The Lares trek in Peru

The standard trek takes three to four days, with an extra day at the end to explore Machu Picchu. However, there isn’t one set route through the Lares Valley and the wonderful thing about this hike is the variety of options to extend your journey on foot into adjoining valleys, or to the Incan sites below Lares village. A typical itinerary might look something like this:

Day 1:
Depart from Cusco or Ollantaytambo and walk for around four hours to a traditional village deep in the Sacred Valley. You’ll hike uphill through fertile valleys until the snow-capped peaks of the high Andes and the thatched roofed, stone village of Cancha Cancha (3,900m) comes into view. Day 2:
The toughest day of the trek takes you eight hours over the 4,700m Pachacutec Pass via two spectacular glacial lakes, Suirococha and Yuraccocha. The Andean ibis and Andean geese living here will delight bird-lovers, while the dramatic peaks of Pitusuray and Chicon provide an awe-inspiring backdrop.

Unlike the classic Inca Trail you won’t be using porters; pack animals are a much more common form of transportation for Andean treks without the tricky Incan steps that dominate the classic trail. You’ll still want to check that your trekking specialist provides local trek staff with suitable clothing, insurance and food for your hike. And if you’re concerned about the welfare of a mule or donkey carrying your bag, speak up. British NGO Brooke has provided us with a checklist for travellers to ensure the fair and humane treatment of working mules and donkeys.

The Lares trail takes you into the heart of a fragile Andean ecosystem, one that is under pressure from local people and wider climate change. Kathy explains what Andean Trails is doing to help: “We support a reforestation project in the Lares Valley, which works to replant polylepsis trees – known locally as queñua trees. These papery-barked trees only grow at high altitude and help regulate the water balance in the high Andes. They are also key habitats for the tiny bugs and insects that feed a variety of rare and endemic birds – however, deforestation is a real issue. The polylepsis trees are a valuable timber resource for local communities, and over-exploitation plus climate change is threatening these forests and the wildlife that depends on them.”

In the Lares Valley there are a number of community tourism projects too – luxury lodges set up in collaboration with and staffed by local Quechua people. Or, at the other end of the accommodation spectrum, basic homestays with local families that offer an authentic insight into traditional Andean life in return for a top up on the basic income they earn as weavers or farmers.