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Lares to Machu Picchu
4 day Trek "The Weaver's Way"
*** LM4G Lares to Machu Picchu 4 day Group Service 2011
***
 With this
service you join one of our groups so you will find yourself
trekking with a variety of like-minded
people from all over the world. This service is perfect for individuals, couples and small groups of friends.
Trek
Itinerary
Day 1: Cusco -
Calca - Quishuarani (Lares) - Cuncani
Day 2: Cuncani -
Huacawasi - Ipsaycocha Lake
Day 3: Ipsaycoccha
Lake - Patacancha - Willoq - Ollantaytambo - Aguas Calientes
Day 4: Aguas
Calientes - Machu Picchu - Aguas Calientes - Cusco
See detailed trek
itinerary and map
Price per person
(2010): US$465
* the above price now INCLUDES all credit card & PayPal transfer fees
associated with paying the trek deposit within the cost of the trek.
Many companies will charge you an additional 9% fee to pay by credit
card or an additional US$20 to pay by bank transfer. We also
include a personal porter or horse FREE OF CHARGE to carry up to
6kg of your personal items (typical cost US$30).
Discounts: US$20 discount on
the above prices to students with a valid International Student
Identity Card (ISIC) and to children under the age of 16 years old
(scans of your ISIC card or child's passport must be provided at
the time of paying the trek deposit in order to qualify for the
discount). International Youth Travel Cards (IYTC) or other forms
of student identity are not acceptable. We can also offer a US$10
per person discount for group bookings of 4 persons or more,
provided just one person in the group is responsible for making
the booking and sending the trek deposit. Unfortunately we do not
offer travel agent discounts or commissions, this allows us to
offer the lowest price possible.
Available Trek Departure
Dates 2011:
Unfortunately we
are no longer accepting any further bookings for our Lares to
Machu Picchu trek. This is because we are very busy operating our
Inca Trail trek. Sorry for any inconvenience.
When to make a trek booking: Trek permits are
not required for this trek so, unlike the Inca Trail, we can
accept booking right up until 2 weeks before the trek departure
date depending on availability within the group. However train
tickets are required for the section between Ollantaytambo and
Aguas Calientes so the further in advance you make a booking
the better chance that we will be able to obtain the train tickets
for you (we recommend making a booking at least 1 month in
advance). We do not recommend waiting until you arrive in Cusco to
make a trek booking unless you have already booked your train
tickets and Machu Picchu entrance ticket.
Group Size: Typical group size
6-8
persons, Minimum 04 persons, Maximum group size only 12
persons
Guaranteed trek departures with just 4 persons, we won't even ask you to pay any
more!!
Includes:
Transport:
Private bus from Cusco to start of trek (Lares), Private bus from end of trek
(Willoq) to Ollantaytambo, Train from Ollantaytambo to Aguas
Calientes (US$34). Tourist bus from Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu (US$7),
Tourist bus from
Machu Picchu to Aguas Calientes (US$7), train from Aguas Calientes to
Ollantaytambo (US$34), Tourist bus from Ollantaytambo to Cusco
Trekking Team: All of our
trekking team are 100% Peruvian from Cusco or the surrounding
villages. The team includes an English-speaking professionally
qualified guide, assistant guide for groups of 10 or more persons,
experienced cook, assistant cook for groups of 10 or more persons,
horsemen/wranglers (known locally as arrieros) and horses
(to carry the tents, food, and cooking equipment).
An emergency horse will also be provided in case someone requires
help.
Horses & llamas* are also included to carry your
personal equipment such as sleeping bag, mattress and change of
clothing up to a maximum of 6kg per person (now included free of
charge).
* Llamas are subject to availability
and can only carry small loads max 6kg.
Equipment: 4 Person dome igloo
tents - 2 persons per tent with plenty of space for your
backpacks, Double thickness foam sleeping mattress, Cooking
equipment, Dining tent, Kitchen tent, Accommodation for our horsemen and cooks,
First aid kit including emergency oxygen bottle.
Entrance Fees:
Entrance to Machu Picchu (S/126 adults, S/63 students and
children)
Meals: 03 breakfasts,
03 hot lunches,
03 hot dinners - food includes pancakes,
omelettes, soups, fresh fruit, avocado, pasta, chicken, fish, meat,
rice, all rich in carbohydrates and suitable for trekking, hot
drinks including coca leaf tea which is excellent for the
altitude. Teatime everyday (tea, coffee, biscuits, popcorn)
Accommodation:
Basic hostal in Aguas Calientes on the 3rd night (based on 2 persons
sharing a room).
Other: The price of the
trek includes all local sales taxes.
Excludes:
Breakfast on the first morning. Some hotels offer an early morning
breakfast service. If not, we stop at the town of Calca on the way
to the start of the trek where you’ll have the opportunity to buy
breakfast, Meal (lunch) in restaurant in Aguas Calientes on the
final day. Entrance to the thermal springs in Aguas Calientes
(optional) US$3, Sleeping bags can be hired in our office for the
4 day trek (every sleeping bag is washed prior to each use), Tips
for the guide, cook and horsemen. If you decide to stay an extra
night in Aguas Calientes after the trek any costs associated with
extra accommodation, meals, entrance fees and bus tickets if
returning to Machu Picchu etc are not included. Entrance fees for the trek/local community payments are not
included in the price of the trek, however currently there are no
entrance fees associated with doing this trek.
Trek Options:
1. Single accommodation in Aguas Calientes.
Our trek prices are based on two people sharing a room in Aguas
Calientes. If you would like a single room to yourself there will
be a US$20 surcharge. Please let us know if you prefer a single
room at the time of paying the trek deposit
2. An extra night in Aguas Calientes can easily be arranged
independently. Hotels costs and costs associated with returning
to Machu Picchu the following day are additional to trek costs.
For more information see our frequently asked questions. Please note that if you spend an
extra night in Aguas Calientes we will purchase your train tickets
from Aguas Calientes to Ollantaytambo, for the following day.
We won't be able to send a bus especially to collect you
from Ollantaytambo so you can catch one of the many
buses waiting for the train to take you back to Cusco
(approx extra cost US$5).
3. We can also provide vegetarian meals or cater for special diets
at no extra cost but we need to know when you make the trek
reservation.
4. You can hire sleeping bags in our office US$15 per
person for duration of the trek. All sleeping
bags are synthetic (easy to wash). They
are washed after
every use and are guaranteed to be clean. Weight 2.5 kg and are rated to 10 degrees below freezing
(nice and warm even during the coldest of nights experienced on
the trek)..
Making a Trek Booking:
Prior to making a reservation it is important to read through our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ). This will help answer any
queries that you may have about our services or about the trek in
general. In order to make a booking with our 4 day Lares to Machu
Picchu group service just click on the Reservations link below.
The reservations page contains information about how to make a
booking, as well as details of how to pay your trek deposit
(US$200 per person) and final balance when you arrive in
Cusco.
** CLICK HERE TO BOOK THE LARES TO MACHU PICCHU
4 DAY GROUP SERVICE 2011 **
Why choose Peru Treks ?
Peru Treks has been working hard to become one of Peru's most
responsible tour operators. Since we operate all of our own treks
we have complete control over the quality of our service. We
want to make sure that you have a great experience on the trek, however it is also important that everyone involved in the
operation of our treks is well treated and cared for and that the
benefits brought by tourism are shared throughout the Peruvian
communities. We now employ 20 professional Peruvian guides (all
bilingual) and nearly 250 porters and horse wranglers (arrieros)
the majority of whom have worked with us for over 7 years. All of
our horse wranglers used for the Lares Trek live in one of the
mountain communities in the Lares Valley and all the pack animals
(horses, mules and llamas) are owned by either the wranglers or
the communities. Peru Treks is recommended in many guidebooks including South
American Handbook (Footprint), Peru Handbook (Footprint), The Inca
Trail Cusco & Machu Picchu Guide (Trailblazer), Peru Guide
(Moon handbooks), Lonely Planet Peru Guide, South America on a
Shoestring & the Rough Guide to South America on a Budget. In October 2006 Peru Treks was awarded the Best
Travel Agency in Cusco by the Ministry of Tourism. Peru Treks have
also been recommended in several articles in the New York Times
and Independent newspapers. The Lonely Planet Guide to Peru
(published March 2007) describes Peru Treks as a "locally owned, ecoconscious company with experienced guides; it also invests in
the ethical treatment of porters. Highly recommended". It is the
only trekking company to be highly recommended.
Community Projects: Ever since
Peru Treks was first established we have been helping to spread
some of the benefits brought by tourism to local communities
by donating school equipment to village schools and ensuring that
it is properly used. A large percentage of the profits made by
Peru Treks go towards such community projects. (rather than just
talking about helping communities we would prefer to be judged
upon our actions. Information and photos of our most recent
projects can be seen on our
community projects page). In March
2005 we built a new school for 60 children in the remote mountain
village of Checaspampa near Ausangate. In November 2006 we
completed the construction of a primary school for 30 children in
the community of Pinipujio in the district of Ccatcca (on the road
between Cusco and Ausangate). In 2007, with help from some of our
clients from Canada, we were able to construct a Kindergarten for
30 children together with toilet block and repairs to the primary
school in the community of Pampallacta near Chahuaytire in the
mountains behind Pisac. In 2008 we distributed school equipment to
over 2000 children living in the foothills of the great Ausangate
mountain. We did the same again in 2009 as well as donating 15 new
computers (Pentium IV, 17" LCD monitors with DVD-writer) to
schools in the Ocongate province, a remote mountainous region
about 4 hours by car from Cusco. In 2010 we got off to a slow
start to the year due to many booking cancellations caused by
Machu Picchu being closed for 10 weeks. School equipment
distribution finally started in May and by the end of the year we
still managed to donate our target of 20 new computers to secondary schools in the
mountain villages. For the last 4 years we have "adopted" the
secondary school of Tiracanchi and continue to pay for their
school promotion (around 23 children & 4 adults). In 2007 the visit was to Cusco & Machu Picchu,
in 2008, 2009 & 2010 the promotion went to Cusco & Lake Titicaca. Many
of these children had never left their village before, never been
on a bus, seen a restaurant or eaten an ice-cream!!
Starting in April 2011 we hope to distribute school equipment to a
record 2250 children and continue to donate warm clothing to some
of the communities in the more remote districts. Following on from
the success of our computer donations we hope to donate another 20
computers later in 2011. Thanks for all your support.
IMPORTANT:
Possible changes to the Lares to Machu Picchu trek price 2011:
(information updated on the 01 March
2011)
As we publish our prices well in advance, we may occasionally be
faced with significant cost increases due to factors over which we
have no control. As such we reserve the right to impose surcharges
(or price decreases) up to 2 days before departure due to
increases in Machu Picchu entrance fee, unfavourable
exchange rates, increases in train fares or other transport costs,
taxes, or if government action should require us to do so.
The above trek prices are based
on the following third party costs which are outside of our
control:
1: Machu Picchu
entrance fee is 126 Peruvian Soles,
about US$45 (50% discount for students with ISIC
cards and children <16yrs). The price paid for the entrance fee is clearly marked
on the entrance ticket. The government
reserves the right to increase the entrance fee at any time and
may only give us one or two weeks notice
although any increase in 2011 is highly unlikely at this stage.
2: Included in the price of the trek
is the train from Ollantaytambo to Aguas
Calientes and Aguas Calientes to
Ollantaytambo on the Expedition
service which currently costs US$34 per person
each way. (details of service and price can be
checked on the Peru Rail website
www.perurail.com) The Peru Rail website states that
they
reserve the right to change the price at anytime. The price paid for the train ticket is clearly marked on
the ticket.
3. Included in the price of the trek
is the bus ticket from Machu Picchu to Aguas Calientes
which currently costs US$8 per person. It is not anticipated
that these costs will increase during 2011, and if they do they
are unlikely to increase by more than US$2 per person. The price
paid for the train ticket is clearly marked on the ticket.
4. Exchange Rate.
The trek price of US$465 is based on
an exchange rate on the 01 March 2011 was 1 USD = 2.75 Peruvian
Soles. Although we accept payment for the trek in US dollars the
majority of our expenses are in Peruvian Soles (trek permits,
wages, food, taxes). Peru Treks will absorb any change in costs up
to 10 points difference from 2.75. i.e. if the exchange rate falls
to 2.65 we will not ask you to pay any additional surcharge. If
however the value of the US dollar falls below 2.65 we will ask
you to pay a US$10 surcharge, if the value falls below 2.55 we
will ask you to pay a US$20 surcharge, below 2.45 we will ask you
to pay a US$30 surcharge etc etc. Peru Treks will have to show any
calculations to clearly justify such surcharges.
If any of the third party costs
listed above change to increase the cost of the trek we will
immediately update the trek price listed on our website (apart
from the exchange rate which can continue to go up and down
throughout the year so the website will not be updated to reflect
these cost changes). Clients will be liable for paying any increased cost of the Inca Trail trek
upon arrival in Cusco.
** CLICK HERE TO BOOK THE LARES TO MACHU PICCHU
4 DAY GROUP SERVICE 2011 **
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