Day 1: Cusco / Golden Lake / Quencco
We pick you up from your hotel at 6:00am and take you to the Inca site called Puca Pucara (3,700 meters). It only 20 minutes from the city of Cusco. We will begin hiking gently, uphill for an hour and a half until we get to the first pass (4,100 meters), where we’ll have spectacular views of two valleys. To your right, you will see the capital of the Incas, Cusco, with stunning mountains surrounding it. Your tour guide will tell you about how and where the Incas arrived to this area, and about the conquest of the Spaniards. There are two Inca sites at the bottom of the valley and on your left, there will be a beautiful landscape, mountains and farmlands. From the pass, we will follow along the side of the valley, making our way towards the top, to cross over to the other side. It's about a 45 minute walk to the top end of the valley. Once we get there, we'll cross a small stream that divides the valley, and begin making our way to our lunch spot, at Queullacocha Lake. The scenery at the lake is quite barren because the whole area is a high puna between the mountains, and is covered with tough, Andean grass, called Ichu. It may be possible to see a variety of bird life, such as Andean Geese, Lapwings, Partridges, among others.
After our lunch, we'll continue on to our campsite, at the village of Quencco. We will make our way over the top of one of the ridges, as we descend, and loop around Qoricocha Lake (Golden Lake). It's about a two and a half hour walk to the village, where we'll be greeted by groups of locals who are always happy to welcome us into their community. After we've settled in, and had a steaming cup of coca tea, we'll visit one of the local families to learn about their way of life. If you have brought any gifts with you, you can share them with the family at this time. After visiting the family, we'll have time to relax and your tour guide will teach you more about the Andean way of life.
Distance Walked: 14 km
