Ausangate Circuit Trek 5D/4N 2012

Itinerary

Day 2: Upis to Ausangatecocha

After breakfast, we continue our hike ascending for two hours to reach La Arapa pass (4850m/15908ft). We then descend to our lunch spot, crossing an area of falcons and ¨vizcachas¨ or Andean rodents. This area also boasts three beautiful lakes with tones of reds, greens, and turquoises (Pukacocha, HatunPukacocha, and Qomerqocha) and spectacular views of the surrounding snow peaks. After lunch, we continue on a long and slow ascent that will take us, after about two hours, to the second mountain pass, the Abra de Apuchata (4900m/16072ft), from which we descend, for another half an hour, towards our campsite at Ausangatecocha (4440m/14563ft).
Meals: B, L, D

Itinerary

Day 3: Ausangateqocha to Q´ampa

Today, we depart early to climb for two hours towards the third mountain pass, the Abra de Palomani (5200m/17056ft). This is the highest part of the entire hike, from which we then descend for another 2h through an area of llamas, alpacas and ¨vizcachas¨ to reach Pampacancha (4050m/13284ft). From here we follow an uphill trail until that leads us to our campsite in Q´ampa (4300m/14104ft). Along this easy 3-hour climb we may have the chance to spot llamas, alpacas, and maybe even pumas. Dinner and overnight at camp.
Meals: B, L, D

Itinerary

Day 4: Q´ampa to Pacchanta

We climb for 2 hours until we reach Q´ampa mountain pass (5000m/16400ft), where we may have the chance to spot the Andean deer. From here we descend towards the Qomerqocha lagoon to finally arrive at Pacchanta (4100m/13448ft) after an approximated five-hour walk. Pacchanta is a little community with attractive hot springs where we can enjoy a relaxing dip. We camp and spend the night at this place.
Meals: B, L, D

Itinerary

Day 5: Pacchanta to Tinki

We leave Pacchanta and start to walk our way back to Tinki, which will take approximately 2 hours. Once in Tinki, we board a private transport that will take us back to the city of Cusco, where we estimate to arrive after nightfall.
Meals: B, L

* Departure and arrival times are approximated.
** Campsites are subject to change according to our guide’s criteria and the group progress

Difficulty degree of this hike

Challenging due to the altitude: we recommend a period of at least 3 days for acclimatization in Cusco or over 3000m/9840ft.

Price Information

Prices per person 2011

Prices per person depend on the group size, the larger the group the lower the price per person.

Please contact us, specifying:

• trekking program
• number of people in the trek
• departure date

Available discounts:

• Early bookings: 5% on full program price for all bookings confirmed at least 6 months in advance. This discount may not be applicable in case a promotional price is offered
• SAE: 5% on full program price (valid South American Explorers Club membership card required). This discount may not be applicable in case a promotional price is offered

Departure dates 2011

Daily departures are available along the year although due to weather conditions, the recommended period for this trek is April to November.

All private service departure dates are adapted to your request.

Group Size

To suit group requirements.

What is included

• Pre-departure briefing
• Collection from your hotel in the morning and transfer in private transport to Tinki, starting point of the trek
• Tinki visitor fee
• Campsite fees
• Personal tents: 2 people in each 4-people-capacity tent, to allow for higher comfort and a safe keeping of backpacks. The tents employed for treks around the Ausangate area are 4-season Eureka K2XT, highly maintained to ensure an excellent performance in field
• One inflatable sleeping pad per person
• One sleeping bag per person: our sleeping bags are -18ºC-comfort (0ºF), mummy form and include a sleeping liner. They are cleaned after every use and have a maximum usage of 30 trips
• One pillow per person
• Dining tent with tables and chairs
• Kitchen tent
• Toilet tent with biodegradable toilet facilities
• English speaking professional and official tourist guide (2 guides for groups of over 8 people)
• Chef and cooking equipment
• Pack animals (to carry tents, food and cooking equipment)
• Pack animals to carry personal gear up to a maximum of 9kg per person (including sleeping pad and sleeping bag)
• 1 emergency horse every 6 persons
• Wranglers
• Accommodation for all our staff
• Meals (04B, 05L, 04D + daily morning snack + daily tea service except last day). Vegetarian or special menus are available at no extra cost
• One textile snack bag per person, to avoid the usage of plastic bags that contaminate our environment
• Filtered boiled water from lunch time on 1st day onwards
• Bio-degradable personal hand soaps
• Bio-degradable dishwashing detergents used by our kitchen staff
• Others: hot water every morning and evening for washing purposes / boiled water to fill in your water bottle every morning and night, and at lunch time if requested with enough time ahead
• First-aid kit including emergency oxygen bottle
• Private transport from Tinki to Cusco, including transfer to your hotel in Cusco
• 24-h guest service: please ask for the emergency number available during your time of visit

What is not included

• Breakfast on the first day
• Dinner on the last day
• Tips: please note that our agency staff is well paid so please feel free to tip or not as you wish

What we recommend that you bring

• A backpack with a change of clothes for the whole period of the trek
• Rain gear (jacket and pants if available) or rain poncho (plastic ponchos can be purchased in Cusco)
• Strong footwear, waterproof trekking boots recommended
• Sandals or jogging shoes for a higher comfort while at camp
• Warm clothes, including jacket, fleeces. Thermal clothing is also recommended, especially for sleeping. A down jacket is especially recommended for this trek since it runs at high altitude and temperatures may easily drop below freezing in the evening and at nights
• Flashlight/headlamp and batteries
• Camera, films and batteries (batteries consume more quickly under cold conditions)
• Hat or cap to protect you from the sun, rain and cold
• Sun block
• After-sun cream or hydrating cream for face and body
• Handkerchiefs
• Toilet paper
• Snacks: biscuits, energy bars, chocolate, raw fruits, muesli, etc. Please note that we do provide a daily morning snack and our meal service is very complete and well supplied. This recommendation applies for all clients being used to a specific snack, as it may happen that it is not included in our selection
• Water container and water for the first morning
• Optionally: water- sterilizing tablets in case you pick up water from streams or rivers along the route. Otherwise, we provide filtered boiled water, which is safe to drink and has not reported any health problem so far
• Small towel
• Swimsuit (if you wish take a dip at the hot springs along the route)
• Cash in soles and/or US$
• Copy of original passport
• Optional: walking sticks or poles

Optional services to be hired

• Massage sessions: US$60.00 per 1-hour session (US$50.00 per session if at least 2 sessions are booked). Our massage therapists have the highest recognition in Cusco and offer the following treatments: relaxing massage, stress-relieving massage, spinal column massage, energizing massage, Inca massage, altitude problems, aroma therapy, therapy with honey, therapy with glass, therapy with stones, foot reflexology, shiatzu, reiki and puddle of flowering. We recommend massage sessions before and after your trekking program. Services are at the hotel and are only available in Cusco.

Why choose ENIGMA

• Because all our treks are only and strictly operated by Enigma and its very professional staff. Other agents claiming daily departures operate their treks jointly with other companies in service rotation. Hence, you book a departure with tour operator A, which risks to be finally operated by tour operator B without you knowing. ENIGMA has a quality of service and a high reputation, which is only possible by ensuring that only ENIGMA staff operates ENIGMA treks. Even if we only have a single traveler for a set departure date, this will be operated by us.
• Because we have and can prove an excellent treatment to our staff, including chefs, porters and wranglers. ENIGMA not only complies with the Porter Law and Regulation, but our wages are over the minimum requested by law and above the average paid by most of the tour operators, all our staff eats well and more than enough, they are provided with sleeping bags, thermal clothes, sleeping tents, trekking boots, thick rain ponchos, harnesses and lumbar support for their duty on field. Most importantly, they have a program ensuring them a minimum number of departures per month and hence, a minimum income per month as well.
• Because we are very careful to choose the best guides for each group. About 80% of our guides work exclusively for ENIGMA and are highly trained, have excellent language proficiency and communication skills and are regularly evaluated by the service reports each guest fills in after each service. We have special guides for special requests (ornithology, history and archaeology, flora and fauna and also generalist guides). All our guides have been trained in advanced first aid by the Sierra Nevada Outdoor Education / Wilderness USA. We also have guides proficient in several languages besides English and Spanish, including French, Italian, German, Chinese and Japanese. In all of our treks, not only on the Inca Trail, there will be a guide for every 8 guests with one of them being the head guide. This ensures a higher safety and attention to guests versus other operators.
• Because we have one of the best equipment in field, renewed every year, employing excellent brand and performance tents, surgical steel vaiselle for best hygiene, best water filters, therm-a-rest inflatable sleeping pads, orthopaedical foamy three-level sleeping pads, among others.
• Because we have one of the best meal services in field in the area: our chefs have been trained by several institutes in Lima, Cusco and also by chefs coming from the NY Culinary Institute. They have learned the HACCP method and their operation ensures maximum hygiene. Above all, be prepared to not only have a superb trekking experience but also a culinary one, including generous and delicious breakfasts, snacks, lunches, tea services and dinners that we can adapt to your very specific requests. Our menus include a variety of Peruvian and international food and also cater for vegetarian, vegan and special dietary requests (Atkins, Gluten-free, etc), all at no extra cost. ENIGMA is recognized for its gourmet meals, the quantity and quality of food, as well as for its outstanding menu design. This is another factor for a higher price as we take natural ingredients on the treks and prepare them in the field, we do not take prepared low quality food, the meals being an added experience in all of our programs.
• Because ENIGMA’s responsible operation makes sure to cause a low impact on the environment of the natural protected areas where it runs. We train all our staff in our environment policy and, for example, ENIGMA is so far the only Inca Trail Official Operator to run a yearly Inca Trail Clean-Up.
• Because we pay legal taxes (19% IGV or consumption tax) on all services contributing to the country’s growth and development. Further to this, we pay a 30% tax on all earnings. There are many tour operators who do not pay taxes and do not declare neither their sales nor most of their earnings, or declare them with a lower value, giving them this the possibility of lowering their prices through what to our eyes is an unloyal competition. Our policy will never be not to declare taxes.
• Because all of our Group Services have a maximum group size of 12, whereas most tour operators work with a maximum of 16 on the Inca Trail, since this is the authorized by law, or even higher on other routes. We have established 12 as a maximum since this increases the quality of our service, as there are definitely spots along the treks where being 16 makes it impossible to provide a personalized service and explanation.
• Also, our excellent treatment to our staff is not reduced in the low season: porter wages are maintained, same as guide fees, which is something highly appreciated by our staff, since some operators prefer to decrease prices and wages as they know the porters, guides and chefs do not have as many demand for work as in the high season. We have our own staff which is exclusive and do not like abusing in this way since, basically, the work they do and the quality of performance we demand has to be the same in the sunny or rainy season, whether you book ahead or in the last minute.
• Finally, because all in all and due to all of the above, we have very highly satisfied guests, as our numerous testimonials prove. In our Testimonials section of our website you may find reports dating from 2003 (when we started our operation) to today. The original reports are available at our office in Cusco.

We are aware other operators may offer the Inca Trail or other programs at a lower price. This does not mean they are offering the same program at a lower price: the level of service will not be the same. We understand price is definitely an issue but we kindly request our potential guests and clients to choose a responsible tour operator as otherwise, you risk to be indirectly promoting the exploitation of rural communities and the growth of informal and illegal operators that do not build on the country’s development and growth.

Appropriate clothing along this hike

Hiking pants and T-shirts are recommended during the day, complemented by sweaters, fleeces and waterproof jackets. It is very convenient to have light raingear available in the daypack (rain poncho or jacket and/or rain pants) as the weather changes easily and rains can suddenly occur. At night, warm clothing is required along the whole route, down jackets, down sleeping bags and thermal clothes being very recommended. The rest of necessary implements are included in the “What we recommend that you bring” list.

Climate

Cusco’s climate is divided into two differentiated seasons: the rainy season, from November to April (the heaviest rainfalls occurring usually between January – March); and the dry season, from May to October. The dry season is colder, so temperatures can drop to below 0 degrees at night.

Along the Ausangate trek, temperatures range from 10-20ºC during the day if it’s sunny, to 05-10ºC during the day if not sunny. Given the high altitude of the campsites, temperatures drop significantly in the evening and especially at night, where they may get down to -10ºC or even lower in the dry season. Warm clothes are therefore especially requested for this hike.

How to make a Booking

If you would like to make a reservation for this program, please go directly to the Booking Online section of this website by clicking here.

1. Once you have chosen your tour, please read the Booking Terms & Conditions, as your booking is subject to these terms.
2. Then fill out and submit the Reservation Form that you will find in the Booking Online section of this website.
3. In a maximum of two working days, you will receive an email from one of our travel consultants confirming or denying your booking.
4. In case your reservation is confirmed, a money deposit will be requested to secure your reservation.
5. Once we confirm the deposit reception, your booking is confirmed. A Service Confirmation Form will be sent to you including all the details of your program.

In case you have any doubts, queries or require additional information, please contact us, we will be very glad to assist you. Your request will be answered by return mail within a maximum of 2 working days.

Booking Terms & Conditions

1. CANCELLATION BY ENIGMA ADVENTURE TOUR OPERATOR
ENIGMA Adventure Tour Operator reserves the right to cancel a program in case any of the following circumstances occur:
(i) Client's failure to pay the final balance two days prior to departure date.
(ii) Force majeure: Impossibility to operate the program or trek due to unusual or unforeseen circumstances outside ENIGMA's control. Ie. weather conditions not permitting, strike not allowing operation or putting it at risk, sudden inaccessibility of route, etc.

The following refund policies apply in each case:
(i) In the event of a client's failure to pay the due balance, the client will not have any right for the deposit refund.
(ii) In case force majeure occurs, ENIGMA will propose viable solutions to operate the program within the available dates, or if impossible, will then propose an alternative program. If the alternative program chosen by the client is of lower value than that originally booked then the client is entitled to a refund of the price difference. All costs derived will be at the expense of the client. In case none of these would be feasible, ENIGMA would refund all the money paid except all the incurred expenses so far.

2. CANCELLATION BY THE CLIENT
Please note that the program deposit is non-refundable. The deposit is used to purchase the space within the group and once a space is purchased it cannot be resold afterwards.

In case of cancellation by the client, the following refund policies apply:

Inca Trail or any trek including the Inca Trail
(i) Cancellation up to two days prior to departure: loss of program deposit
(ii) Cancellation between two days and the departure date: will be considered a No Show and no refund will be applicable. The unused trek permit will be returned as well as the return train ticket from Aguas Calientes to Cusco and the bus tickets from Machu Picchu to Cusco. Clients may be able to re-use the tickets by presenting them to the respective authorities and paying an additional amount, which varies depending on the ticket.
(iii) If the trek balance is not paid two days before the trek departure date, ENIGMA will assume the client is canceling the trek and the deposit will not be refunded.

All other treks or programs (excluding custom itineraries and mountain climbing programs)
(i) Cancellation with at least one month prior to departure: ENIGMA will refund 75% of the program costs in case the full amount has been paid, or 50% of the program deposit in case only the deposit has been paid. Cost of the refund transfer will be at the client's expense.
(ii) Cancellation between one month and two days prior to departure: ENIGMA will refund 50% of the program costs in case the full amount has been paid. In case only the 50% deposit has been paid, the client will have no right to refund. Cost of the refund transfer will be at the client's expense.
(iii) Cancellation with less than two days prior to departure: will be considered a No Show and no refund will be applicable.
(iv) If the trek balance is not paid two days before the trek departure date, ENIGMA will assume the client is canceling the trek and the deposit will not be refunded.

Cancellations regarding custom itineraries and mountain climbing programs will depend on each specific program and will therefore be agreed upon between ENIGMA and the client by e-mail accordingly. ENIGMA reserves the right to modify the above-mentioned cancellations and refund policies. All modifications will be immediately informed to the affected client through written communication.

3. PRICES AND SURCHARGES
As we publish our prices well in advance, we may occasionally be faced with significant cost increases due to factors over which we have no control. As such we reserve the right to impose surcharges (or price decreases) up to one month before departure due to increases in entrance fees, train fares or other transport costs, taxes, if government action should require us to do so or others. Any surcharge or price decrease will be fully explained and justified by ENIGMA before implementation. If any surcharge results in an increase of more than 10% of the program cost the client may cancel the booking and obtain a full refund less expenses already incurred, provided the cancellation is made with at least one month prior to departure date.

4. ACCEPTANCE OF RISK
Some of ENIGMA's itineraries have been designed to provide participants with an exposure to the true nature of the environment visited. They therefore involve an element of personal risk and exposure to potential, which could result in physical or emotional injury, paralysis, death, or damage to the client, his/her property or to third parties. The client understands that such risks simply cannot be eliminated without jeopardizing the essential qualities of the activity and therefore assumes them as part of the tour. The client accepts that he/she is aware of his physical and health condition and that, under the knowledge of this he/she decides to undertake the above-mentioned risks. The client excludes ENIGMA from any responsibility linked to any accident or injury that may occur associated to the clients' health, physical condition or other.

5. AUTHORITY ON TOUR
At all times the decision of the company's guide or representative will be final on all matters likely to endanger the safety and well being of the tour group. The client must at all times strictly comply with the laws, customs, and foreign exchange and drug regulations of Peru. Should the client fail to comply with the above, or should the client interfere with the well being of the group then the guide or company representative may order the client to leave the tour without recourse to any refund.

6. TRAVEL DOCUMENTS
The client must be in possession of a valid passport and all visas required for the whole of the journey and the client accepts responsibility for obtaining the same. Any information or advice given by the company on visas, vaccinations, climate, clothing, baggage, special equipment, etc is given in good faith but without responsibility on the part of the company.

7. FACTORS OUTSIDE THE COMPANY'S CONTROL (FORCE MAJEURE)
The company will do its best to minimize the effects of matters outside its control, but cannot accept any liability for these matters which include political disputes, border closures, refusals of visas, industrial action, delayed flights, unforeseeable climate, landslides, etc. The client accepts to assume all extra costs derived by any of these factors.

8. RESPONSIBILITY
The company shall not be liable for any damage or loss if the failure to carry out the contract is:
1) Attributable to the client
2) Attributable to a third party unconnected with the provision of the services contracted for and the event is unforeseeable or unavoidable
3) Due to unforeseen and unusual circumstances beyond the company's control, the consequences of which could not have been avoided even if all due care had to be exercised
4) Due to political disputes, industrial action, climate or other matters of a similar nature and any other force majeure
5) Due to an event, which the company, even with all due care could not foresee or forestall. Any liability is limited to the full price paid for the tour. In all cases the company specifically excludes all liability for indirect or consequential loss or expense including loss of profits.

9. CLAIMS AND COMPLAINTS
If a client has a complaint against the company the client must first inform the trek guide or company representative while on the tour in order that the guide/representative can attempt to rectify the matter. Any further complaint must be put in writing to the company within 7 days of the end of the tour.

I have had sufficient opportunity to read this entire document. I have read and understood it, and I agree to be bound by its terms.

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