We start from Cusco very early in the morning at 5:00 am for our three-hour private transportation to the small town of Tinqui (3800 meters / 12,464 feet). As Tinqui is on the new Interoceanic highway, now it can be reached much faster than in the  previous years.

We pass through beautiful landscapes and several traditional villages such as Urcos, Cattca and Ocangate, Tinqui, the first 4 hours of the road are wonderful views to the magnificent landscape of the Vilcanota mountain range, with excellent views of Ausangate, then we will get  Upis hot springs. After our breakfast in Upis’ hot springs  (4,400 meters / 14,432 feet), we offer fantastic views of Ausangate at the end of the valley. We will start with our uphill walk approx. 2 hours, we will cross the Abra de Arapa (4,850 meters / 15,908 feet). From here, we continue for 3 hours and a half descending through the valley, passing through the green lagoon of Puqa Q’ocha until we reach the turquoise waters of the Jatun Puqa Q’ocha lake where we will have lunch. After that, we will climb the second pass of Chilca (4,900 meters / 16,072 feet), from this step on the road we start walking downhill to get the campsite. Once in the first camp we will enjoy tea time, then dinner.

*Trekking Time, 7 – 8 hours approx …

In the morning we will have a beautiful sunrise from the top of Ausangate’s summit, we will enjoy this view while having our breakfast, after hiking for 2 hours to get the next step which is 5,000 m / 16,350feet, from there we will walk downhill and in the flat sections of the highlands to get the famous Rainbow Mountains, after enjoying the breathtaking views on these colored hills we will come back in the same way to get the same campsite to take our lunch. In the afternoon we will continue on foot for 2 and a half hours to reach the second campsite called Ausangateqocha (4,700 m / 15,369feet), this campsite is located at the back of the Ausangate mountain so we will see the mountain from a Different angle, we will spend the night in the Ausangate qocha camp, where we will see many birds of the highlands. In the afternoon we will have tea time, then dinner.

*Trekking Time, 9 hour aprox.

From the lake we ascend towards the Palomani Pass (5,200 meters / 17,056 feet) – the highest point of the walk. From that we follow the path to the valley where we can rest and have lunch. In the afternoon you can enjoy the views of the snow-capped Tres Picos and Punta Puca. We will continue through the wide green valley of Pampa Jutunpata and up the valley of the Q’ampa River. We will spend the third night in this area.

After passing through the small community of Q’ampa we will head northwest until the last pass of this hike – open Q’ampa (5,000 meters / 16,400 feet). We will see several lakes of different colors and we will have lunch next to Q’oma Q’ocha. We will walk for several hours before arriving at the small town of Pacchanta. We can enjoy the hot springs for a couple of hours and even have a well-deserved beer! We will establish a camp near Pacchanta and have the afternoon free to explore this interesting Andean town. (You have the option of staying in a basic hostel this night).

It is a 4 hour walk back to Tinqui, where we will have time to explore this traditional Andean town before taking our private transportation back to Cusco, we will arrive at approximately 6:00 pm.