Ausangate 7 Lakes Day Trip from Cusco with Hot Springs

4.81

(141 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

"You’ll want to try the coca tea," our guide, Maribel, said as we tumbled off the van in Pacchanta, still half-asleep and shivering a bit. It was barely past sunrise, and the village had this quiet hum — dogs stretching, someone stirring a pot outside. The air smelled faintly of wood smoke and something sweet I couldn’t place. We sat down for breakfast with the group (the bread was warm, which felt like a small miracle at that hour), and Maribel went over the plan for our Ausangate 7 lakes day trip from Cusco. I kept looking at the mountains — they were just sitting there, huge and patient.

The hike started slow. My boots crunched over frosty grass as we followed Maribel up a gentle slope. She pointed out alpacas grazing near Otorongo Lagoon — their wool looked impossibly fluffy up close — and showed us tiny purple flowers I’d have missed on my own. The first lake was so blue it almost looked fake; then came another one that was greenish, then one that mirrored the sky so perfectly I stopped to stare until my breath caught up with me again. There were moments when all you could hear were birds or the wind moving through grass, and sometimes someone would laugh or curse quietly about the altitude (I did both). Honestly, I didn’t expect to feel so small in a good way.

Lunch back in Pacchanta tasted better than it probably should have after five hours of walking — soup first, then something hearty with potatoes (I never quite figured out what meat it was but it worked). Then Maribel led us to the thermal baths. The water was hot enough to sting for a second before settling into every tired muscle. Steam drifted up and blurred out the mountains; everyone got quiet for a while, just soaking. I remember thinking: this is one of those days you can’t really photograph right.