LATIN AMERICA DESTINATIONS


ABOVE: The Lares Trek


◗ THE DUAL-PURPOSE TRAIL: LARES TREK While the beauty of Peru’s mountains can’t be overstated, not everyone wants to hike every day. This is where the five or seven-day Lares Trek comes into its own, each day offering a cultural activity, an easy to moderate hike and a challenging one. They all end at a Mountain Lodges of Peru property, with its signature combo of excellent food, Wi-Fi and, in most cases, massage and hot tub, too. The itinerary features a trip to


Awanakancha, a weaving and exhibition centre where visitors can get up close to llamas and alapacas, and meet local weavers. Lunch is cooked by a family from the Choquecancha community, which is followed by a ceremony thanking Mother Earth for its bounties, then bartering for scarves in the market town of Pisac. When you’re not trekking,


there are genuine opportunities to understand Andean life in the communities of the Sacred Valley between the towns of Urubamba and Ollantaytambo. Impressive Ollantaytambo is


the valley’s best-preserved Incan town, with its masterful ruins towering over the streets below. The lodges on the trek are


Machu Picchu is staggering in its size, location, architectural mastery and longevity


excellent. Particularly memorable is Huacahuasi Lodge, located at an altitude of 12,470ft, where every room features a balcony hot tub. The hikes are also unforgettable,


criss-crossing the terraced valleys of the highlands, passing farming communities and Andean villages. One of the most scenic is the final one from the Lares Pass along an old Inca route and into Tortora village. Both the Salkantay and Lares


treks spend their final day at the 13th-century citadel of Machu Picchu. Whether it’s viewed after six days of hiking or as a day trip from Cusco, it is staggering in its size, location, architectural mas- tery and longevity. Undiscovered by the Spanish colonialists, it’s preserved to a remarkable degree. Wilfredo’s facts, stats and


stories from the past few days now swirl together to form one majestic story that culminates here. For many people, this really will be the hike of their life.


6 December 2018travelweekly.co.uk69


PICTURES: MOUNTAIN LODGES OF PERU/ALEJANDRO MULLER


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