The Ausangate Trek 5 Days 4 Nights will lead you to one of the highest and most beautiful mountains in the south of Peru while discovering amazing landscapes on this natural Andean level. You will see a great diversity of mountain formations which make this region unique in the world, so for example the popular rainbow mountain which arises after the last volcanic activity.
Here, the minerals melted in bride colors! Also, you will enjoy the variety of Andean camelids such as the alpaca, llama and Vicuña in their natural habitat. You will be amazed by the local people, their traditions and colorful clothing as well as their beliefs and connection with the Apus (god mountains).
This ausangate trek is a lifetime experience and a challenging adventure where your expectations of the beauty of this area are beyond your imagination.
Our famous Ausangate Trek offers you a true adventure and sample of Andean life, as you will find and see ancient and modest communities where people still speak the language of our ancestors (Quechua) and where traditional ways of life are still used.
Our unique 5-day Ausangate trek itinerary takes you into the remote and unspoiled wilderness of the Ausangate circuit, long famous for its stunning high-altitude landscapes, turquoise lakes, herds of wandering alpacas and rainbow mountain Peru.
Plus, you’ll see hundreds and hundreds of llamas and alpacas. So if you want to do authentic Peruvian trekking off the beaten path, this is the tour for you.
You will have a through briefing with your guide 1 or 2 days before your Ausangate Trek. Your guide will meet you at our office in Cusco and you can take this opportunity to ask questions and make any final preparations.
Day 1. Cusco – Upis – Yana Qocha
We pick you up from your hotel at 4:30 am to leave the city of Cusco, we will then have three and a half hours driving to get Upis town, along the way we will see picturesque towns, and we will stop for a couple of times to enjoy the sceneries, once we arrive in Upis (the headtrail, 4,350m/ 14,272ft).
We will meet up our local muleteers and horses, where we’ll have our breakfast and get ready to start the great adventure, we will hike gradually uphill for about 2 hours and 30 minutes following the highland valley inhabited by llamas and alpacas with dramatic vistas of Ausangate in backdrop to get the lunch spot located in Pamparapa (4,600m / 15,092 feet).
Today, we’ll have lunch at a very scenic spot still with Ausangate Mountain at the background. After eating the delicious meal, we’ll still hike up for about 3 hours and 30 minutes to get the first campsite, called Yana Qocha 4,650 m / 15,256 ft, from lunch spot we’ll hike for two hours to get the first pass called Arapa pass 4,800 m/ 15,748 ft, at this point we’ll be impressed by stunning views of eroded mountains, and highland valleys.
We will then hike downhill for 1 hour and 30 minutes to get the campsite, a place with amazing views around of the Ausangate mountain. All meals included.
Day 2, Yana Qocha – Qomer Qocha
In the morning we will have a beautiful sunrise at the top of towering rocks and mountains, we will enjoy this view while having our breakfast, after having breakfast we will start trekking on an uneven trail (up and downs) this section of the trail is one of the most picturesque ones, as the blue and turquoise colored lagoons surround the bottom part of the massif Ausangate mountain 6.384 m / 20,945 ft, the highest mountain in Cusco.
After hiking for 1 hour and 30 minutes, we will start hiking up on a switchback trail to the next pass at 5,000 m / 16,404 ft. In which, we will enjoy the very dramatic vistas of Vilcanota range going in different directions, colored hills, and the glacier peaks.
From this pass, we will hike downhill to get the valley part and follow up the valley to reach our lunch spot located at the place called Ananta 4,650 m/ 15,256 ft. After lunch, we will continue trekking uphill for 2 hours to reach the next pass called Warmisaya 5,000 m / 16,404 ft from this place, we will be able to spot the Rainbow Mountain in a further distance and views are still very impressive.
The last section is downhill for 30 minutes to get the second campsite located at Qomer Qocha 4,680 m / 15,354 ft. All meals included.
Day 3, Qomer Qocha – Rainbow Mountain – Ausangate Qocha
Today’s nutritious breakfast makes us ready to go exploring the Rainbow Mountain. After enjoying our breakfast in the very early morning, we will hike up for about 1 hour and 30 minutes to get the famous Rainbow Mountain 5,050 m / 16,568 ft. And we will beat the large crowds for sure and this place will be just for us for about 45 minutes, which is enough time to enjoy the site.
After having enough time at this place, we will return by the same trail to Ananta (lunch spot of day 2), where we will have lunch again at about 12:30 pm. This afternoon, we will still continue hiking for 3 more hours to the next campsite called Ausangate Qocha 4,700 m / 15,420 ft, for about. All meals included.
Day 4, Ausangate Qocha – Jampa.
Another great day to enjoy the mind-blowing coloured hills next to the Ausangate Mt (6,384m/ 20,945 feet), the highest mountain in Cusco, and see more glacier lagoons, after having breakfast.
We will begin again with our trekking, the trail takes us to the next pass called Palomani that is at 5,130m / 16,831 feet the highest pass on the whole trail; where, we will start to take a glance the massive mountain and some other colored hills which are still close by, then, we will walk downhill to get the valley part, where we will eat our lunch.
In the late afternoon we will walk up for 2 more hours to the next camp spot located at an elevation of 4,700 m / 15,420 feet. Where in the evening we will have tea time, subsequently dinner.
Day 5, Jampa – Pacchanta Town – Cusco
Wake up hot coca tea in the morning to have another great day, after having breakfast we’ll hike up for 2 hours and 30 minutes to the last pass called Jhampa 5,060 m / 16,601 ft, where we’ll have amazing glacier peaks right infront of us. We will then trek downhill to get our last scenic lunch spot.
After lunch we’ll trek for 2 more hours to get the Pacchanta Town. Where we’ll have a chance to swim at hot springs which is optional, and at this place we’ll say goodbye to our muleteers, we will eventually drive back to hotel in Cusco for about 3 hours and 30 minutes.
Hiking to Ausangate Trek 5 Days 4 Nights is like any other high altitude trek, so it is essential to be well prepared. As it begins in the dead of night morning, consider to pack the following Items:
Prices are valid from March 2024 through January 2025. All prices quoted are $USD
* We need a minimum of 2 people to run the tour. We guarantee that your tour will be limited to a maximum of 8 people.
Important: Price includes up to 7 kilos of your personal belongings to be carried by the mules (NO need of extra Porter hire!).
