THE LARES TREK (4 days)

Lares - Yanahuara - Machu Picchu

This trek takes walkers through dramatic high Andean scenery, enabling them to visit remote highland villages where life continues much as it did in pre-Hispanic times. Local inhabitants continue the ancient textile traditions of their ancestors and farm their ancestral lands. From this high altitude environment, the route descends into the tropical forests around Machu Picchu, where the trek ends with a visit to this most famous of Peru’s “lost cities”.

Day 1 Lares – Huacahuasi
After an early departure from Cusco or Ollantaytambo you will be driven to the valley town of Calca, from where we climb to the highest point of this road at 4265 meters. From there we will be able to enjoy fine views of the mountains Sawasiray and Pitusiray, before descending into the warmer climate of the Lares valley, at an altitude of 3207 meters. Here we come to a typical colonial village with a church, a main plaza and narrow streets, where we will meet your porters and have lunch before the trek begins. The trail ascends to the community of Huacawasi, where we will make our first camp at an altitude of 3600 meters. This is a charming community of small houses built from mud brick and thatch. We will walk between 6 to 7 kilometers during this first stage of the trek (3.72 miles).
Meals: L.D

Day 2: Huacahuasi - Yanahuara
After a good breakfast we will leave the campsite by 8:00 a.m. A brief ascent takes us to the pass at Huahuaqasa (at 4500 meters the highest point of the trek). From here we descend to the lakes known as Aruraycocha and Yuraccoha, which are formed by the melt waters of the snow-capped peaks of Pumahuanca and Kiswarani. We will have lunch close to these lakes. This is a spectacular day’s trekking through the Urubamba mountain range, and there will be ample opportunities to spot a number of Andean bird species, including condors. The campsite is a further 1 hour and 30 minutes from the place where we had lunch, not far from the village of Mantanay, at 3800 meters. We will cover 10 kilometers during this day’s hiking (7 miles).
Meals: FB.

Day 3: Yanahuara – Ollantaytambo – Machu Picchu
The trail descends through the Yanahuara ravine, with its farming communities, for almost 3 hours, covering a distance of around 9 kilometers (6 miles). This valley is situated at an altitude of 2950 meters and has a pleasantly warm climate. The tiny village of Yanahuara is located in the Urubamba Valley. For the Incas, the fertile Sacred Valley was the breadbasket of Cusco, and the sowed the terraced slopes with corn and irrigated their crops with water from the glaciers of the great snow peaks which dominate the valley and feed the river, which they worshipped and called “Wilkamayu” or the “Sacred River”, after the lunch, we will take a bus for 20-minute to the Inca village of Ollantaytambo, where we will catch the train to the lost city of Machu Picchu.
Meals: BL

Day 4: Machu Picchu full day
We make an early start today to visit this so-called “lost city”, hours before most other tourists arrive on the morning train from Cusco, in the company of those trekkers arriving from the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. Located at the summit of a steep, thickly-forested mountain overlooking the Urubamba River, Machu Picchu was hidden by dense vegetation for centuries until the historian Hiram Bingham began to clear the site in the early 20th century. Today the city has been restored and although it may have lost some of its mystery it remains an unforgettable sight. Our tour includes a visit to the temples, plazas, palaces, watercourses and residential areas of the Inca city and you will also be given enough time to wander around the ruins independently. We return to Cusco on the afternoon train, after which you will be transferred to your hotel.
Meals: B.

Included:

• Transport to the beginning point of the trek
• Briefing - Duffleback
• Professional bilingual guide (English and Spanish), in the trek 2 guides for groups of over 8 people.
• Accommodation on the trek is camping (2 nights). Tents are set up by the porters.
• Mules and wranglers for carrying equipment and personal gear
• Meals described in the program (B=Breakfast, L=Lunch, D=Dinner, FB=Full board), in the trek the meals are prepared by the trek cook and also includes: daily morning snack, daily tea service except last day, vegetarian or special menus are available at no extra cost.
• Camping equipment: Personal tents (2 people in each 4-people capacity tent, they are 3 season and highly maintained), mattresses, kitchen tent, dining tent with tables and chairs, toilet tent, household items.
• Accommodation for all our staff
• Chef and cooking equipment
• Hot water every morning to clean up and boiled water to fill in your canteen every morning or night.
• First aid kit and emergency oxygen supply
• Bag for the gear you will need during the trek
• Machu Picchu entrance fee
• Round trip bus ticket
• Accommodation at hotel for 1 night (Tourist class (3 star hotel), First class (4 star hotel), De luxe (5 star hotel), upon request)
• Train ticket Ollantaytambo - Aguas Calientes / Aguas Calientes - Cusco (Backpacker, Vistadome or Hiram Bingham service, upon request) (*)
• Transfer from the train station to the hotel in Cusco
• All the garbage produced during the trek will be returned to the city of Cusco.

(*) If there would not be train ticket available in the direct route Aguas Calientes – Poroy, a train ticket Aguas Calientes – Ollantaytambo (Sacred Valley) with an additional transfer to your selected hotel will be provided.

Not included:

• Meals not included in the itinerary
• Alcohol drinks
• Extras expenses
• Tips to guides and staff
• Sleeping bag (rental upon request at US$ 15.00)

We recommend that you take:

• Waterproof rain jacket or poncho
• A good sleeping bag (down bag for temperatures as low -15°C)
• Backpack for carrying items for daily use such as cameras, water bottles, etc.
• Long-sleeved shirts
• Short-sleeved t-shirts
• Comfortable pants
• Shorts
• Walking boots , waterproof trekking boots recommended
• Sports shoes or sandals for a higher comfort while at camp
• Warm clothing, including jacket, fleeces
• Flashlight/headlamp and batteries (batteries consume more quickly under cold conditions)
• Hat, cap and accessories
• Rehydration cream
• Underwear
• Towel, toilet paper
• Camera, video camera, binoculars, etc.
• Insect repellent
• Sun block
• Non-disposible canteen and water for the first morning. Optionally: water-sterilizing tablets in case you pick up water from streams or rivers along the route. Otherwise, we provide filtered boiled water, which is safe to drink and has not reported health problem so far
• Original valid passport
• Original International Student Identity Card (in case you have applied for a student discount)
• Walking poles (you will need rubber tips to cover the metal tips and protect the trail)
• Travel insurance

Before you travel we recommend that you check that you have adequate health insurance, travel insurance and personal insurance to cover the needs of your family in case of loss of baggage, accident, theft or death.

Important:

• Departure and arrival times are approximated.
• Campsites are subject to change according to the designation of the governmental institution regulating the use of the Inca Trail, as well as to our guide’s criteria and the group progress
• Challenging and levels of difficulty: (range between 1 to 10): 5 and an acclimatization period of at least 2 days in Cusco or at elevations above 3000m/9840ft is recommended.

Prices per Person 2010:
Prices per person depend on the group size, the larger the group the lower the price per person. Please contact us, specifying:

• Number of people in the trek
• Departure date
• Type of hotel in Machu Picchu: Tourist class (3 star hotel), First class (4 star hotel), De luxe (5 star hotel)
• Requested train service: Backpacker (Basic train), Vistadome (First Class), Hiram Bingham (Luxury train)

Available discounts (these discounts are not cumulative):

• Students: US$ 45.00 (students require a valid International Student Identity Card. Please note that Youth Travel Cards are not valid)
• Teenagers: US$ 40.00 (up to 15 years of age, passport copy required for all bookings)
• Children: US$ 85.00 (up to 7 years of age, passport copy required for all bookings)

Social & Environmental responsibility
Andean Skyline is committed to travelling in a way that is respectful of local people, their culture, local economies and the environment. With your participation we can help conserve the area we visit and bring positive benefits to our host communities.

What you need to know on how to be a responsible traveller:

• The natural environment is also very important. If in the bush we need to make our human waste, be sure is buried away from waterways. Burying or carrying out used toilet paper is a must. Tampons and sanitary pads must also be taken out of the area and disposed of appropriately. Minimize use of soap or shampoos in rivers and lakes - your local guide will let you know when using soap is unsuitable.
• When trekking, many travellers take an extra plastic bag to pick up any rubbish that they see to improve the area and for their own rubbish. Rubbish may have to be carried until a suitable disposal opportunity in the next town.
• Please try and minimize the waste of plastic water bottles. Consider packing a water filter, water purification tablets or iodine to purify drinking water. At some of our hotels there are large water 'bubbler' dispensers where you can refill your bottle with purified water for free or for a small fee.