Ausangate Treks

The Ausangate trek is one of the few treks in Peru that offers the option to ride a horse. Operators will provide the horses and extra horses will also be brought to carry your gear and equipment.

However, certain sections of the trek are so steep that you’ll need to get off and walk beside your horse. If you are not a confident rider then trekking only tours are also available.

The trek offers an array of wildlife including soaring condors, vicunas, bobcats and pumas. Camp sites are often beside beautiful blue lakes.

You’ll also have the chance to bathe in several hot springs and view the trek’s signature rainbow mountains! The colourful sandstone mountains in the Vinicunca area is probably the coolest thing you’ll see in Peru!

Ausangate mountain itself is considered a holy mountain (or mountain spirit) by local Peruvians and is the deity of Cusco. Since pre-Inca times the mountain has been a place of worship and offerings and this tradition continues today.

The mountain is also notable for the Qoyllur Rit’I Festival which is held on the opposite side of the Cordillera Vilcanota, in the Sinaqara Valley at the end of May. The festival draws over 10,000 pilgrims each year and celebrates the mountains spirit and the apparition of Christ on the mountainside.