The Andes Mountains of Peru are known for their epic peaks, massive glaciers, and technicolor alpine lakes. The Humantay Lake hike, located about three and a half hours from the colonial city of Cusco, packs all of those features—and a LOT more—in one incredible day hike.
But there’s actually lots of different ways that you can see and experience this trail. So here’s everything you need to know about the Humantay Lake hike, one of the most beautiful day hikes near Cusco.
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About the Humantay Lake Hike
- Length: 5.9 miles
- Elevation gain: 1,789 feet
- Difficulty: Challenging
- Trail map
How to get to the Humantay Lake trailhead
The Humantay Lake trailhead is located here, outside of the itty bitty town of Soraypampa.
Humantay Lake is one of the most popular day trips from Cusco, the colonial city that most travelers base themselves in to explore Machu Picchu and the surrounding Sacred Valley.
While the city is best known for being the gateway to Machu Picchu, one of the most popular things to do in Cusco is to head out on a trek through the surrounding Andes Mountains, like the Rainbow Mountain hike, the multi-day Ausangate Trek, or, you guessed it, the Humantay Lake trail.
There’s actually two main ways people reach the Humantay Lake trailhead from Cusco—either as a day hike or as part of a longer multiday hike, the Salkantay Trek, which is becoming a popular alternative to the Inca Trail to reach Machu Picchu.
Here’s how you reach the respective trailheads from Cusco, depending on which of the hikes you’re doing.
Getting to the Humantay Lake day hike
There are luckily a few different ways that you can reach the trailhead if you’re just planning on doing a day hike.
By tour
The easiest way to get to the Humantay Lake trailhead from Cusco is by joining a tour, where they’ll pick you up at your hotel bright and early (typically, 4 AM early); transport you to the trailhead, with a quick stop for breakfast along the way; and then transport you back to Cusco’s Plaza de Armes after your hike, with a stop for lunch along the way.
It’s worth mentioning that, although most of these tours have “guides”, they typically do not hike with you or the rest of your group and do not provide much information about the surrounding area. So I would recommend thinking of this more like a transportation and meal service, as opposed to a true guided experience.
The most affordable way to join a tour is by popping into one of the many agencies that line the streets in Cusco and signing up for one, which will typically cost between 75-85 Peruvian soles. Considering the tour usually includes lunch AND breakfast, this seems like a pretty reasonable price-point to me.
Alternatively, if you’re short on time in Cusco or just prefer to line up your experiences ahead of time, you can book a tour online, like this option (which actually isn’t much more expensive than what you would pay in person in Cusco!) or this private option.
By taxi or private transfer
If you don’t want to go on a group tour but are looking for a slightly more affordable private option, you can consider booking a taxi or a private transfer from Cusco, like this option, where a driver will pick you up from your hotel, drop you back off in Cusco, and wait for you as you hike.
Pricing for a taxi can vary significantly, based on demand, but I’d expect to pay between 300-500 Peruvian soles ($100-150 USD). Accordingly, if you have a group of 3 or more people heading to Humantay Lake, it can be way more economical to take a taxi than by joining a private tour.
By public transport
There isn’t a particularly easy way to get to the Humantay Lake trailhead from Cusco using public transit.
However, if you’re hellbent on taking public transit, you can take a colectivo (a shared shuttle) from this terminal in Cusco to the town of Mollepata. The colectivos usually start running around 5 AM and will cost 20 soles (or, if you’re good at negotiating, down to 15 soles).
From the main square of Mollepata, you can grab a taxi or colectivo the rest of the way to the trailhead, for usually around 10 soles.
Getting to the Salkantay Trek
The Salkantay Trek is a challenging, 43 mile hike that has become renowned both for its incredible landscapes of the Andes Mountains and for the unique glamping accommodations along the way. Humantay Lake isn’t technically on the trek itself—however, because its trailhead is along the way, almost all hikers make a quick detour on Day 1 on the trail to stop at this beautiful lagoon.
The trek starts here in the town of Challacancha. You can get to the trailhead a couple of different ways.
By tour
By far, the most popular way to complete the Salkantay Trek is to join a guided tour, where an operator will take care of all of the logistics for you, from food and accommodations to your tickets and guided tour of Machu Picchu.
We hiked the Inca Trail with the operator, Salkantay Trekking, who are considered the absolute gold standard of the Salkantay Trek. They have the COOLEST glamping accommodations along the trail—we are kicking ourselves a bit we actually didn’t do the Salkantay Trek! Here’s a four day and five day option that Salkantay Trekking offers.
By public transit
Unlike the Inca Trail, if you don’t mind figuring out the logistics, like food and accommodations, you can actually hike the Salkantay Trek on your own.
If you want to get to the trailhead by yourself, most hikers take a colectivo from this terminal in Cusco to the town of Mollepata for 20 soles. These start running around 5 AM—given the distance you’ll need to hike today (about 10.5 km), it’s a good idea to grab one of the earlier colectivos so that you’ll have plenty of time on the trail.
From Mollepata, you’ll need to find a taxi to take you the remaining 17.5 km to Challacancha. Mollepata is a pretty dinky town, so it’s not always the easiest to find a taxi here—again, be sure to leave Cusco bright and early, in case you have a hard time finding one.
Catching a ride with a tour group
We’ve heard that you can also catch a ride with tour groups heading to do Salkantay Trek or the Humantay Lake day hike, who can drop you off at the trailhead.
So, if you want to do the trek on your own but are a bit nervous about taking a colectivo, I’d recommend popping into some of the tour agencies around Cusco and asking if getting dropped off at the Salkantay Trek trailhead would be possible.
How much does hiking to Humantay Lake cost?
Beyond the cost of whatever tour you join, the entrance to Humantay Lake is 20 Peruvian soles (around $5.50 USD)—cash only!
If you’re on a tour, your guide will collect money from you and purchase tickets on your behalf. Alternatively, if you’re heading to Humantay solo, you’ll purchase your tickets at a control gate right before Mollepata
What to Expect on the Humantay Lake Hike
The Humantay Lake hike actually used to only be 3.7 miles long, but, in March 2025, there was a massive landslide caused by heavy rain that made the road leading to the trailhead totally inaccessible.
By the time my husband, Justin, and I hiked to Humantay Lake in May 2025, they had reopened the trailhead by having you hike over the landslide, which has been reinforced with wooden boards to make it safer (although, still a bit sketchy in our experience). However, the trail is quite a bit longer now (almost 6 miles) and the makeshift area that is now used for parking gets quite congested and chaotic.
With that context in mind, you’ll hike for about a mile along the Salkantay Trek, before veering off onto the “official” Humantay Lake trail. The trail starts along a flat and dusty pathway that winds along the Rio Blanco, with the glaciated Humantay Mountain looming ahead of you.
Along this flat section of the trail, you’ll pass several glamping accommodations that can be used by hikers doing the Salkantay Trek or for those who just want more time around Humantay, like the glass igloos at Salkantay Starcamp or Soraypama Hostel. Most of these hostels and campgrounds offer basic toilet facilities for a couple of Peruvian soles and are the last bathrooms you’ll find along the trail.
About 0.6 miles into your hike, the road you’ve been walking on will end and the trail veers off to the lefthand side, with the slope gradually becoming steeper and steeper. After you hike about 0.1 miles further, you’ll cross a bridge over a rushing river. Be sure to look to the lefthand side—the views of Humantay and the other surrounding mountains are incredible!
Shortly after the bridge, you’ll reach the official “start” of the Humantay Lake trail at the itty bitty town of Soraypampa, with a handful of ecolodges and a very small market. If you’re hiking the Salkantay Trek, this is where you’ll branch off to hike to the lake
From here on out, you’ll be climbing up an incredibly steep and rocky slope up to the lake—plus, you’ll be at over 13,000 feet of elevation, so everything will feel MUCH tougher here. Trekking poles are an absolute must!
At Soraypampa, you can rent a horse from one of the locals here to take you most of the way up, although you’ll still need to hike the final 10 minutes or so to the lake. This costs 80-90 Peruvian soles ($22-$25 USD), cash only. There are no horses available to take you back down the mountain.
I’d strongly recommend against renting a horse here—unfortunately, most of the horses we saw were not treated well (many of them were overly thin and we witnessed one owner refuse to let his thirsty horse drink). If you don’t think you’ll be able to make the climb yourself, I’d recommend considering doing one of the many easier and yet, still gorgeous hikes around Cusco.
Continuing on the hike from Soraypampa, the next mile is nothing but a steep slog straight up a mountain slope. Be prepared to take lots of breaks to rest along the way, but good news—there’s plenty of fantastic views of the surrounding Andes that you can soak in!
After about a mile of intense climbing, the trail flattens out and wraps around the western side of a mountain slope as you approach the lake.
You’ll climb up a final rocky embankment and get to see one of the most stunning views I’ve ever laid eyes on—the impossibly turquoise waters of the lake, sitting in the shadow of a towering mountain capped with Humantay Glacier. There’s plenty of large rocks to choose from to enjoy some snacks or your lunch on and drink in the surrounding views—it truly is spectacular.
Once you’re done enjoying the stunning views here, simply retrace your steps back to the trailhead.
When to hike to Humantay Lake
The best time to hike to Humantay Lake is during Peru’s dry season from May through early October, when you have the best chance of having clear skies.
This is actually REALLY important to give yourself the best chance of having an amazing time on the trail—the vibrant turquoise waters of Humantay look much more dull when the sky is overcast and, due to the hike’s high elevation, it’s not unusual for the mountain and glacier to be totally obscured by clouds. Plus, who likes getting rained on whilst hiking six miles?
If you hike the Humantay Lake trail during Peru’s rainy season, which runs from mid-October through April, just be prepared to encounter some serious mud on the trail. I’d highly recommend using waterproof hiking boots—here’s the pair that I use and here’s the pair that Justin has used (and loved!) for years—and trekking poles to give you extra traction on the sections of the trail that are steep and rocky.
Tips for the Humantay Lake Hike
Acclimate ahead of time
The Humantay Lake trail starts at over 12,600 feet over sea level and climbs to almost 14,000 feet. Accordingly, be sure to include a day or two in Cusco (or some other high altitude area) into your Peru itinerary to allow yourself some time to acclimate before trying to tackle this hike .
If you haven’t properly acclimated to high altitudes, hiking this trail is, at best, going to be incredibly tough and, at worst, could potentially be dangerous, with extreme cases of altitude sickness causing death.
Lucky for you, Cusco sits at 11,000 feet above sea level and, with seemingly endless things to do here, the city is an incredible place to hang out for a couple of days to the high altitudes.
Use sunscreen
There’s basically no shade along the trail, so be sure to bring along sunscreen, especially if you’re taking a medication to help you with altitude sickness, like Diamox. These medications actually increase photosensitivity, meaning your skin is more susceptible to sunburn. Being badly sunburnt is definitely not the way you want to spend your vacation to Peru!
Consider staying the night
The trail can get pretty crowded when all of the tour groups get here, typically between 10:30 AM to 4 PM. So, if you can swing it, I’d recommend staying the night at one of the ecolodges along the trail, like the cool glass igloos at Salkantay Starcamp.
For one, you’ll get to have a cool glamping experience during your time in Peru, where your room will offer fantastic views of the surrounding Andes Mountains and, with any luck, thousands of stars above. For another, you’ll get to hike to the lake during an off period (such as in the early morning or in the afternoon) and not have to battle the crowds to get incredible photos and videos. Win-win!
I hope you enjoy the Humantay Lake hike as much as we did—it was our favorite day hike near Cusco! Do you have any questions about this trail? Let us know in the comments below!
