For me, the three days spent on the Lares trek best displayed Peru in its purest, most pristine form. Sweeping Andean landscapes with an otherworldly beauty. The Quechua people living the same way they have for hundreds, maybe thousands of years. The influence of Spanish colonization, or any foreign societies for that matter, is extremely minimal. This was my experience with the Andean culture in the raw.
Alia and I hired a local group to help us foreigners on our way to 3 separate 13,000+ ft passes in one of the most scenic parts of the Andes. The photographs will tell the rest of the story.
1 The road to the trail head would bring sights along the way.
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5 Glaciers and wild lamas, a staple of the Lares valley area.
6 Our trail would begin in a village called Quishurani, some 3750m above sea level. The road ends here.
7 The first of many stone buildings and corals that we would pass along the way, as we head up from the village towards our first pass.
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9 These foot paths have been used by locals for hundreds of years. They existed before roads, and probably before the spanish arived in 1529.
10 Our first group of wild alpacas!
11 This small lake would become a focal point to look back on as we gradually reach our first summit/pass.
12 Stangers in this strange world.
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15 Higher and higher, towards our first pass!
16 By mid day, we had reached our first pass. At 4200M, this is likely the hightest point of our trip so far.
17 And the view is breathtaking..
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19 Our hike would essentially take us from one valley, over a mountain range, and into the next valley.
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22 As we head down into the next valley, we would pass homes, waterfalls, and locals going about their day.
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25 As we decended into the valley, we would head towards Cuncani village.
26 Children from Cuncani village
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29 Near Cuncani village we would call it a night, with heavy fog and a bit of rain.
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31 In the morning we woke up with a clear view of the valley.
32 At the bottom left you can see our campsite!
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35 The way of life in these valleys has changed little over the centuries.
36 Lamas along our path this morning as we head for our 2nd pass.
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39 Even the horse was enjoying the specacular views at this pass.
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43 We would remain high in the mountains for most of the day.
44 Looking down at the village and valley of Wacahuasi.
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46 Heavy traffic on the trail today!
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50 Towards Wakahuasi pass - it would be the highest pass on the trek. 4600m.
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54 The view from Wakahuasi Pass
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62 "Valley of 100 streams" we named this final valley before camp.
63 The path was mostly downhill from this point. We would pass through cloud forrest and a few villages on the final day.
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68 After paying our respects to Pachamama, three days on the trail, three 1400ft+ passes, We have earned our visit to Machu Picchu.
