Humantay Lake Day Tour
A turquoise glacial lake at 4,200 m, there and back in a day
- 1 day
- 4,200 m max
- Moderate
- Cusco to Cusco
The glacial lagoon below the Humantay ice, reached from Cusco in a single very long day. Two and a half hours of road, an hour and three quarters of steep climbing, an hour at the lake, and breakfast and lunch on the way.
Humantay Lake has become the most photographed day trip from Cusco, and the photographs are honest. It really is that colour: glacier melt held in a rock bowl at 4,200 m, under the ice of a mountain the local communities treat as a living thing.
What the photographs leave out is the day around it. Fourteen hours door to door, a 04:30 pick-up, two and a half hours of road each way and a climb that is steep from the first step. The walking is only three to four hours, but it happens between 3,900 and 4,200 m.
Give yourself two nights in Cusco before you book it, take the ascent slowly, and hire a horse at Soraypampa if your legs say so. Done in that order it is one of the best days in Peru.
What you'll see
The lake itself
Meltwater from the Humantay glacier, an implausible turquoise, held in a bowl of rock at 4,200 m. Photographs of it look edited. They are not.
Soraypampa
The gateway to the Salkantay range, where the trek to Machu Picchu starts. You get the view without the five days.
Alpacas and llamas on the way up
Hundreds of them, grazing loose on the slopes, which is a large part of why the walk takes longer than the timings say.
Small groups
Twelve to fourteen people as a rule and never more than sixteen, with a certified bilingual guide.
Oxygen on the mountain
Your guide carries a first-aid kit and an oxygen cylinder. At 4,200 m that matters more than it sounds.
Both meals included
A proper Andean breakfast in Mollepata on the way out and a buffet lunch there on the way back.
Humantay Lake Day Tour: day by day
Times are what we actually aim for, not a best case. Traffic into Cusco and the train timetable move them by a little.
Day 1
Cusco to the lake and back
Fourteen hours door to door, of which three to four are walking. The climb is short but steep, and the altitude does most of the work against you.
- 04:30We collect you from your hotel or flat in Cusco. Pick-ups run until about 05:00.
- 07:30Mollepata, after two and a half hours through the Anta province, and a hearty Andean breakfast.
- 08:45On by road for about an hour to Soraypampa at 3,900 m, under the Salkantay and Humantay peaks.
- 09:30The ascent begins — an hour and three quarters to two hours, steep from the start.
- 11:15Humantay Lake at 4,200 m, with time to sit, photograph it and hear what the mountain means locally.
- 12:30An hour and a half back down to Soraypampa.
- 14:00Buffet lunch in Mollepata.
- 18:00The three-hour drive back, reaching your hotel between 18:00 and 18:30.
- Meals
- Breakfast and buffet lunch
- Night
- Not applicable — you sleep in Cusco
What the price covers
Transport
- Collection from your hotel or flat in Cusco between 04:30 and 05:00
- Comfortable round-trip transport with a professional driver
On the mountain
- Small groups of twelve to fourteen, sixteen at most
- A certified bilingual guide, English and Spanish
- A full first-aid kit and an oxygen cylinder
Meals
- Andean breakfast in Mollepata — juice, hot chocolate, coffee, tea, fruit and bread or pancakes
- Buffet lunch with Peruvian dishes, soups and vegetarian options
Not included
- The Humantay Lake entrance fee, about 20 soles, paid in cash at the checkpoint
- A horse for the ascent, which can be hired from the community at Soraypampa on the day
- Travel insurance
- Tips, which are genuinely optional
What to bring
Papers and money
- Your original passport
- Cash in soles for the entrance fee and a horse if you want one
- Any medication you take
What to carry
- A small daypack
- A refillable bottle with one to two litres of water
- High-energy snacks
- A camera and a power bank
Clothes
- Walking boots or trail shoes with grip
- A quick-dry t-shirt, a fleece and a waterproof jacket
- Trekking trousers
- A beanie and a neck buff — it is cold at the top even in the dry season
Sun and skin
- High-factor sun cream
- Sunglasses with UV protection
- A sun hat
Questions we get asked
How hard is the climb?
The distance is short — an hour and three quarters to two hours up — but it is steep from the first step and it finishes at 4,200 m. That combination is what makes it moderate rather than easy, whatever the altitude on the card suggests. Go slowly from the start and you will be fine.
How long should I have been in Cusco first?
At least two full days. This is a mistake people make constantly — booking Humantay for their second morning in Peru and then struggling on the climb. Cusco is 3,400 m and the lake is 4,200 m.
Can I ride a horse up?
Yes. Local families at Soraypampa hire horses for the ascent, arranged and paid on the spot in cash. It is a normal and well-used option and nobody thinks less of you for it.
Is the entrance fee included?
No — about 20 soles for foreign visitors, paid in cash at the checkpoint on the day. Bring small notes.
Can I swim in the lake?
No. Swimming is prohibited to protect the water, and it is also glacier melt, so the question tends to answer itself once you put a hand in.
What is the best time of year?
April to October, the dry season, for clear skies and firm ground. The tour runs year round, but between November and March the trail is muddier and the lake is more often under cloud.
Are meals really included?
Both of them — a cooked Andean breakfast in Mollepata on the way out and a buffet lunch there on the way back, with vegetarian options. On a fourteen-hour day this matters.
Can I do it privately?
Yes — your own vehicle, guide and departure time, which on a 04:30 start is worth considering. Private departures are quoted against your dates and party size.
Ask us about Humantay Lake Day Tour
Tell us your dates and we'll come back with availability, the circuit we'd recommend, and a firm price. No deposit to ask, and we answer within one working day.