Ccachin community
Day 3: Qelqanqa - Ollantaytambo - Aguas Calientes
Ancient knowledge passed down through generations
Please ask the price for this service, the price per person depends on the group size.
Cocchayoq community
This trek should be considered moderate to challenging, as there are many extended very steep sections, both up and downhill
Yanaqocha, on the way to Tiriwayjasa
Yuracqocha, descending from Tiriwayjasa
Welcome to the Puna
Cameloid rearing, ancient Andean tradition in Qelqanqa
Rugged Andean geography
Mountain Cara Cara juvenile
Nice weaving with natural colors
The Lares Valley is famous for the textile art produced in the communities using techniques and tools which date to pre-Inka times.
The tools used to make the weavings have been inherited from the time when textiles appeared in the Andes (approx. 4000BC). The colours used to decorate their textiles come from plants, oxides, earth and minerals which enrich the finished product. The iconography represented in their textiles serves to transmit basic knowledge through oral means, as it has been done for thousands of years.
On this adventure, we combine the marvellous landscapes of the Andes and their snow-capped peaks, with the living culture developed within them.
We will pass ecological levels such as Quechua, Suni and Puna; with all their local flora and fauna and where we will see the development of economic activities, such as agriculture and the rearing of camelids, which are the main source of income for the local population.
Finishing in Ollantaytambo, we will take the train to Aguas Calientes to visit Machu Picchu, one of the seven new world wonders.
We leave the city of Cuzco in our transport, early in the morning, heading towards the Sacred Valley of the Inkas, to the town of Calca to later take the road to the Lares Valley. The highest point on the road to Lares is 4400 masl, at a pass of the same name.
We continue on the dirt track beyond Lares, to the village of Ccachin, where we will visit some artisans who will demonstrate their abilities in textile confection. We will have the marvellous opportunity to be able to buy from them directly some of the garments that, surely, we will like.
Here we will have lunch, to later have the chance to walk or continue in our transport, to the community of Cochayoq; where we will have dinner and camp.
Meals: lunch and dinner
3877 masl / 12719 ft
3309 masl / 10856 ft
7.75 km / 4.81 ml
3 hrs
We leave Cochayoq and its typical Andean landscape, to climb to the mountain pass of Abra Tirihuayjasa, where we will have a magnificent view of the Tirihuay peak and the Yuraqocha and Yanaqocha lakes. The descent to the community of Qelqanqa is through the ecological level known as Puna, where the rearing of camelids is the principal activity of the local people. We will have dinner and spend the night in this community.
Meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner
4430 masl / 14534 ft
3798 masl / 12460 ft
16 km / 9.94 ml
7 hrs
We leave Qelqanqa to tackle the last high pass of our trek, from where we will have a breathtaking view of the Urubamba mountain range. We will descend through a beautiful pampa to the sector of Punta Carretera, from where our transport will transfer us to the community of Patacancha to later go on to the town of Ollantaytambo, where we will board the train which will
take us to the town of Aguas Calientes. Overnight in a hotel.
Meals: breakfast and lunch
4350 masl / 14271 ft
3809 masl / 12496 ft
10 km / 6.21 ml
5 hrs
At sunrise, we take the bus to the archaeological site of Machu Picchu, where we will have the chance to climb up to the summit of Huayna Picchu, from where the view is spectacular; Inti Punku (the sun-gate) and the archaeological complex itself. The length of the tour will depend upon which train we take back to the town of Ollantaytambo, where our transport will await us to take us back to Cuzco.
Meals: ---
2437 masl / 7995 ft
2070 masl / 6791 ft
1.50 km / 0.93 ml
3 hrs
Pachatusantrek is committed to following the principles of ecotourism in our operations, and request the understanding and cooperation of trekkers, especially by not contaminating the waters and in the adequate disposal of non-biodegradable waste. We must also respect the customs and traditions of the local people.
“With the protection of mother earth and the permission of the apus …”
design by Gissel Enriquez - development by Jeronimo Design DDS