There are numerous day trip options from Cusco, Peru, but one of my favorites was a hike through the Ausangate 7 Lakes. Along the way you’ll get views of mountains and glaciers, but the highlight is the walk around the lakes. They are picturesque and each lake is just slightly different, giving you ever changing views was you hike.
Here’s what to expect on a day trip to Ausangate 7 Lakes.
A Day Trip to Ausangate 7 Lakes
This is all based on my own experience on a day trip to the Ausangate 7 Lakes from Cusco. I booked a tour directly through my hotel, but there are so many tourist agencies that will help you arrange your own tour.
Pick Up & Driving to Ausangate
Like most tours from Cusco, a day trip to the Ausangate 7 Lakes starts early. Pick up is typically between 4:00 and 4:30 am. The exact time will depend on your tour company and where your hotel is located.
I recommend being ready earlier than what your tour company says. 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 early in the morning and you’re scrambling, it adds unnecessary stress. 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
Breakfast is included with your tour but you need to know that it’s a very basic breakfast. It’s a buffet and you can have as much as you’d like, but it felt more basic compared to what I had had the previous day on my tour to Huamantay Lake. To make matters worse, we were pretty sure it was warmer outside than inside the breakfast buffet area.
After breakfast, it’s time to start your hike.
Arriving at the Trailhead
Like with the hike to Huamantay Lake, you have the opportunity to take a horse, rather than hike yourself. This does come with an extra cost and it’s up to you if you choose to hike or hire a horse. Personally, I chose to hike as I was using these day trips from Cusco to prepare for the Inca Trail. Compared to Huamantay Lake, I thought the Ausangate 7 Lakes hike was much easier, despite being longer and higher.
Note that you have several options for hiring a horse. You can hire the horse just for the uphill portion of the hike or for both the uphill and downhill sections. You will not be able to use a horse for the Ausangate 7 Lakes and will have to walk this trail yourself.
Trailhead to Ausangate 7 Lakes
From the trailhead, it’s a steady uphill climb for 3.5 miles (just over 5 kilometers). This is the most popular area to hire a horse, but in my opinion, it’s manageable to do with your own legs. Compared to other day hikes from Cusco (like Huamantay Lake and Vinicunca), this uphill felt so much easier.
Now, it should be noted that I didn’t feel any of the effects of altitude (apart from heavier breathing due to the lower oxygen levels in the air). By this point, I had spent over a month at high elevations. From San Pedro de Atacama, Chile at 8,000 feet to my three weeks in Bolivia (topping out at 12,000 feet in La Paz and several day trips that went even higher), and Puno and Arequipa. Compared to everyone else in my group, I did great with the high altitude. Other people in my group were not so lucky and even though they took horses, two girls threw up due to altitude later in the day.
This hike was also strange for me because I was leading my group. As I’ve hiked in South America over the last few months, I typically find myself toward the back of the group, even though I’m an average hiker that finishes in the recommended time frame. I was the first of my group to reach our checkpoint.
Our guide helped those who wanted horses to arrange them and the other five of us were able to get hiking and to go our own pace. We were just told to wait for him at the fork in the trail. I felt great and arrived in no time, but that meant that I had to sit and wait for nearly 30 minutes for the rest of my group to catch up. Those on horses went past, but us hikers had to wait. We did get a little more information about the wildlife in this area, but I was anxious to keep hiking.
From the fork in the road, the trail gets more difficult. Our guide warned us that this was the case. While it was a pretty steady uphill to this point, here was where it got a bit steeper and you could feel it. I still think it was easier than both Huamantay Lake and Vinicunca, but I felt the trail get steeper. This steepness goes on for about 0.6 miles (1 kilometer) and then the trail evens out again right as you reach the first lake.
Ausangate 7 Lakes
If you’re riding a horse, this is where you’ll get off and start to hike yourself. If you’ve already been hiking, the hard part is done and while there’s still nearly five miles left to go, it’s all either flat (mostly) or downhill.
The first lake is Hatun Puka Qocha, or Big Red Lake. After the three and a half miles of hiking, it’s a beautiful site. I’m sure it’s also a beautiful site for those coming by horse, but after hiking, it’s definitely great and makes you feel like all of that effort has been worth it. Don’t get me wrong, there are nice mountain views surrounding the lakes, but considering you signed up for a hike of the Ausangate 7 Lakes, it’s awesome when you finally reach your first lake.
While much of the Ausangate 7 Lakes trail is a loop, you need to go a bit out of the way and back track to reach the second lake Huchuy Puka Qocha, or Small Red lake.
At this point, it started to rain during my visit, so I started hiking faster, not knowing what exactly the weather would do. I made it to the third lake (after a slight wrong turn) and snapped a bunch of photos before continuing on.
Then it started hailing and with the direction we were hiking, I was getting pelted in the face by tiny balls of ice. The views were great and I did my best to enjoy them, but I did not particularly enjoy getting hit in the face by hail for the rest of my Ausangate 7 Lakes visit.
The next three lakes are small. I’ve often said that growing up along Lake Michigan means that I have a distorted definition of a lake. I’d refer to these lakes as ponds because they are so small. These are Chunu Qocha (China Lake), Chunu Uturunku Qocha (Female Otornog Lake), Qrqo Uturunku Qocha (Male Otorongo Lake)
The last lake is Anqas Qocha, or Blue Lake, which felt like a great finale. The hail had let up, but it was still drizzling and the weather was not great. I waited for our guide to finish with the slower hikers before continuing my hike back to the trailhead.
Ausangate 7 Lakes to the Trailhead
From the last lake, it’s just a matter of completing the loop, reaching the fork in the trail, and heading back the way you came. The good news is that it’s downhill and the trail feels a lot easier from this point. It’s about three miles back to the starting point.
If you are tired and don’t want to hike, you can hire a horse from here to take you back to the starting point. If you plan in advance, it’s significantly cheaper to just pay for the round trip horse ride up front versus paying twice for the way up the mountain and the way back down the mountain.
The good news for me is that not only did the hail let up, but the rain also let up, making this part of the trail more enjoyable. That said, I’d have much rather had better weather (aka no hail) on the lakes section rather than on this ending section.
I maintained my speed and was once again the first to arrive back at the trailhead. I have no idea what happened on this trail and why it felt so easy for me, but I crushed this trail. Yes the views were great, but I also felt great, which definitely impacted my overall view of the trail.
Lunch
Lunch is at the same place where you had breakfast and it’s still a pretty basic meal. The good news is that the building has likely warmed up. In the morning, it felt warmer outside than it did in the building, but by lunch the building felt warmer than outside. Since the afternoon was cold and rainy when I finished my hike, it was nicer sitting inside.
Enjoy your lunch. You’ve earned it.
Optional Hot Springs Visit
There are hot springs in the town next to the Ausangate 7 Lakes, but it’s your choice if you want to visit. The hot springs are not included in your tour and therefore come with an extra fee.
When I visited, everyone in my group was tired by the end of the hike and a few people were definitely feeling the effects of the altitude. As a group, we decided that we’d rather just skip the hot springs and head back to Cusco. I’d already visited a hot springs in Peru (after my Colca Canyon Trek), so skipping out on these hot springs wasn’t a huge deal for me.
Back to Cusco
It’s back to Cusco, so settle in for another long ride. The biggest thing to note is that while you may have been picked up at your hotel in the morning, you won’t be returned to your hotel in the evening. Traffic in Cusco can be awful and instead of driving through all of the busy streets, tour vans just drop off in one central location (typically close to Plaza de Armas) and then you’re on your own.
From here, head to your hotel (or out to dinner). Your day trip to the Ausangate 7 Lakes is over.
Stats for Hiking Ausangate 7 Lakes
In total, I logged 8.3 miles (13.3 kilometers) on my hike of Ausangate 7 Lakes. Here’s how that breaks down.
Trailhead to First Lake: 3.5 miles (5.6 kilometers)
Ausangate 7 Lakes: 1.8 miles (2.9 kilometers)
Last Lake to Trailhead: 3 miles (4.8 kilometers)
Total Elevation Gain: 1,493 feet (455 meters)
Starting Elevation: 14,165 feet (4317 meters)
Highest Elevation: 15,270 feet (4655 meters)
Total Time: 4 hours 30 minutes
Is a Day Trip to Ausangate 7 Lakes Worth It?
In my opinion, a day trip to the Ausangate 7 Lakes is worth it. Out of the three guided day tours I did (and even including my solo day trip to Pisac), the day trip to Ausangate 7 Lakes was my favorite. The views were great and the trail was the least crowded. That’s definitely appreciated.
Final Thoughts
Out of the three guided day trips that I did from Cusco, the Ausangate 7 Lakes hike was my favorite. It was the longest hike, but in some ways, I think it was the easiest. Admittedly, I didn’t feel the effects of the altitude (like others in my group), but the hike felt more manageable. At Huamantay Lake, it’s steep and Rainbow Mountain was high in elevation. This felt like a very happy medium and a very enjoyable day (even if I did get pelted in the face by hail).
