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Three Days |
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DAY 1 The trip leaves from the Hotel by van and heads out of the Sacred Valley to the town of Lares. The one-and-a-half hour ride takes us past Calca and over the Vilcanota mountain range. We have spectacular views of several glaciers and lagoons. Lares is an ancient colonial town, with 5000 inhabitants. Here we meet our porters and cook. As soon as they have prepared our equipment, we take off from the Plaza de Armas in the direction of the Huacahuasi community on a small ascending path. The hike to this community takes about two hours. The lifestyle in Huacahuasi is very basic. The houses are made of stone and adobe and the roofs are made of straw. The local women weave typical indigenous colorful blankets. We have lunch here. After lunch, we continue our route up the hill. The landscape changes. Due to the altitude, the vegetation becomes sparse and the temperature drops. Once in Cuncani, our porters set up camp and the cook starts preparing our dinner. DAY 2 Route 1 The next day we have breakfast and get ready to climb the steep pass of Pumahuaca mountain (4800 m). We see lagoons and waterfalls and pass by a glacier. Lunch is served on the shore of one of the mountain lakes. Walking on, we reach the top of the Pumahuanca pass and start our decent down the rocky far side. Again we pass by several lagoons before entering a small forest of typical Andean trees. Camp is set up near a couple of small waterfalls. We have dinner and crawl into our sleeping bags. DAY 3 Route 1 We leave after breakfast and descend into the Pumahuanca gorge. The path leads through an area with trees and bushes and follows the river that originates in the glaciers above. We come to a forest and pass a trout farm. From here, it is about an hour's walk back to the hotel, where lunch awaits us. DAY 2 Route 2 The next day, we have our breakfast and get ready to walk on to Patacancha. We have to cross a pass of 4600m. where there is little vegetation but magnificent views abound. There are no houses as far as the eye can see. This is llama territory, and these high altitude animals are not very hard to spot. We have lunch before crossing over the pass and descending to Patacancha. The lifestyle of the inhabitants of Patacancha is very basic. It is a community of self-sustaining farmers. Many of the men in this town are also porters for the Inca Trail. Camp is set up on the outskirts of the community. We have dinner and crawl into our sleeping bags. DAY 3 Route 2 After breakfast, we visit Patacancha where can see the women weave typical Andean cloth. We may be invited inside one of the local homesteads to see how the people live. We start walking towards Huilloc, a larger and more developed community. Upon arrival, we have lunch, after which we visit this community of weavers. Our transport picks us up and takes us back to the hotel. Group Sizes Minimum 2 pax Price includes all taxes, transport, first-aid box, refreshments (crackers, fruits and drinks). Breakfast, lunch and dinner. Bilingual guides (English, Spanish, German or French). Camping equipment. It does not include transportation from Cusco to Urubamba. Programs |
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