Lares Trek Peru: Our Self-Guided Itinerary for the 3 Day Hike

Actually, there is not ONE Lares Trek, but the name is used for a couple of different hikes that start from the village of Lares, Peru. The most famous one is the one that ends in Ollantaytambo, which is often offered by tour companies with the extension of going from there to Machu Picchu by train, therefore being an alternative to the famous Inca Trail. Anyway, we wanted to do the Lares Trek Peru without a guide.

In total, we found these options online:

• Lares Trail as a day hike.
• A version that crosses the Ipsay Pass and then goes in the direction of Patacancha and Ollantaytambo.
• Another option that crosses the Wakawasi Pass and also continues in the direction of Patacancha and Ollantaytambo.
• And what we did in the end: From Lares, through Huacahuasi, crossing the Wakawasi Pass, down through Lagunas Aruraycocha and Millpo, and then down to Yanahuara from where you can catch Colectivo to everywhere in the Sacred Valley.

The last version of the Lares Trail will be described in detail in this post:

How to get to Lares

We stayed in Urubamba in the Sacred Valley when we did the Lares trek. To go to Lares, you will first need to reach Calca. From Calca’s terminal, there are regular Colectivos to Lares (they start when full). The drive takes about 3 hours and is already a beautiful part of the experience. The winding gravel roads lead up to a beautiful pass (4200m) and from there down to the village of Lares. We know of a bus that leaves around 13:00, but suggest being there before to make sure you have a seat. We paid 10 PEN.

In Lares, you will be dropped at the Plaza Principal. You can spend some time in the village or directly go to the trailhead which is the Hot Springs of Lares.

Baños Thermales Lares

We really recommend spending some time, or even a night here. We took a noon Colectivo to Lares and therefore arrived at the Hot Springs around 17:00. They are open all night, and it is possible to camp here, which is what we did. After setting up the tent we soaked in the Hot pools watching the moon and the stars. There is no toilet paper in the toiltets. Entrance is 15 PEN per person and camping is 20 PEN per tent. There is also a hotel.

What to Pack for the Lares Trail

• Be prepared for cold weather: You’ll need a tent, sleeping pad, and sleeping bag. Our sleeping bags are rated up to 0 degrees Celsius, and we were a bit cold at nights.
• Food and Snacks: No option to resupply along the way. Take food and camping stove + gear for all three days.
• Water Filter: Even as high as 4400m, there are Llamas and Alpacas around. We use a Sawyer Squeeze after our (multiple) Steripens stopped working. Make sure to keep the Sawyer in your sleeping bag at night so it will not freeze.
• Layered Clothing: Be prepared for every kind of weather. It can change faster than you might expect in the mountains.
• Offline Map: We use Maps.cz with downloaded maps on both our phones (so we have redundancy in case one phone has a problem). We also take one or two (again redundancy) powerbanks to charge the phones.

Best Time to Hike the Lares Trek

The Lares Trek is best undertaken during the dry season, which runs from May to September. This period offers clearer skies and more stable weather conditions, making for a more enjoyable hiking experience. In late April or early October the weather may be slightly more unpredictable.

We did this hike in the middle of July.

The Hike

The total length of our version of the Lares Trail was 29km, and the highest point is the Wakawasi Pass at 4640m. We spent both nights at about 4200m. At this height temperatures at night can reach below freezing (we had ice on the tent in both mornings, so make sure you have cold weather gear). The places we set camp are no official campsites – we chose them on the fly by the criteria of being too tired to continue, having a flat space to set the tent, and having access to flowing water. We’ll describe our campsites below, but feel free to plan this hike differently and camp where it seems suitable to you.

Day 1: Lares to Camp 1

• Length: ~12km
• Height Profile: From ~3200m to 4200m -> 1000m up
• Map: https://mapy.cz/s/bagehovole
• Water: You’ll walk most of the time along rivers. Anyway, we avoided taking water before we passed the village of Huacahuasi (You don’t know how they use the water and what they dispose of in the river). So take enough water from Lares till after the village. We filled in the baños thermales.
• Description: From the Hot Springs in Lares to Huacahuasi and from there more up the Valley in the direction of Abra Wakawasi.
• Camp: We camped here. There was water nearby and some stone walls for wind protection. There are a few houses nearby but nobody kicked us out 🙂

Day 2: Camp 1 – Wakawasi-Pass – Camp 2 (Laguna Millpo)

• Length: ~6km
• Height Profile: about 400m up and 400m down. Don’t underestimate the height if you are not well-acclimatized.
• Map: https://en.mapy.cz/s/lalabarezo
• Water: Fill in the morning next to the camp, then after the Pass there is no problem to find water after Laguna Aruraycocha.
• Description: This day you will go up to the Wakawasi Pass. After this it goes down the valley first along Laguna Aruraycocha and then to Laguna Millpo. We took our time as the views were great and we were lazy.
• Camp: We camped here a bit after Laguna Millpo. We found again some stone walls to have wind protection and there was even some wood so we could make a campfire that night (shame we didn’t bring marshmallows).

Day 3: Camp 2 to Yanahuara

• Length: ~11.5km
• Height Profile: about 1300m down to 2900m
• Map: https://en.mapy.cz/s/fadebamuvu
• Water: Fill in the morning and then you’ll follow most of the day the river. Note: It may be smarter to fill the evening before as some of the small streams freeze during the night. There is not always direct access (you might be higher or a bit off from the river) but from time to time you can fill your bottles.
• Description: This day is all about going down… You’ll follow the valley, first along small paths and then later along bigger gravel roads. The path through Yanahuara till you reach the street is quite tedious, so if you have the opportunity maybe catch a taxi to shorten it.

Back to Urubamba

From Yanahuara’s main road it’s easy to catch one of the frequent Colectivos which are passing through the Sacred Valley. We went back to Urubamba, this took about 30 minutes and cost 2 PEN.

What else to do in Urubamba and the Sacred Valley

We stayed almost 3 months in the Sacred Valley and moved between Pisac, Cusco, Chinchero, Urubamba, Ollantaytamo, Pisac, and Cusco. Here are some more recommendations for the Sacred Valley besides the Lares Trek:

• Pisac
  • Visit the Ruins
  • Drink coffee in Kula or marissa
  • Do a trip to the three lagunas at Kinsa Cocha
• Urubamba
  • Visit the Moray Archeological Site
  • Go up to Saywa
  • Go up to the Laguna Juchuycocha (This is a hard one, we did it with one night)
• Chinchero
  • Hike to Little Cusco (we made it a 3-day round trip including Laguna Quriqucha – will add a blog post about this soon)
  • Walk to the Machu Qollqa ruins (free)
  • Walk down to Urquillos (and visit the Chinchero Archeological Site on the way)
• Ollantaytambo
  • Visit Machu Picchu
  • Visit the Sun Gate (Inti Punku) as a single or multi-day hike. We will soon write a blog post about a 2-day round trip from Ollantaytambo
  • Visit pumahuanca
• Cusco

Not sure which chocolate to eat in the Sacred Valley (Or to take for the Lares Trek)? Check out our post: Peru Chocolate Tasting: Our Top 16 List