Humantay Lake Tour from Cusco: Soraypampa and the Lake Trek

The Humantay Lake tour from Cusco takes you out of the city before dawn and into the high country around Salkantay. A guide collects you from your homestay, hostel or hotel in the historic centre, and after roughly two hours on the road you stop in Mollepata for breakfast and to buy water and snacks.

One more hour of driving brings you to Soraypampa, a high plateau where Apu Salkantay and Humantay rise in front of you. Here you get ready with your day pack and start the two-hour walk to the lake. The way up is steep, but the group is small and the guide lets you set your own pace. The highest point of the tour is 4,200 metres.

At the lake you can take in the view of the water and, if you wish, make a short optional climb to one side for a wider panorama. The return is the easy part: about an hour downhill to Soraypampa, then private transport to Mollepata for a local buffet lunch before the drive back to Cusco.

• Pickup and drop-off in the historic centre
• Bilingual guide, transport, breakfast and a buffet lunch with a vegetarian choice
• First-aid kit, an optional walking stick and an emergency oxygen bottle

The entrance ticket and horse rental are paid separately in cash. The tour does not suit pregnant women, wheelchair users or people with mobility or respiratory problems.