Ausangate 7 Lakes Day Trip from Cusco with Hot Springs

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Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/6

Duration15h

GroupUp to 15

LanguagesEN · ES

PickupAt your hotel

Hiking Ausangate’s colored lakes and soaking in Pacchanta’s warmth

You’ll start early in Cusco for a full-day hike around Ausangate’s seven colored lakes with a local guide — spotting alpacas and Andean birds along winding trails. After lunch in Pacchanta village, you’ll relax in natural hot springs before heading back. It’s tiring but you’ll carry home those mountain colors and that feeling of quiet awe.

15h

Step-by-step itinerary

Hike to Ausangate 7 lakes and hot springs

Pick up from hotel in Cusco
Travel 3 hours to Pacchanta
Have breakfast in Pacchanta
Begin 5-hour round-trip hike
Visit Azulcocha Lagoon
Visit Otorongo Lagoon
Visit Pucacocha Lagoon
Visit Alqacocha Lagoon
Visit Q'omercocha Lagoon
Visit Orqo Otorongo Lagoon
Visit China Otorongo Lagoon
Observe Andean birds and animals
Return to Pacchanta
Enjoy lunch in Pacchanta
Relax 45 minutes in hot springs
Return to Cusco city

The Experience

"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.

What’s included

Your day includes early morning hotel pickup from central Cusco by air-conditioned vehicle, breakfast on arrival in Pacchanta village before setting out with your professional guide for a five-hour hike past all seven Ausangate lagoons. Lunch is served back at Pacchanta followed by about 45 minutes relaxing in natural hot springs before returning to Cusco in the evening; oxygen and first aid are carried throughout.

Good to know

Moderate physical levelPublic transport nearbyNot for pregnant travelersNot for heart conditionsNot for back problemsInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Chullos Travel Peru