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Lares Trail Itinerary
Entry 208 of 270 | show all | print this entry |
Cusco is turning out to be one of my favourite tourist destinations in Peru. I had the opportunity to meet Giovanni yesterday at his hotel, The Monesterio... one of the most exclusive on the continent. Giovanni is the supervisor of the front reception staff and is doing ok given his age of 32... works out to be only 10 days older than me. He gave me a grand tour of the hotel, including the $US475 standard room and the $US900 suite. The Monesterio gets its name from being a Monestary in the past and has a rich history, but personally, I feel that the rooms are ridiculously overpriced. Unfortunately, the Presidential Suite was occupied. The rooms are typical of any 5 star hotel but have one added advantage of oxygenated controls to alleviate the affects of altitude... the only hotel to do so in the world. Once Giovanni finished work at 10pm, he introduced me to 7 of his very attractive Peruvian girlfriends and we spent the night at several of Cusco´s nightclubs. Giovanni left at around 3am, and I spent the rest of the night with my group, including Julio´s friends Danni and Andres which were very intense!
Before I forget, before dinner, we had dinner at Ándres´restaurant, the Fallen Angel which was truly spectacular... owned by gay guys, it has a truly spectacular decour and a truly world class decour with DJ, bar and tables with fish aquariums below... very unique. For $US20, I enjoyed a Machu Pichu cocktail, steak and beautiful side salad. The whole group was truly impressed with their food... being in Lonely Planet, this is a MUST DO restaurant in Cusco... go out of your way. The food in Peru is the best I´ve had at an amazingly low cost compared to that of Europe and back home.
To save me writing up the itinerary for my trek to Machu Pichu, I´ve decided to cut and copy the itinerary from Gap´s website... www.gapadventures.com. For those interested, this is what I will be doing from Sunday, 24th to Wednesday, 27th September... sure to be one of the highlights of my travels RTW.
LARES TREK ITINERARY
Welcome to the Lares Trek through the Sacred Valley - a stunning trip
designed to avoid the crowds found on the traditional Inca Trail, with ample
opportunities for viewing wildlife, meeting locals, and immersing yourself in
ancient surroundings.
Day 1:
An early morning start (6am) allows us the best possible views of our
incredible mountainous surroundings, dotted with rural villages throughout.
The Sacred Valley was the heart of the Inca civilization from the 14th to 15th
centuries, and many people still farm in this lush, expansive valley. Our hike
begins in the village of Lares, from which we begin our leisurely pace through
the valley of Trapiche, through the cornfields to a grassy plateau where we
will eat our picnic lunch. After lunch we continue on our path to the highland
village of Cuncani, our destination for tonight. From our campsite, we will have
stunning views of snow-capped Colque Cruz.
Day 2:
After pausing to admire our surroundings in the early morning mist, we will
proceed around Sondor Mountain to a high pass (an altitude of 4440m), from
which we will have great photo opportunities: scenic Huacahuasi Lake and
snow-capped Veronica Mountain (amongst others!) are visible from the path.
After a good morning's hike, we stop for a quick rest in a living Inca
settlement, where many still farm the traditional crop of potatoes in the same
way that their ancestors did. We resume our hike upstream to the second
pass, Ipasayqocha (4550m), where we will celebrate by making an offering of
coca leaves to the Andean Gods. We descend to our campsite near Lake
Ipasayqocha for the night.
Day 3:
Today we will have ample photo opportunities: our gentle path is covered in
Andean flora, and animals such as llamas and alpacas are fairly
commonplace. If we're lucky, we might even catch a glimpse of Andean
geese, puna ibis, Andean cara caras or condor. We will feel welcomed by the
warm Quechua people, whose homeland we have the rare opportunity to see
firsthand. The traditional dress and lifestyle of these people is both fascinating
and enticing to outsiders. Our descent takes us through the spectacular valley
of Patacancha, where everything remains as it has since ancient times. After
our five-hour hike, we reach the town of Patacancha, where we eat lunch and
wait for our private bus to take us to the Inca site of Pumamarca (3400 m) and
then on to Ollantaytambo to see the incredible, fascinating Inca settlement
there. After a short visit, we catch the train for an incredibly scenic ride to
Agua Calientes, where we will spend the night.
Day 4: An early start this morning assures us the opportunity to see the
breathtaking sight of Machu Picchu. We will have a guided tour of this
fascinating place, and even the opportunity to climb Wayna Picchu, providing
the chance to see Machu Picchu and the surroundings from a more exclusive
vantage point. After a full day of exploring, we head back to Cuzco via train for
an 8pm arrival.
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