The landscapes of Lares

Photos from the Lares Trek, Peru

It’s lucky the views are so good. As I struggle up these mountains, my breath more pained than I am keen to admit, I am in desperate need of constant breaks. A pause for a minute to take a photo and look out over the valleys is the perfect excuse.

I’m on the three day Lares Trek, an alternative to the Inca Trail in the area around Cusco.

Although the Inca Trail is the more popular way to reach Machu Picchu here in the mountains of Peru, the Lares route with G Adventures takes you through small communities in areas rarely visited by foreigners, as I wrote about yesterday.

But it’s not just the people along the way that make this trek special. The shifting landscapes over the three days are some of the most striking you will see in this country.

Lower down, the grassy valleys with rivers tumbling over rocks dominate the scenery. In the distance, majestic mountains hugged by glaciers form natural barriers.

But as you slowly climb up them, finding passes through to the next dale, you realise they have their own little biospheres within their slopes.

The mountain lakes, thousands of metres above sea level, are calm from the protection of the rock cliffs around them. The number of trees get thinner towards the top but the stone formations create an impression of hardened rolling fields. And from every step, the views up or down promise more.

I wrote a lot yesterday about the actual trek and you can read that here.

This time I just wanted to share with you some of the photos I took along the route so you can see for yourself some of the stunning views which were reason enough to stop for a minute and rest.

>> More info here about the Lares Trek with G Adventures <<

Time Travel Turtle was a guest of G Adventures but the opinions, over-written descriptions and bad jokes are his own.

WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT PERU?

See my Peru Travel Guide

To help you plan your trip to Peru:

• The best things to do in Peru – a complete list!
• What you need to know about visiting Machu Picchu
• A wonderful alternative to the crowded Inca Trail trek
• The story behind the Incan city of Cusco
• Why Colca Canyon is one of Peru’s special natural sights
• The incredible Nazca Lines and what they might mean
• See this ancient mud city before it’s gone!
• Hiking in the Andes from Huaraz
• The site of the first civilisation in the Americas
• An ancient tribe of sex and drugs
• What to expect in the second-largest city of Arequipa

Let someone else do the work for you:

You may also want to consider taking a Peru tour, rather than organising everything on your own. It’s also a nice way to have company if you are travelling solo.

I am a ‘Wanderer’ with G Adventures and they have great tours in Peru.

You could consider:

• The Inca Journey (10 days)
• Absolute Peru (21 days)
• National Geographic Journey (16 days)

When I travel internationally, I always get insurance. It’s not worth the risk, in case there’s a medical emergency or another serious incident. I recommend you use World Nomads for your trip.