sickness tablets before you set off. I wasn’t aware of this and learnt the hard way!
The hike passed through villages, glacier topped mountains and several waterfalls
Costs To Consider
Climb up to Huayna Picchu (the mountain overlooking Machu Picchu) - US$75 (we personally didn’t do it as we felt it was a bit expensive but we heard from other visitors that it had magnificent views! By that time our legs just couldn’t take anymore walking so we decided to give it a miss)
Tips - They are not mandatory, however, the porters, chef and guide do an amazing job and are really hardworking so we felt that they definitely deserved tips at the end. There are certain guidelines for how much to tip each person but we feel that you should tip as much as you can afford. The general rule varies from each tour operator but it’s roughly:
Porter – 15-20 soles each per porter per day (if you’re in a group then around 60 – 80 soles. They’re the ones that carry all your bags and gear!)
Guide – 60-80 soles maximum
Chef – 70-120 soles
Assistant Chef – 50-60 soles
Again, these are not mandatory but it’s always nice to show your appreciation to the locals, especially if you feel like they’ve done a good job during your stay. Although these are guidelines, we felt that it didn’t quite make sense that the chef got more than the porter even though the porter does all the carrying of equipment? Let us know your thoughts on this!
