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A person standing in front of a glacier with arms raised. 1
A person in a red jacket inside an ice cave. 2
A glacier with a crevasse and a small pond, surrounded by mountains and snow. 3
A person walking near a glacier with a lake in the foreground. 4
A glacier with a rocky foreground and a small body of water. 5
By Planet Odysseys
Free cancellation available
Price is S$88 per adult
See tickets

Features

  • Free cancellation available
  • 17h
  • Mobile voucher
  • Instant confirmation
  • Multiple languages

Overview

  • Two things make this trip different from other ways of reaching the ice.

    The first is Laguna Sibinacocha. This lake covers around 30 square kilometres and sits at 4,869 metres, held between the plateau and the Vilcanota range. Very few day tours from Cusco reach it, because it adds an hour to the route. It is included here.

    The second is how little walking is involved. The Quelccaya viewpoint is ten to twenty minutes from the vehicle on nearly flat ground. Most high mountain sights in this region ask for an hour or more of climbing. That puts the largest tropical ice cap in the world within reach of travellers who would not attempt a trek.

    You are also unlikely to share it. Better known sites in the Cusco region receive hundreds of visitors a day. Quelccaya receives a handful of vehicles.

    Guides are local to the region. They carry emergency oxygen and a pulse oximeter, and check the group before anyone walks at altitude.

Activity location

  • Cusipata
    • 08225, Cusipata, Cusco, Peru

Meeting/Redemption Point

  • Plaza de Armas
    • 08000, Cusco, Cusco, Peru

Check availability

Quelccaya Day Tour

  • Activity duration is 17 hours17h
    17h
  • English
Starting time: 3:00
Price details
S$81.94 x 1 AdultS$81.94
Paid at activityS$5.57
Total
Price is S$87.51
Until Sun, 4 Oct

What's included, what's not

  • Inclusions
    Hotel pickup and drop-off
  • Inclusions
    Professional guide
  • Inclusions
    First aid kit
  • Inclusions
    Lunch
  • Inclusions
    Private transport
  • Inclusions
    Breakfast
  • Exclusions
    To be paid directly to the community
  • Exclusions
    Bottled water

Know before you book

    • Not recommended for pregnant travellers
    • Not recommended for travellers with poor cardiovascular health
    • Travellers should have a high level of physical fitness

Activity itinerary

Cusipata

  • 45m
The first stop is a small farming village in the Vilcanota valley, about two hours south of Cusco. Breakfast is served here while it is still dark. Eat well at this stop. It is the last full meal before the high plateau, and food taken at a comfortable altitude helps more than anything you can do higher up. Toilets are available here. There are no facilities again until the afternoon.

Quelccaya Ice Cap

  • 1h 30m
Quelccaya is the largest tropical ice cap in the world. It does not hang in a valley like most glaciers. It lies flat across the top of a high plateau and runs out of sight in both directions. From the vehicle it is a walk of ten to twenty minutes over uneven ground to reach the viewpoint, which stands above 5,000 metres. The walk is short but the altitude makes it feel like work, so it is taken slowly. Below the ice sit two meltwater lagoons. One is turquoise and the other grey brown. Both are fed by the same glacier. Walking on the ice is not permitted. A community entrance fee is collected at a control point here and must be paid in cash in local currency.

Laguna Sibinacocha

  • 45m
A high altitude lake of around 30 square kilometres, held between the plateau and the Vilcanota range at 4,869 metres. The water is turquoise and changes colour through the morning with the wind and the light. Flamingos are often seen feeding at the shallow southern end. Snow peaks stand along the far shore. Very few day tours from Cusco include this lake, because it adds an hour to the route.

Cusipata

  • 1h
he return route passes back through the same village in the Vilcanota valley. Lunch is served here. Eating is far more comfortable at this altitude than on the plateau, and most travellers find their appetite returns on the descent. From this stop it is around two and a half hours by road back to Cusco.

Location

Activity location

  • LOB_ACTIVITIESLOB_ACTIVITIES
    Cusipata
    • 08225, Cusipata, Cusco, Peru

Meeting/Redemption Point

  • PEOPLEPEOPLE
    Plaza de Armas
    • 08000, Cusco, Cusco, Peru

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