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While traveling to Cusco Peru you will find that there are tons of gorgeous day trips into the Andes Mountains- Humantay Lake day trip is one of the best. 

Humantay Lake is a stunning blue alpine lake that sits high up in the Andes Mountains only a couple hours drive from the city of Cusco. It is a short hike to a beautiful location that you will not want to miss! 

Humantay Lake Hike, Peru

Humantay Lake Stats

Humantay Lake Length: 2.6 miles round trip

Humantay Lake Elevation Gain: 1,200 ft of ascent 

Humantay Lake Elevation: 13,900 ft.

Humantay Lake Location: 2.5 hours from Cusco in the Andes Mountains.

Humantay Lake Difficulty Level: Moderate

Time Recommended: 4 hours

Trail Markers: There are markers and cairns on the mountain occasionally but besides that, the signage is few and far between. The trail is quite clear but could easily be lost in bad weather conditions or if you aren’t paying attention. 

When To Go To Humantay Lake?

Seasons in Peru are split into Dry Season and Rainy Season. 

Dry season being between May and September, is the best time to do Humantay Lake. During this time you are more likely to have clear trails, blue skies and warmer weather.

Humantay Lake Weather

Rainy season is between October and April and with it comes- you guessed it! Lots of rain. This can turn into snow in the mountains and can cause the trail to close for short periods of time.

We went in mid June and had the most amazing weather, the day was sunny with blue skies.

READ MORE: How To Get To Machu Picchu: The Complete Guide

How To Get To Humantay Lake?

Humantay Lake is located in the Andes under Salkantay Mountain and next to Humantay Mountain (after which it is named!) It is located in a national park in Peru and near a village called Soyaypampa.

From Cusco Humantay Lake is around a 2.5 hour drive to the West.

To find the start point of the hike you can follow this GPS marker. 

Humantay Lake Day Tour

One of the most popular ways to get to Humantay Lake is by taking a tour with a tour company.

Once you are in Cusco you will find there are an abundance of tours to choose from and they are quite inexpensive. 

My favorite tour company is Salkantay Trekking who we hiked the Ausangate Trek with. 

You can easily book a tour ahead of time online before you come to Cusco but it is also just as easy and possibly cheaper to book the day before while you are in Cusco. 

Typically, a one person ticket will cost you around $24 USD and will include the bus ride, tour guide and possibly lunch and snacks. 

One thing to note about going with a tour company is that they typically leave very early in the morning- around 4-5 am to make it to Humantay Lake in the morning.

You will also be with a large group of people and because this is one of the more popular tours in Cusco you will likely be hiking up near other tour groups.

Humantay Lake Tour: Salkantay Trek

Another way to see Humantay Lake is to add it onto your Salkantay Trek!

This trek is a beautiful, 4-day excursion through the Andes Mountains. It starts in the town of Mollepata and ends in Aguas Calientes- the town underneath Machu Picchu. 

If you want something a bit more adventurous this can be a great option! Salkantay Trekking has a great tour for this as well. 

READ MORE: Check out the 5 Day Ausangate Trek we did while in Cusco!

Self Guided Tour: Do You Need A Guide For Humantay Lake? 

If you are like me and want to have the beauty of Humantay Lake to yourself for photos or simply a better experience you can also rent a taxi and have them take you to the trailhead.

The price for us came to around $75 USD and split between three of us was pretty equivalent to what we would have paid for a guided group. 

This gave us more flexibility (we actually decided to leave at 2am to get there before all of the tour groups and in time for sunrise!) as well as the ability to take our own time and not be corralled by tour guides. 

The hike is pretty straightforward but if you do decide to go alone I would highly recommend downloading the trail map onto your phone through apps like Alltrails or Gaia GPS. 

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Humantay Lake Trail Description

When you first step onto the trail near Soryampa you will find it is flat and meandering, it leads from the parking lot you stopped at, past houses and a small town. You will see horses, cute dogs and maybe even a kitten, like we did! 

After around 30 minutes of walking you will come to the end of the flat section and will be faced with the climb up to the lake. The climb is quite steep over varied terrain of loose rocks, gravel and dirt. This is the difficult part of the hike, but also so exciting! 

The hard climb is worth it when you hit the top and look over the gorgeous alpine lake! 

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Why Do The Humantay Lake Day Trip?

A Taste of The Andes Mountains

The Andes mountains are absolutely stunning, rugged and striking mountains!

While there are many multi- day treks in the area that you can take, if you are low on time or don’t want to trek too far into the mountains, the Humantay Lake hike can be the perfect way to experience the mountains without too much commitment.

Preparation For A Trek

If you are planning on doing another multi-day trek in the Andes Mountains- such as the Ausangate trek we did- this is a great way to warm up your body, get your lungs used to the oxygen level and acclimate to those higher altitudes.

One of the best ways to acclimate is by routinely going up to higher altitudes and then coming back down, this makes this hike a great way to prepare for those even more intense ones you have coming!

Photography

You really can’t get much more photogenic than this Cusco day trip!

The glaciers and aqua water make for a stunning backdrop to any photo.

READ MORE: Cusco Peru Travel Guide

Humantay Lake Or Rainbow Mountain Day Trip?

Humantay Lake and Rainbow mountain are two of the most popular day hikes from the city of Cusco.

While I recommend experiencing both, if you are short on time and have to choose I personally would choose Humantay Lake. 

This decision comes down to personal preference, Humantay lake features gorgeous blue-green water, a longer hike, glaciers and large mountains– an environment I absolutely adore.

Rainbow mountain is also absolutely gorgeous (we did Palocoyyo mountain!) and while it is quite possibly more rare than Humantay Lake I found it to be drier and not as exciting.

I do believe you really cant go wrong and whichever you choose you will have a great time! 

READ MORE: Check Out these 15 Unique Things To Do In Cusco, Peru

What To Bring On Your Hike To Humantay Lake?

• Sunscreen- Since you are so high in elevation this is extra important
  

• Sunglasses– Protect your eyes from the strong rays!
  

• Downloaded Map- I always use All Trails!
  

• Camera or phone- to capture the beauty!
  

• Snacks- gotta keep the energy up! Hiking at 13,000 ft can take it out of you
  

• Hiking backpack- a 30L day pack should be perfect.
  

• Hiking boots– the trail can get quite rocky at points. It is important to have good traction.
  

• Trekking poles- this helps with weight distribution and balance on the steep sections.
  

• Layers! Base layer, puffy jacket and hard shell and gloves

• Water bottle– Make sure to stay hydrated! You can also bring a water filter and fill up at the lake if you like.

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Humantay Lake Photography Tips

Humantay Lake is a photographers dream, with glaciers that dip into a beautiful blue lake and mountains rising up all around you it is a wonderful place to photograph. 

If you are looking to photograph Humantay Lake I would recommend doing a self-guided tour. All of the tour groups seem to arrive around the same time and leave around the same time so you are fighting with crowds of people to get the shot you want. Additionally, these groups don’t arrive at sunrise which I found was the best time to shoot. 

To shoot Humantay Lake I brought a variety of gear: 

• Mirrorless Nikon Z6 II Camera
• 24-70mm
• 70-200mm for closeups of the glacier
• 14-24mm for those wide shots that show the entire lake
• DJI Mavic Air 2 Drone

Droning at Humantay Lake

While I have seen tons of other people post drone shots from Humantay Lake and did not see any laws specifically prohibiting it we did run into some trouble with rangers who wanted us to bring the drone down (as we did of course)

The rules seem a bit iffy so my recommendation is to get there early before everyone else does and get your shots then.

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READ: My Guide To Layering For Hiking

Click Here For The Humantay Lake Map

Conclusion

A day trip to Humantay Lake really is a great way to spend some of your time while visiting Cusco. If you don’t have enough time to dedicate to a full trek it can be a wonderful way to get a taste of what the Andes has to offer while still staying close to your home base in Cusco. 

I found Humantay Lake to be really rewarding and an absolutely gorgeous place to spend an afternoon! 

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