If you’re hiking the Salkantay Trek from Challacancha to Aguas Calientes, your route will likely include a stop at the gorgeous Huamantay Lake. For those who aren’t hiking the full Salkantay Trek (like me), you can do a day trip to Laguna Huamantay to see it for yourself. Surrounded by towering mountains and gorgeous views, a visit to Huamantay Lake is a great day trip option from Cusco.
Whether you’re looking to practice for a longer trek or just want some great scenery (without a ton of effort), Huamantay Lake can be a great option.
A Day Trip to Huamantay Lake
This is all based on my own experience on a day trip to Huamantay Lake from Cusco. I booked a tour directly through my hotel, but there are so many tourist agencies in Cusco that will help you arrange a tour.
Pick Up & Driving to Huamantay Lake
Like most tours from Cusco, a day trip to Huamantay Lake starts early. Pick up is typically between 4:00 and 4:30 am, though the exact time will depend on your tour company and where your hotel is located.
Unfortunately for me, I was told that I would be picked up at 4:30 from my hotel, but at 4:10, I got a message saying that I needed to be at Plaza de Armas between 4:15 and 4:25. I was not prepared for this and I scrambled out of my hotel early in the morning. I met my guide who eventually transferred me to another group before leaving the city. I’m not sure why, but my biggest theory is that that guide only spoke Spanish so they transferred me to a bilingual group.
The moral of my story is to always be ready early. Two of my three day trips from Cusco arrived at least 15 minutes earlier than I was originally told when I booked the tour. Not a huge deal, but when it’s very early in the morning and you’re scrambling, it adds unnecessary stress to your day. Plus, if you’re like me, you’ll rush out in a hurry and forget your camera (at least I still had my phone).
Either way, once you are picked up, settle in for a long ride. It’s about two hours until your breakfast stop.
Breakfast
On all of my day tours from Cusco, both breakfast and lunch were included in the tour price. For breakfast, this is fantastic because 4:00 am is usually way too early for any hotel breakfasts.
Don’t expect anything too special on your tour, though I will say that the breakfast on my day trip to Huamantay Lake was the best of all my day trips. It’s a breakfast buffet with breads, omelettes, fruit, and coffee. It was fine, but nothing too special. I was just thrilled they were feeding us after the early morning pick up.
The biggest thing to note is that you’ll get your first glimpse of just how many people will be visiting Huamantay Lake on a day trip. Every tour company follows the same route and everyone seems to end up at the same restaurant, which can make for a very busy buffet.
Eat your fill before piling back in the van for the remainder of the drive to the trailhead.
A View of Salkantay
We made one stop along the way and that was for a view of the Salkantay Mountain. Salkantay is not the biggest mountain in the Cusco region, but it is one of the largest, so jump out of the van and take your photo.
Arriving at the Trailhead
We finally arrived at the trailhead, but now there’s a choice. Everyone is here to visit Huamantay Lake, but there are different ways to visit the lake. I chose to hike since I used my day trips from Cusco to practice and acclimatize for my upcoming Inca Trail hike. I did the hike to Huamantay Lake first and it turned out to be the hardest of the three hikes that I did (which I was not expecting).
For those not wanting to hike all the way up the mountain, you have the option to hire a horse. This is a very popular option and in my group, at least half of the tourists chose to hire a horse to go most of the way to Huamantay Lake. Note that the horses won’t take you all the way to the lake and you’ll have to hike some of the trail yourself. You’ll have a 20 or so minute walk to where you can hire a horse and you’ll have to hike the last ten minutes yourself. Budget about 100 soles to hire a horse (though it may be slightly less) one way.
It’s up to you if you want to hire a horse or not, but I hiked, so that’s what this guide will focus on.
Hiking to Huamantay Lake
From where the van left us, it’s about 3 miles (nearly 5 kilometers) one way to Huamantay Lake. On the surface, this sounds pretty easy, but it’s not an easy hike. Along the way, you’ll ascend over 1,600 feet (490 meters). Keep in mind that the trail starts at 12,300 feet above sea level, so you’ll cross the 14,000 foot mark by the time you reach the lake.
The first 1.5 miles is a steady incline, but it can feel flat compared to the rest of the trail. You’ll gain only about 300 feet during this ascent and it can be very pleasant. When you’re returning from Huamantay Lake, this is glorious because your legs finally get a chance to rest. Along the way, you’ll get some nice views of the mountains.
Then it’s time to start the climb. It’s a tough, steep climb to Huamantay Lake. Here’s where most of your elevation comes from. It’s 1.5 miles of what feels like never-ending uphill as you climb 1,300 feet (400 meters) higher. The good news is that guides tell everyone that they can go at their own pace, which is really nice. The guides follow at the end in case anyone has any issues (particularly with the altitude).
There’s also loads of groups hiking so you’ll inevitably make a little bit of small chat with other hikers along the way. Just keep in mind, your small chat is almost certainly going to be about how high it is, how this hike was a bit tougher than you were expecting, and how those renting a horse may have been smarter than you.
The views are nice, but it can be hard to focus when all you want to do is stop and breathe. I had spent nearly a month at high elevations in South America and this hike still felt tough. During the final ascent, I felt like I was stopping every other minute just to breathe. It also doesn’t help when you’re struggling up the mountain and have to move over for all of the people who are coming by horse can pass. That was annoying.
But you’ll eventually reach the top and be greeted by a dazzling lagoon. Unfortunately it will be busy since there’s loads of other tour groups on the mountain. Try to find your group and work together to take your photos.
If you still have a little energy left, you can climb up some of the rocks that surround the lake. These give even better views of Lake Huamantay in my opinion.
Before you know it, it’s time to descend. While it took me almost two hours to ascend to Huamantay Lake, it was only an hour and a half to descend. It’s still steep going down, but once the trail flattens out, the last mile and a half goes by rather quickly.
Back at the van, you’ll need to wait for the rest of your group to arrive. While it’s possible to take the horses back down, many hikers will choose to take the horses up and hike back down. For these hikers, it can be a bit of a shock to the system. At least for those who hiked up, you knew exactly what you were getting into on the descent.
Lunch
Lunch is also included in your tour and you’ll go back to the same restaurant you visited this morning. However, I found it to be slightly less busy at lunch time since all of the groups weren’t arriving at exactly the same time. Each group has to wait for their slowest hiker (and guide) before returning to the restaurant so there’s a decent variance about what time everyone will arrive.
Like with breakfast, it wasn’t the best meal I’ve ever had, but it was included, so I’m not going to complain.
A Quick Stop for Ice Cream
We made one stop on the way back to Cusco. At this point, I was just ready to get back, but since this stop was for ice cream, I’ll allow it and I won’t complain about it delaying our arrival back in town. I’m not sure if every group does this stop because we were the only tour van here.
What made this ice cream stop special though was the flavors offered. Of course they had your traditional flavors like vanilla and chocolate, but they also had flavors that used local fruits like maracuya (a type of passion fruit), guanoabana (my favorite fruit juice), and even avocado.
The stop here was short, but it was enough time for anyone who wanted ice cream to get it. Then it was back in the van.
Back to Cusco
It’s more driving, nearly two hours, until you arrive back in Cusco. The exact amount of time it takes depends on how much traffic you hit. Traffic wasn’t great for us so it took a bit longer than it should have.
Because of the traffic, you will be dropped off in a central location (near Plaza de Armas). From here, head to your hotel (or out to dinner). Your day trip to Huamantay Lake is over.
Stats for Hiking Huamantay Lake
It’s about three miles each way to Huamantay Lake, but here’s a bit more detail for what to expect.
Elevation Gain: 1,627 feet (495 meters)
Starting Elevation: 12,394 feet (3780 meters)
Highest Elevation: 14,014 feet (4270 meters)
Time to Ascend: 1 hour 55 minutes
Time to Descend: 1 hour 25 minutes
Is a Day Trip to Huamantay Lake Worth It?
Huamantay Lake is beautiful and the scenery is worth visiting. That said, I think it’s worth thinking about how you want to visit. Prices for the tours can feel inexpensive, but if you plan to hire a horse instead of hiking, the tour price will likely double.
As a hiker, I enjoyed my day. It was a long day and a tough hike, but I used Huamantay Lake as one of my training and acclimatizing hikes for my trek to Machu Picchu. Huamantay Lake is actually higher than the top point on the Inca Trail (Dead Woman’s Pass), so I’d call it good practice.
Final Thoughts
When I signed up for my Huamantay Lake day trip, I didn’t consider the elevation or how steep the hike would be. That was a mistake and while I still had a good time, I wish I had done a little more research to know exactly what I was getting into. With this article, hopefully you’re more prepared than I was.
