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Mt. Ausangate Trek and Climb – Itinerary
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Trip Dates:
• May 30 to June 15, 2008 (17 Days)
Land Cost:
• 7-9 Participants: $2495.00 (does not include airfare)
• 4-6 Participants: $2795.00 (does not include airfare)
• 3 Participants Minimum: $3195.00 (does not include airfare)
***Save $50 if you sign up by February 15, 2008***
Single supplement:
• Land cost plus $125.00 for private room and tent
Machu Picchu Two Day Add-On
• Machu Picchu Add-on $660.00 (double occupancy), $700.00 (single)
Two Day Inca Trail Express Add-On
• Inca Trail Express Add-on $670.00 (double occupancy), $700.00 (single)
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Day-by-day Itinerary
General
*Except where noted, continental breakfast, lunch and dinner will be provided to you every day, included in your land cost.
Day 1
Fly from the U.S.A. to Lima. Stay overnight in Lima at a hotel near the airport.
Day 2
Flight from Lima to Cuzco: Continental breakfast is provided before your early morning flight to Cuzco. Arriving in Cuzco a short drive takes us to are hotel in the heart of Cuzco, here you are welcomed with a drink of coca tea. Drinking coca tea is a local custom to aid in your acclimatization. After checking into your rooms you will be on your own to eat lunch in one of the many diverse restaurants found around the main plaza. Following lunch, you will have the afternoon free to explore around the city of Cuzco on your own. Later the group will go out for a welcome dinner. Breakfast and dinner are provided.
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Day 3
Chinchero Market: An early departure from the hotel, we drive to the village of Chinchero and visit the colorful Sunday market.The morning is spent walking through the market, an excellent place for photographing the local colors and customs. We will be given a private weaving demonstration by some of the local Indian women and have the opportunity to purchase weavings and other handicrafts from them. In the afternoon we visit the ancient salt mine of Moray walk from there to the bottom of the Urubamba River valley. We then drive back to Cuzco and enjoy strolling the streets of this ancient city. You will stay overnight in Cuzco. Breakfast and lunch provided, dinner not included.
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Day 4
Hiking in the hills above Cuzco: Today you will spend more than half of the day exploring five different ruins in the hills above the city of Cuzco. We drive 3 miles out of town and then walk back to Cuzco, visiting and exploring each of these ruins along the way. This walk provides an opportunity to witness the daily agricultural life of the highland people working their fields and tending to their Llamas and Alpacas. A picnic lunch will be served in a grassy meadow near one of the ruins. This will be a very enjoyable day and one that will help everyone get better acclimatized for the trek and climb ahead. You will stay overnight in Cuzco. Breakfast and lunch provided, dinner not included.
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Day 5
Cuzco to Tinqui and the village of Upis. We depart Cuzco early in the morning and drive 5 hours to the village of Tinqui (12,500ft). Here we meet our animal drivers and horses, get the gear loaded on the animals and begin our trek. This day will be an easy day of walking toward Mt. Ausangate. We will camp above the hamlet of Upis (14,765ft) and choose some nice hot spring to soak in. 4-5 hrs walking.
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Day 6
Rest Day: It is extremely important that we get acclimatized properly so that we perform well on the climb. Due to the altitude of this campsite and the following passes and campsites we will spend a day here to adjust to the altitude and possibly go for an easy hike beneath the immense northwest face of Ausangate.
Day 7
Upis to Laguna Jatun Pucacocha: Leaving Upis we walk up a beautiful valley directly beneath the huge west face of Ausangate and then turn right and gain 1,650 ft to reach our first pass called Arapa (approximately 16,400ft.). A gradual descent brings us to a group of lakes in the next valley. We continue up this valley and camp at the beautiful Laguna Jatun Pucacocha directly beneath the southwest side of the mountain. This campsite is high (15,195ft) and will probably be cold too. 5-6 hrs walking. |
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Day 8
Laguna Jatun Pucacocha to Ausangate Base Camp: Today is a fairly big day of walking with two high passes, lots of views of Ausangate and the cascading glaciers. Leaving camp we immediately begin a 2 hrs climb of Cerro Ausangate pass (16,500ft.) followed by a steep descent in the next valley. We pass by the beautiful lake of Ausangate and then make another steep climb to the top of Palomino pass (16,750ft.). From Palomino pass we can see the upper slopes of the east side of Ausangate and our planned route to the summit. The views of Ausangate are spectacular and we begin to see more glaciated peaks of the region. Leaving the pass we make another steep descent into the next valley where our base camp will be set up at 15,400ft for the climb. 6-7 hrs of walking. |
Day 9
Climb to Camp I on Ausangate: Our goal today is to carry food, tents and other equipment up to camp I at around 18,000ft. and then return to base camp to sleep. This will aid us in acclimatizing better for the climb itself. 6-7 hrs of walking.
Day 10
Sleep at Camp I: We leave base camp for good and carry our personal gear up to camp I and move in for the night. Since it will probably take us about 4-5 hrs to reach camp I we will have the remainder of the day to rest and hydrate really well. Depending on the snow line we may or may not be camping on snow.
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Day 11
Move to Camp 2: Early to bed early to rise. We break camp and carry all of our gear (with the help of porters) up to camp 2. This day we will for sure be roped up and on the glacier. Camp 2 is located on a snow ramp at around 19,000ft. The climbing to camp 2 is not hard, but involves moderate snow climbing at altitude. This will put us in a good position to reach the summit the following day. 5-6hrs.
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Day 12
Summit day: We will awake about 2 am and depart by 3 am so that we can ascend the 400ft high headwall and reach the summit slopes by sunrise. Once on the summit slopes we have a very long gradual walk, normally in deep snow to the summit ridge. This final ridge is quite spectacular as we can look straight down the 5000ft northwest face of Ausangate.
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The summit itself is only big enough for a few people at a time and the views from 20,926ft are nothing short of spectacular. Hopefully we will be on the summit by 9am and back to high camp by early afternoon so that we can pack up camp and descend at least to camp I. 12-14hr day. |
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Day 13
Return To Base Camp: Up with the sun and pack up our camp and head back to base camp. We should arrive for lunch and have the remainder of the day to relax. 3-4hrs.
Day 14
Base Camp to Laguna Azulcocha: Leaving base camp we walk down valley for about 1 hour to the main Rio Jampamayo river valley and the walk up this long valley toward our final pass called Campa (16,400ft). Crossing Camp pass we now have completed the circuit of the Ausangate massif as we descend back to the north side. We will finish the day camping at a beautiful lake called Laguna Azulcocha, directly below the enormous north face of Ausangate. It will be a great end to a long trek before heading back to Cuzco. 6-7hrs.
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Day 15
Laguna Azulcocha to Pachanta Hot Springs to Tinqui and Cuzco: It is all down hill from here the Pachanta hot springs and then down the road toward Tinqui. If we are lucky maybe our bus will drive up to meet us so we do not have to walk all the way into town. 4-5 hrs walking. Once on the bus we will still have a 4-5 hrs drive back to Cuzco. It will be a long day but well worth it.
Day 16
Cuzco to Lima: You will have the morning to do any last minute shopping in Cuzco before going to the airport for your flight to Lima. There will be time for dinner and then you will check in for your night flight home.
 Day 17
Arrive in the USA.
Two Day Machu Picchu Add-On:
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Full Land Costs:
• $660 (Based on Double Occupancy)
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Departing very early in the morning you board the Vistadome train from Cuzco traveling down into the "Sacred Valley of the Incas" and through the Urubamba River Gorge. This four-hour ride passes through beautiful rolling hills beneath snowcapped peaks and along the rushing waters of the Urubamba River. The journey ends in the small town of Aguas Caliente where you will be met by your hotel representative and taken to your hotel to check in. Following your hotel check-in, it will be time to have an early buffet lunch at a nice restaurant by the river. After lunch you will go to the bus station to board a bus, which takes you to the ruins of Machu Picchu. You will have the rest of the day for exploration of this magical place after the majority of the tourists have headed back down to Aguas Caliente to catch their train to Cuzco. This ancient citadel sits on a narrow ridge several thousand feet above the Urubamba River. If you desire, you can hike up the Inca Trail to Intipunku (gate of the sun) and have extraordinary views of this amazing Inca city and the peak of Huayna Picchu rising above. The last bus back down to Aguas Caliene is 5:15pm. We recommend you stay in the ruins until then, to enjoy having the ruins to yourself after most of the daily tourist have left. An overnight stay in Aguas Caliente awaits you. Breakfast and lunch provided, dinner on your own.Day 1
Cuzco to Machu Picchu:
Day 2
Machu Picchu to Cuzco: It is recommended that you rise early and take one of the first busses back to Machu Picchu to enter the ruins at sunrise, and have it all to yourself before the tourist trains arrive from Cuzco. After you have watched the sun rise over Machu Picchu, the remainder of the morning will be spent exploring Machu Picchu with a local bi-lingual guide in a group tour. Following your tour, if time permits, you can hike up to the summit of Huayna Picchu for magnificent views of the surrounding valley. In the early afternoon you will need return to Aguas Caliente, have a quick lunch and board the train for the 4-hour ride back to Cuzco. Continental breakfast provided. Lunch and dinner is on your own in Aguas Caliente and Cuzco.
Two Day Inca Trail to Machu Picchu Express Add-On:
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Full Land Costs:
• $670 (Based on Double Occupancy)
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This short hike takes us along the final stretch of the Inca Trail, through tropical forest hung with orchids and bromeliads and inhabited by over four hundred species of birds, past the beautiful remains of the Inca sacred site of Wiñaywayna to the incomparable splendour of Machu Picchu, which lay hidden in the forest for almost five hundred years.
Day 1:
Cuzco – Wiñaywayna – Machu Picchu: We start early morning with a scenic train ride from Cuzco over the Andes and down to the fertile Sacred Valley of the Incas from where we follow the Urubamba River to Km 104. From the archaeological site of Chachabamba (2250 mts/7’500 ft) we start the approximately 3 hour climb up to the archaeological group of Wiñaywayna (2650 mts/8’750 ft), considered one of the most beautiful sites in the area due to its location and architecture. We visit this magnificent site and enjoy lunch in fantastic surroundings before we continue our hike through high cloud forest with its lush vegetation to the famous Sun Gate or Intipunku. From here we can enjoy the first and best panoramic views of the Lost City of the Incas: legendary Machu Picchu (2400 mts/8’000 ft). A short walk brings us down to the entrance from where we continue by bus to the village of Aguas Calientes. Here we can choose to relax in the natural hot springs and stay overnight in a comfortable hotel. Breakfast and lunch provided, dinner on your own.
Day 2:
Machu Picchu – Cuzco: After an early breakfast we take the first bus up to Machu Picchu to enjoy sunrise in this magical place before tourists arrive from Cusco. We enjoy this enigma in a guided tour and have enough free time available to explore the site by ourselves or do some hikes before we descend to Aguas Calientes in the afternoon. Train ride back to Cusco, transfer to the hotel and overnight. Continental breakfast provided. Lunch and dinner is on your own in Aguas Caliente and Cuzco, Continental breakfast provided. Lunch and dinner is on your own in Aguas Caliente and Cuzco.
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