Ever dreamt of stepping into a postcard? One with turquoise lakes, rainbow-colored landscapes, and fields filled with alpacas judging your hiking technique? Then let us introduce you to the Ausangate Circuit.
Sitting deep in the Peruvian Andes, this trek isn’t just a hike. It’s a time machine. A spiritual pilgrimage. An “I can’t believe this is real” adventure that’ll leave you obsessed with high-altitude landscapes and craving hot coca tea for the rest of your life.
Walking this trail means walking in the footsteps of ancient Andean shepherds. Let’s take a closer look…
Table of Contents
Day One: Into The Land Of Giants
Your journey begins in Cusco, where the altitude hits you before the scenery. You need to spend at least 2-3 days here to acclimatize, otherwise you risk feeling ill on the trail and possibly having to return to the city. That’s the last thing you want to ruin this incredible adventure.
Bright and early on the morning of your expedition, you head out to Upis where your hike begins. From here, the mountains slowly rise around you, like giant stone guardians. Ausangate, or what we like to call the ‘star of the show’, hides at first. But before long, it makes its grand appearance. A massive ice-draped Apu (sacred mountain spirit) peeking over the skyline to see who’s coming its way.
Suddenly, you find yourself walking the exact same trails that generations of Andean shepherds have used to guide their livestock through the valleys. Their footsteps are all around you, woven into the grass.
Day Two: When The Mountains Decide You’re Ready
Not as tough as you thought just yet? Well, the altitude gets serious pretty quickly up here. This trek is for those who love a challenge and smile through rasping lungs and burning legs.
But boy, the rewards are worth the effort.
As you hike today, emerald and turquoise lagoons appear like jewels, reflecting and creating a blue glow on Ausangate’s glaciers. Herds of alpacas graze calmly, completely unfazed by the sweaty humans huffing along the trail.
You start to understand why shepherds have walked here for centuries. This isn’t just a practical route. It’s one of the most beautiful landscapes on Earth. Every turn feels like nature showing off, and there’s still plenty of surprises to come.
Day Three: The High Pass That Steals Your Heart (And Breath)
Every great trek has its highest point, or “the pass”. Ausangate’s is Palomani Pass, towering at 5,200 m / 17,060 ft.
It’s time to put all that high altitude training into practice. Slow, deliberate steps are crucial here. Let the whistle of the wind guide your pace. You hear every breath and feel every heartbeat, but it’s worth it.
As you climb, the landscape opens up into a full-blown Andean epic. Glacier hills on one side, scarlet fields on the other, with the clouds forming shadows that move over the valleys below. One word. Staggering.
And when you finally make it to the pass? You feel like you’ve been knighted by Apu Ausangate itself.
The shepherds before you walked this same route with nothing but wool cloaks and sturdy sandals, and here you are in your fancy trekking gear, sharing that ancient path.
It’s humbling. It’s empowering. And yes, it makes every bite of your lunch taste like the world’s finest gourmet feast. Although, in reality, the food our chefs whip up on the trail isn’t far off.
Day Four: Lakes That Don’t Look Real
One of many travellers’ highlights on the trek is the lakes. It’s one of the reasons this route is receiving legendary status. On the trail, there’s a chain of lagoons, each in a different shade of bluey-green or silver.
You know that moment when you’re hiking and a view physically makes you stop? Prepare for that to happen every 20 minutes.
Sometimes, if the wind is still, you see the reflection of Ausangate shimmering on the water’s surface. It’s seen so much and witnessed ancient shepherds wandering the land with flocks of llamas and alpacas. And now you. Standing there in awe at its magnitude and the sheer natural beauty of the landscape that surrounds it.
“Oh, to be a shepherd and see this view every day.”
Day Five: The Quieter Side Of Rainbow Mountain
Now, everyone and their aunt has seen photos of the colorful Rainbow Mountain (aka, Vinicunca). The Insta-famous stripes in blue, green, red and yellow hues are striking and draw thousands of tourists each year up the slopes. Yep, it can get pretty busy, making it hard to enjoy the scenery in its peaceful, natural state.
But the Ausangate Circuit takes you round the back, where the painted hills are quieter and far less crowded.
The colors feel more intimate, here. More natural. You’re not fighting for space with dozens of visitors holding selfie sticks. You’re wandering over valleys, colored by minerals over time, with just the wind and the occasional alpaca for company.
Seeing it in such a peaceful way helps you imagine the shepherds, centuries ago, herding their livestock with the wind in their hair and no one but Pachamama and their camelids as company against this truly breathtaking backdrop.
Nights Under A Thousand Stars
You read that right. Night-time on the Ausangate Trek deserves its own chapter.
Far away from towns and cities, there’s virtually no light pollution out here, allowing the sky to turn into a cosmic theater. The Milky Way stretches overhead and shooting stars flicker every few minutes. As you sip on your hot tea and wrap your sleeping bag tightly around you, your breath fogs the air a little.
For a brief moment, maybe longer, you feel like you’re the only person on Earth. And it feels good.
Walking In Ancient Footsteps
One of the most magical things about this trek is knowing that you’re not only moving through space. You’re moving through history.
The shepherds who walked these trails long before you weren’t sightseeing. These paths were part of daily life, routes between grazing lands, homes, and communities. Today, many still travel them, wearing brilliantly coloured woven textiles and leading alpaca herds through landscapes where GPS signals cease to exist.
When they greet you with “Allillanchu!”, it’s warm and genuine, rooted in centuries of mountain tradition. It’s a privilege to be here, sharing their world, however brief that may be.
Why The Ausangate Circuit Is The Adventure You Need
So, why should you pack your boots, grab your warmest hat, and hop on the next flight to Peru to travel along the Ausangate Circuit?
Because this trek has it all. It’s raw. It’s real. It’s epic. There are no gimmicks here. It’s just you, mountains older than myths, and paths shaped by the feet of shepherds who understood the way of the land on a level we can only dream of.
So, if you’re craving an adventure that’s meaningful, wonderfully remote, and connects you with Mother Nature, choose Ausangate. Once you’ve walked those ancient paths, you’ll never be quite the same again.
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