Ausangate Circuit (The Sacred Apu)

The high-altitude heart of the Inca world. The Ausangate Circuit is a strenuous but scenic 70km loop around the highest peak in southern Peru. Unlike the busy Inca Trail, this trek is wild, high, and deeply traditional. The route moves through the Vilcanota Range, crossing multiple passes over 5,000m. Hikers are treated to a surreal landscape of turquoise, red, and emerald-green glacial lakes (the 7 Lagoons), massive hanging glaciers, and the multi-colored mineral stripes of Vinicunca (Rainbow Mountain). You share the trail primarily with indigenous herders and their vast flocks of alpacas, offering a glimpse into a way of Andean life that has remained unchanged for centuries.

Considered a premier multi-day trekking route in Los Glaciares National Park, the Huemul Circuit provides a circumnavigation of Cerro Huemul near El Chaltén. The route crosses two significant passes—Paso del Viento and Paso Huemul—offering direct panoramas of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field. Terrain varies from forested valley floors and river crossings to exposed glacial moraines and high-altitude scree slopes. The circuit is defined by its remoteness and the requirement for technical river crossing skills using fixed steel cables.