Lares Trek to Machu Picchu

Take the quieter route to Machu Picchu, visiting remote Quechua villages and crossing Andean passes

The Lares Trek suits those craving a more personal Andean hiking experience on the way to Machu Picchu, offering a culture-rich and quieter alternative to the Inca Trail (and no Inca Trail permit required!). After time to acclimatise and explore Cuzco and the Sacred Valley, we follow quiet paths through high mountain landscapes and Quechua-speaking villages supported by an experienced crew. Nights are spent camping in remote valleys, giving a real sense of scale and isolation, and we end with a soak in natural hot springs, before exploring one of the Seven New Wonders of the World: Machu Picchu.

Sustainability and Impact

As a certified B Corp, we’re on a mission to improve our social and environmental impact across all our adventures.

We do this through our innovative Thriving Nature, Thriving People plan.

This ‘nature positive’ approach is designed to help nature and communities thrive in harmony through practical solutions, such as reducing carbon and waste on our trips, supporting conservation projects through the Exodus Adventure Travels Foundation, and rewilding 100 square metres for every Exodus traveller.

Is this trip for you?

This trip is graded Activity Level 4 (Moderate & Challenging). For more information on our trip gradings, visit the Activity Level Guidelines page. If you have any queries about the difficulty of the trip, please contact us.

Suitability: Though strenuous in parts, this trek is possible for anyone with good health and fitness, though we would not recommend this trip to someone with no previous walking experience. There are three days of point-to-point walking with full porterage.

• Maximum altitude: 15,175ft (4,625m)
• Maximum sleeping altitude: 12,695ft (3,870m)

If you are not a regular walker, you should put in physical preparation beforehand. The trek is not suitable for those with bad knees due to the number of steep and uneven steps. The use of trekking poles will reduce strain on the knees.

Walking hours stated within the itinerary are given as approximates only. Timings stated include lunch and photo stops and vary depending on the group’s pace.

Delays: Protest action/strikes are not uncommon in Peru; while these are generally peaceful, they can involve roadblocks and cause disruption to travel. Occasionally, your leader may have to adapt your itinerary in response to this.

It is essential you read the Machu Picchu regulations in the Important Information section of the Trip Notes before you book this trip.

Following a review of all our trips we have categorised this trip as generally not suitable for persons of reduced mobility. However if you are a regular traveller on such trips, please contact customer services to discuss the trip and your personal condition.

Vaccinations and Health

There are no mandatory vaccination requirements; however, recommended vaccinations are polio, tetanus, typhoid, hepatitis A.

Also note, zika virus, a mosquito‐borne viral disease, is a known risk in places visited on this trip. There is currently no vaccine or prophylaxis available. We therefore strongly recommend you take the usual precautions to avoid mosquito bites.

If you are travelling to the Tambopata reserve in the Amazon rainforest, the risk of malaria is slight, but you may wish to consult your GP or travel health clinic for further advice. We also strongly recommend you obtain a yellow fever vaccination.

Dengue and chikungunya are also known risks in the Amazon region. Both are tropical viral diseases spread by daytime biting mosquitoes. There is currently no vaccine or prophylaxis available for either, and therefore the best form of prevention is to avoid being bitten. We recommend you take the usual precautions to avoid mosquito bites: always apply insect repellent and wear long-sleeved shirts and trousers while in the rainforest to avoid being bitten.

Methanol: The FCDO warns travellers to be cautious of methanol poisoning when travelling in destinations visited on the trip.

Visa

Peru

Travellers from the UK, US and EU normally do not need a visa to enter Peru. Please note, visa requirements often change and it is your responsibility to obtain any required visas for this trip. Therefore, we recommend that you check with the nearest embassy or consulate of your chosen destination(s), including any countries you may be transiting or transferring through.

Some local governments provide guidance on what visas their citizens need. To help, we’ve gathered a selection of useful links below.

• Australia: www.smartraveller.gov.au/destinations/americas/peru
• Canada: www.travel.gc.ca/destinations/peru
• United Kingdom: www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/peru/entry-requirements
• USA: www.travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Peru.html

Food & Drink

Peruvian cuisine is loved for its flavours and originality; it’s well worth digging into the local delicacies. Among these are: ceviche, seafood or fish marinated in lime juice; lomo saltado, a Peruvian take on a beef stir-fry; and various hearty soups, including the delicious quinoa soup. Other dishes include roasted cuy (guinea pig) and alpaca steak. To drink, there’s pisco sour, the national beverage.

Drinking water is included throughout the trip as the tap water in Peru is not safe to drink; boiled and filtered drinking water is provided on the trek; elsewhere your leader buys large water containers from which you can refill your bottle.

Hotel breakfasts are normally simple buffets, usually including bread/toast, preserves, cereal, sometimes eggs or cooked dishes, sometimes fruit, tea/coffee and fruit juice. Regrettably, we cannot guarantee that wheat-free or gluten-free products are available for breakfast in all locations – if you have an intolerance you may wish to bring your own breakfast food.

During the hike, hearty breakfasts are served and good-quality cooked lunches and dinners are provided. They usually consist of soup to start, a main course with meat/fish and some carbohydrates, followed by a dessert. Between meals, snacks are also provided. Tea/coffee is brought to your tent each morning and juice or hot drinks are provided with all meals during the trek.

Weather

The diverse geography of Peru results in a very varied climate between different regions. Cuzco and the Andes have a temperate climate. December to March is the rainy season in Cuzco/the Andes. April to November is the dry season, which is characterised by clear skies and strong sunshine in the mornings, sometimes clouding over as the day progresses.

Daytime temperatures are usually pleasant (20C/68F on average) but nights are lower (7C/44F), except for May, June, July and August when days are cooler and nights are often close to, or a few degrees below, freezing. In the Andes, however, anything is possible at any time of year, including cloud, rain or even snow, with rapid and unexpected changes.

Aguas Calientes and Machu Picchu are in the cloud forest and experience large amounts of precipitation all year as clouds move up from the Amazon Basin. Rain here can be heavy but is seldom prolonged. Cold fronts sometimes occur from July to August.

Peru is affected by El Niño, a weather phenomenon where warming of Pacific Ocean surface water off South America drives a shift in the atmospheric circulation, resulting in abnormally high levels of rainfall over parts of South America. These events occur at irregular intervals of two to seven years, and last nine months to two years.