Lares Trek and Cusco

Cusco is at 3400m, a few hundred metres higher that Huaraz, so if flying in directly from Lima, expect to spend a few days to acclimatising. Cusco was the site of the historic capital of the Inca Empire and was declared a World Heritage Site in 1983 by UNESCO. It is a major tourist destination and receives almost 2 million visitors a year.

Central Cusco has a range of accommodation and eating options and is kept especially neat and clean by Peruvian standards. There are many grand colonial plazas, streets and buildings to explore and it fascinating how the original inca walls have been integrated into newer buildings. Further out there are a number of ruins to explore including Saksaywaman.

North of the Urubamba Valley is the more remote Lares valley. It starts from natural hot springs (3100m) near the village of Lares that is accessible by road from Colac in the Sacred Valley. Up the valley from here are many small rural andean farming communities famous for their weaving. The valley culminates in the Isayjasa Pass (4450m) to the village of Patacancha where a road leads down to Olltanaytambo. Between the Lares and Urubamba valleys are a range of glaciated mountains, the largest being the Nevado Colque Cruz at 5818m. There are a number of high mountain passes that link the tributaries of the Lares river and their communities over to villages on the Urubamba side. The highest and most spectacular is Patchacutec Pass (4600m) linking the Quishuarani to Cancha Cancha. There are also are a number of passes linking Quishuarani with other high communities.