Duration: 4 Days/3 Nights
Difficulty: Moderate-Challenging
Start/End Point: Cusco
Price: From $499 USD
Overview:
Discover Ausangate’s colorful lakes, camp beneath glacier-covered peaks, and finish your adventure at Rainbow Mountain.
This four-day trek takes you beyond the day-trip viewpoints and into the mountain landscapes of the Ausangate region. Starting in Pacchanta, you’ll explore the Seven Lakes, continue toward Puca Cocha, and cross remote highland terrain before reaching the colorful slopes of Vinicunca—Peru’s famous Rainbow Mountain.
Along the way, your guide leads the hike while our trekking team takes care of camp and freshly prepared meals. You carry your daypack and enjoy the journey: mountain passes, grazing alpacas, glacial lakes, and three nights under an Andean sky.
This is a challenging high-altitude camping trek for active travelers who enjoy long walking days and remote mountain settings.
PRICE
2 Trekkers (Private): $750 USD per person
3+ Trekkers: $499 USD per person
Only your $200 non-refundable deposit is due to reserve your space! Final payments are due 30 days before your trek.
Includes:
✓ Transportation from end to end in Cusco
✓ English speaking guide
✓ All meals as listed (4 breakfasts, 4 lunches, 3 dinners) + (can accommodate dietary restrictions with proper notice)
✓ One Duffle bag per clients for items to be carried by porters (up to 22lbs/10kilos per person).
✓ Clean water for drinking provided at every meal stop + daily Snack.
✓ 3 nights camping in the wilderness.
✓ All entrance fees and permits
✓ Camping equipment (dining-kitchen tents, tents – 2 people/tent) (single occupancy available for additional charge)
✓ Professional Chef
✓ Pack animals to carry duffle + equipment (horse)
✓Emergency horse available for anyone who needs to take a break from hiking due to illness or injury
✓ Sleeping Mattress
✓ Basic First aid kit including emergency oxygen tank
Does not include:
X Gratuity for staff (Guide, chef, porters, horsemens)
X Accommodation in Cusco
X Travel insurance
X Dinner Day 4
X Walking sticks (available for rent for $20)
X Sleeping Bag (can be rented for $30)
X Private Single Tent ($30)
X Sales Tax
Full Itinerary
DAY 1: Cusco – Pacchanta- Seven Lakes
Your first steps beneath Ausangate’s glaciers
We leave Cusco at 4 am and travel to Pacchanta, an Andean community at the foot of the Ausangate mountains. Here we’ll have our first Breakfast and, meet our trekking team and prepare for the trail. Our hike begins with 2-3 hours climbing gradually through open highland pastures, with views of snow-covered peaks rising ahead. As we approach the Seven Lakes region, the landscape changes from grassy valleys to glacial lagoons in shades of turquoise, blue, and green.
We take time to enjoy the viewpoints and photograph the lakes before continuing to our first campsite. In the evening, settle into camp and enjoy a warm dinner surrounded by the mountains you’ll explore over the coming days.
- Walking Distance: 6km/3.7miles (4-5 hours)
- Accommodation : Camping at 7 lakes- 4,200m/ 13,780ft
- Highest Elevation: 4800m/15,748ft
- Difficulty: Moderate/Challenging (high altitude)
- Weather: Morning-Cool/windy, Nighttime windy, cold.
- Includes: B,L,D
DAY 2: 7 lakes- Hatun Puka Cocha Campsiste
A full day of mountain walking and glacier views
After breakfast at camp, we continue toward Upis valley and Hatun Puca Cocha (4800m/15,748ft). Today is about the journey between the lakes: following mountain trails, watching the scenery change, and enjoying a part of the Andes that a short day tour cannot reach.
Your guide sets a steady pace, with breaks along the way to rest and take in the views. The altitude makes the walking demanding, so there is no need to rush through the landscape.
As we approach Puca Cocha, the lakes and surrounding mountain walls become the focus of the afternoon. We finish at our next campsite, where there is time to relax before dinner and another night in the high Andes.
- Walking Distance: 16km/11miles (7-8 hrs)
- Accommodation: Camping – Puca cocha lake-4,500m/ 14,764ft
- Elevation: 4800m/15,748ft
- Difficulty: Challenging (high altitude)
- Weather: Cold/Windy
- Includes: B,L,D
DAY 3: Puka Cocha– Yana Cocha
From glacial lakes toward Rainbow Mountain
Wake up to the mountain scenery around Puca Cocha and enjoy breakfast before we continue toward Yanacocha.
Today brings another rewarding day on the trail as we leave the lakes behind and move through the high mountain landscape toward the final stage of our trek. Expect sustained walking at altitude, with breaks to catch your breath and appreciate the surrounding ridges and valleys.
By the time we reach Yanacocha, Rainbow Mountain is the next day’s goal. Enjoy dinner with your trekking companions, prepare for the morning’s hike, and settle into your final night of camping.
- Walking Distance: 14km/8,669ml (8-9 hrs)
- Accommodation: Camping-Yanacocha (4,500/14,764ft)
- Elevation: 4,800m/14,430ft/14,760 ft
- Difficulty: Challenging (high altitude)
- Weather: Morning-Cold/windy; cold at night
- Includes: B,L,D
DAY – 4: Yana Cocha- Rainbow Mountain- Cusco
A colorful finish to your Andean adventure
After an early breakfast, we begin the final hike toward Vinicunca, better known as Rainbow Mountain (be there before the crowded arrive)
Reaching the viewpoint is the reward for four days of mountain walking. Bands of mineral-colored earth stretch across the slopes, framed by the surrounding high Andes. We pause to enjoy the landscape, take photographs, and celebrate the journey that brought us here.
After visiting Rainbow Mountain, and walk through Red Valley, we descend to the vehicle pickup point and enjoy lunch before the drive back to Cusco. You return with more than a photograph of one famous mountain—you’ve experienced the lakes, trails, and campsites beyond it.
- Walking Distance: 10km/6.214 miles (4 Hours)
- Elevation: 5,040 m / 16,535 ft
- Difficulty: Moderate/Downhill
- Weather: Cool during the day
- Includes: B,L
- Van ride to Cusco: 3 hours
Here is why YOU should Book with First Step Expeditions a local travel company:
- Expert local Guides & the famous Red Army.
- Top quality camping gear.
- Commitment to Staff Welfare.
- Gourmet Meals on the trail.
- Commitment to sustainability.
- 5-Star reviews on TripAdvisor from hikers worldwide.
UPCOMING GROUPS–2027 SEASON:
| April 20-23, 2027 | Book Now | July 5-8, 2027 | Book Now |
| May 5-8, 2027 | Book Now | July 20-23, 2027 | Book Now |
| May 20-23, 2027 | Book Now | August 4-7, 2027 | Book Now |
| June 4-7 2027 | Book Now | August 19-22, 2027 | Book Now |
| June 19-22, 2027 | Book Now | September 4-7, 2027 | Book Now |
Don’t see a date that works for you? Please contact us at info@firststepexpeditions.com for more options!
