Ausangate 7 Lakes Hike
A Trek at 4500 metres
Sreyaan started highlighting the places he would like to visit in Peru and he had both Rainbow Mountain and Ausangate 7 lakes on his list. As we didn’t have the luxury to do two places, I suggested that he pick one of these and he went for Ausangate. One of the reasons he quoted for Ausangate is that it is not teeming with tourists.
Apu Ausangate is a sacred mountain for Quechua people and means “A deity or spirit mountain who rules”. It is the fifth highest peak in Peru with an altitude of 6385m and is situated in the Vilcanota mountain range in Peruvian Andes.
I had my own apprehensions about the altitude of this trek and if I am fit enough to undertake such a trek. I viewed quite a few videos on YouTube, but they lacked the clarity I was looking for. AllTrails website termed this walk as “moderately” difficulty. I left it there and wanted to experience the trek for what it is.
Usually, the tour starts quite early in Cusco, usually between 3AM and 4AM to account for the 3-hour drive to Pacchanta at the foot of Ausangate, but we agreed with our driver that we will have a delayed start at 6AM. July is winter in Peru, as it is just south of equator and at such high altitude, Pacchanta temperature ranges between -5°C and 11°C. So, thought a delayed start will warm up the temperatures and would be easy on us. It certainly proved the case, even though the sun was intense at that altitude. Gals in our group expressed their preference to stay back in Cusco and hence, it was down to the guys, a party of 4, to embark on this trek. We informed our hotel that we would like to have our breakfast packed and rested for the night.
We started promptly at around 6AM, picked some fruits and water on the way and reached Pacchanta at around 9:30AM. We had our breakfast in the car. The weather clear and sunny and at a moderate 4°C, we were all set Now, I had a bigger decision to make on whether to carry my camera bag with me or leave it behind in the car. My camera bag easily weighs between 8-10kg and not something I was keen on taking on a trek with which I already had apprehensions about. The thought of losing out on some new birds that we may not be able to recognise in field pulling its weight the other way. Common sense prevailed and I left the bag in the car and carried my binoculars. I put my share of fruits and water in Sreyaan’s bag and started on our trek at around 10:15AM. The altitude at our starting point was roughly around 4300m.
To give you a context Lima is at 165m, Nasca at 520m, Arequipa at 2330m and Cusco is 3400m. Our drive from Cusco already put us around 900m higher. NHS states that one can get altitude sickness if they are more than 2500m above sea level. We wanted to believe that we are already acclimatised to this height in the way I planned our trip, so, it was not much of a concern anymore. Another stat about the effective oxygen percentage - it is around 20.9% at sea-level,13.7% in Cusco around 12.3% at a height of 4300m. According to AllTrails, the height gain was 343m and hence, at a height of 4643m, the effective oxygen % would be around 11.7%. Good that I didn’t delve into this before our walk.
Pacchanta was not super busy with tourists, but we found another group of around 12-15 people sitting and getting ready for a trek. I struck a conversation with their guide and gathered that they are doing a 3-day trek. Little did I realise that they were doing three different treks in 3-days, rather than a single trek in 3-days till later in the day. This group appeared super ready with their hiking sticks etc. when we were nonchalantly walking, as if we are on a flat land. It just added to my apprehension. They started their trek at the very same time of 10:15.
Even though we started at 10:15, our progress was painstakingly slow. The terrain was ascending, and it felt as if the entire gain of 343m was within the first few kilometres. Taking a break after every few steps was becoming a compulsion, and I was using my birdwatching as a pretext to stop and get some much-needed respite. We lost sight of the other trekkers soon and realised the level of our fitness. In the first 2 hours of our walk, we hardly covered around 3 km. The scenery was beautiful and the imposing Ausangate mountain was getting bigger and closer with every step we took, but the first lake was nowhere to be seen. We needed that first lake, as it would boost our spirits to continue further on this trek.
One of the younger members of our party was thoroughly exhausted and wanted to return after the 3km mark. We had a decision to make whether to abort our trek and head back to Pacchanta or carry-on. The younger member’s dad had no choice but to abort the trek. I suggested to Sreyaan that we need to abort as a group. Sreyaan was in a dilemma. This trek was his choice and one that he was so looking forward to. He didn’t want it to end in this disappointing manner. He suggested that he’ll undertake the trek alone and rest of us could wait in Pacchanta. I could not let him go by himself, so, I accompanied him and the other two in our group headed back to the starting point.
Sreyaan and I wanted to quicken our progress, but the ascent was daunting, and the views were breathtaking. We passed by few huts where the Llama and Alpaca herding communities live and came to know that these lands constitute one of the few remaining pastoral societies in the world. Interestingly, Ladakh has Changpa that is also a pastoral community, and both these places are high-altitude areas.
It was almost 12:45 when we reached our first lake, Hatun puka qocha, which is at an altitude of 4646m, but the older boards state 4756m which is incorrect. It took us around 2.5 hours to reach our first lake.
Hatun puka qocha (Hatun: Great/Big, Puka: Red & Qocha: Lake) was magical with blue waters and reddish-pink shoreline. It was a sight to behold or is it that we finally managed to reach the first of the 7 lakes, and we had no other choice but to love the view? A photo of the lake below and you can form your own opinion, but photos of scenic views, in my opinion, don’t do justice to what eye can see.
Probably realising that hikers would need a deserving stop after all the ascent, Peruvian authorities have a shop that sells some refreshments and tea. Sreyaan and I had hot coca tea, as this could help with altitude sickness. At this shop, we ran into the same guide and struck a conversation with him. He informed that the hardest part of the hike is behind us now, and that was a relief. Helped with some guidance, we set out on the remaining part of the journey.
The second lake, Huch’uy puka qocha (“Small Red Lake” in English), is adjacent to the first one at a height of 4643m. We could see some Slate-coloured coots, Andean Duck and Crested Ducks in these waters. After having a good view of the lake (see below), we moved towards the third one.
It took us around 1.5hours to cover rest of the lakes. Once we reached the first lake, most of the walk to the next lakes was flat and there was no need to cover a lot of distance too. We turned around and walked few paces and behold, the third lake, Oqe Qocha, at an altitude of 4630m. This lake is at the foot of Ausangate peak and provides a beautiful scenic background.
As mentioned, we covered all the lakes in around 1.5hours and then started our walk back to Pacchanta at around 14:15. The Israeli group made up their ground too and they were keen on viewing the landscapes through my binoculars. They took turns looking at Ausangate peak and admired the quality of the glass. In the meantime, I struck a conversation about the worldly happenings, and it was good to have company on the way back. Now that all the lakes are behind us, we needed this company to draw strength to walk back. Sreyaan and I realised that we are hurrying back, and hence, took a breather at one of the rest places and consumed the fruits while admiring the views. The Israeli group, though, continued their hike back to Pacchanta. After about 10-15 minutes, we resumed our walk, and we could see the Israeli group at a distance all through. It was around 15:35 when we finally made our way to our car and our group. It took us around 5 hrs and 20 minutes to do the Ausangate 7 lagunas hike.
This hike was very important for me, as I was not sure of my fitness and lacked confidence that I’ll be able to perform any sort of such physical activity. So, it was a sense of relief and a sense of accomplishment after I successfully managed to do this hike. I am hoping that this will provide the motivation to undertake a trek next year.
