Highlight:

Ausangate Mountain, remote mountain scenery, High Mountain passes, quieter trails, less tourists, local villages.

 

Begin from: Cusco / Tinqui Village

End in: Tinqui village / Cusco

Duration: 06 Days/ 05 Nights

Physical Rating: Hard/Challenging

Accommodation: Camping 4 season tents & Thermal Rest Mattresses

 

Difficulty degree of this hike: Difficult/Challenging due to the altitude: we recommend a period of at least 3 days for acclimatization in Cusco or over 3000m/9840ft.

 

Trekking thought the sacred Mountain of Ausangate

The peak of Ausangate is considered sacred by the local populace. It is the central most powerful point of pilgrimage for today's Quechua/Inca descendants. You will be circling Ausangate, passing other peaks, crossing passes and bogs, seeing glaciers, climbing up and down hills, camping by lagoons and viewing some of Peru’s most spectacular scenery. It will be high and cold, but there is hot springs along the way.

Day 01 - Cusco / Tinqui  to Upis

Pick up from your Hotel at 06:00; we depart from Cusco to Tinqui (3815m/12513ft) in our private transportation and travel about 3 hours to reach the small Andean village of Tinqui at the foot of the Vilcanota range. Driving through the beautiful countryside, we pass several traditional villages including Urcos, Ccatcca, Ocongate finally we will arrive to Tinqui, where we can stop for rests and meet with our horsemen and horses also we’ll put all our things on the horses. Our trek begins around 10:00 crossing the bridge we walk a pampa of grassy meadows below the jagged stone flanks of Ausangate Mountain (6350m/20828ft), the highest snow peak in Southern Peru. After trekking approximately 6 hours, we arrive to the hot springs of Upis (4400m/14432ft). Here we spent the night at a lovely campsite in Upis.

Meals included: Lunch, Dinner

Day 02 - Upis / Arapa Pass to Pucacocha Lagoon

Breakfast; on the next day, we hike around 2 hours to get our first pass, Arapa Pass (4750m/ 15580ft). To be in the pass we will have to walk up the valley along the right slope before climbing a rock-strewn area. A hut and a few corrals form the last settlement we will come across before you climb toward the mountain. Throughout all the passage we will see the majestic Ausangate Mountain. Finally we arrive to the Arapa Pass; from the pass we enjoy wonderful views not only of Ausangate itself. Follow the fence line and cross the ridge by walking to the left of the steep hill between it and Nevado Ausangate. We continue down we have the opportunity to see beautiful lakes, multi-colored lagoons until we reach the larger Yanacocha lake (black lake) where we have our lunch, after the lunch one hour more to the camping site near the Pucacocha Lagoon (4500m/14760ft), We will set up camp here.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 03 - Pucacocha / Palomani Pass to Pampacancha

In the morning, we make a short ascent to our second pass of Apacheta, (4850m/15908ft) then down until Ausangatecocha lagoon below where we will have our lunch. After the lunch climb for two hours towards the third mountain pass, the Abra de Palomani (5200m/17056ft). This is the highest part of the entire hike, from which we then descend for another 2 hours through an area of llamas, alpacas and “vizcachas” to reach Pampacancha. We can enjoy fantastic views of Ausangate and the Vilcanota range from this point. Then we walk down into a valley, we arrive to our incredibly beautiful campsite at Pampacancha (4050m/13284ft)

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 04 - Pampacancha / Qampa Pass to Qomercocha

After breakfast; we climb gently up the Qampa side valley, criss-crossing a stream, and passing ancient rock falls where Andean vizcachas large rabbit-like rodents leap among the boulders. On this less-populous southern side of the mountain our chances of seeing wildlife are heightened. Condors skim along the slopes, and elusive herds of rare vicuñas may appear on the ridge tops, while keeping a safe distance. Beyond the tiny hamlet of Qampa we traverse a huge, grassy shoulder of Ausangate with the icy crags of Collque Cruz (Silver Cross) and Tres Picos (Three Peaks) to our right, as we ascend to Qampa pass (5000m/16400ft), our fourth and final crossing. The high point is marked by tall cairns (apachetas) built by generations of foot travellers making the north-south traverse of the Vilcanota range. We descend with the broad, rolling plains of the upper Mapacho basin spread out far below us, reaching our camp at the cluster of lakes known Qomercocha, as evening draws near.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 05 - Qomercocha to Pacchanta

Breakfast; we leave this spectacular camp reluctantly, with many a glance back. These lonely lakes, some deep and crystal clear, others shallow and bubbling with exotic algae, lie beneath sharp, towering peaks. Powerful yet peaceful, it is easy to understand how this became a place of ceremony for the Quechua shamans of the Region. We follow a series of rolling ridges across open grassland, encountering child shepherds and women hand-spinning wool as we approach the village of Pacchanta (4100m/13448ft), the biggest settlement on our trek. Here delightful hot springs offer us a sublime soak, with the entire panorama of snow-capped Ausangate filling the southern horizon.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 06 - Pacchanta to Tinqui

Breakfast; we leave Pacchanta and start to walk our way back to Tinqui, which will take approximately 2 hours. Once in Tinqui, we board a private transportation that will take us back to the city of Cusco, where we estimate to arrive after nightfall.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

What we recommend that you bring:

• A backpack with a change of clothes for the whole period of the trek
• Rain gear (jacket and pants if available) or rain poncho (plastic ponchos can be purchased in Cusco)
• Strong footwear, waterproof trekking boots recommended
• Sandals or jogging shoes for a higher comfort while at camp
• Warm clothes, including jacket, fleeces. Thermal clothing is also recommended, especially for sleeping. A down jacket is especially recommended for this trek since it runs at high altitude and temperatures may easily drop below freezing in the evening and at nights.
• Flashlight/headlamp and batteries
• Camera, films and batteries (batteries consume more quickly under cold conditions)
• Hat or cap to protect you from the sun, rain and cold
• Sun block
• After-sun cream or hydrating cream for face and body
• Handkerchiefs
• Toilet paper
• Snacks: biscuits, energy bars, chocolate, raw fruits, muesli, etc. Please beware that we do provide a daily morning snack and our meal service is very complete and well supplied. This recommendation applies for all clients being used to a specific snack, as it may happen that it is not included in our selection
• Non-disposable canteen (Nalgene type) and water for the first morning. Optionally: water sterilizing tablets in case you pick up water from streams or rivers along the route. Otherwise, we provide filtered boiled water, which is safe to drink and has not reported any health problem so far
• Small towel
• Swimsuit (if you wish take a dip at the hot springs along the route)
• Cash in soles and/or US$
• Copy of original passport
• Optional: walking sticks or poles

Appropriate clothing along this hike

Hiking pants and T-shirts are recommended during the day, complemented by sweaters, fleeces and waterproof jackets. It is very convenient to have light raingear available in the daypack (rain poncho or jacket and/or rain pants) as the weather changes easily and rains can suddenly occur. At night, warm clothing is required along the whole route, down jackets, down sleeping bags and thermal clothes being much recommended. The rest of necessary implements are included in the “What we recommend that you bring” list.

 

Climate
Cusco’s climate is divided into two differentiated seasons: the rainy season, from November to April (the heaviest rainfalls occurring usually between January – March); and the dry season, from May to October. The dry season is colder, so temperatures can drop to below 0 degrees at night.

Along the Ausangate, temperatures range from 10-20ºC during the day if it’s sunny, to 05-10ºC during the day if not sunny. Given the high altitude of the campsites, temperatures drop significantly in the evening and especially at night, where they may get down to -10ºC or even lower in the dry season. Warm clothes are therefore especially requested for this hike.