Riding a horse up to Humantay Lake

Whose horses they are

No tour operator on this site keeps horses. The animals belong to families from the communities around Soraypampa, and they wait with their handlers where the trail begins, at about 3,900 m (12,800 ft). You hire one on the spot and pay the handler directly, in soles. Inka Altitude's listing states that the rental is not managed by the operator, and the other group tours treat it the same way, as an optional extra that sits outside the ticket. Your guide can explain how it works once you arrive. What no guide can do is reserve an animal ahead of time or promise that one will be free when your van pulls in, so think of the horse as likely rather than certain.

What the ride costs in soles

The handlers set the price, and the listings quote slightly different figures for it. Carry enough in small notes to cover the highest one.

• Inka Altitude. 80 soles (about $21–23) for one way;
• Kantu Peru Tours. 90 soles (about $24–26);
• Chullos Travel Peru on Viator. About 90 soles;
• Chullos Travel Peru on GetYourGuide. About 100 soles (about $26–29) for the ride up, and roughly 90 if you also want a horse for the descent.

The horse comes on top of the community entrance of 20 soles (about $5–6), which the three cheapest group days leave out as well. A rider on a ~$25–27 group day therefore hands over more than 100 soles in cash before lunch, and nothing at the trailhead takes cards. What a Humantay Lake tour costs puts the horse into a full day's budget alongside tips.

How much of the climb it covers

A horse carries you most of the way, not all of it. The animals stop below the last steep stretch to the shore, and riders usually climb down there and finish on foot. That short walk can feel surprisingly hard at about 4,200 m (13,780 ft), even after you have been carried for an hour. The ride itself takes roughly that long, depending on the animal and how busy the path is. Inka Altitude's itinerary allows about 1.5 hours for the ascent with the horse option against about 2 hours walking, so the saddle saves you breath and leg strength more than it saves time. The Humantay Lake hike, step by step describes the zigzags you will be riding beside.

Who the saddle suits

Two kinds of traveler gain most from a horse. One is the person who feels the thin air badly, perhaps after only a day or two in Cusco. The other is the slower walker who would rather not spend two hours at the back of the line. Riding spares your lungs and legs for most of the ascent, but it does not lower the lake by a single meter. You still stand at about 4,200 m at the top, and a headache or nausea can arrive whether you walked or rode. If symptoms grow on the way up, tell your guide and turn back. Altitude at Humantay Lake covers the warning signs and how to acclimatize before the trip.

Staying safe on horseback

These are working mountain horses led by people on foot, and the setup is simple. Helmets are rare, so ride with that in mind.

• Hold on. The path is uneven and the horse chooses its own footing. Keep a firm grip on the saddle and let the handler do the steering;
• Listen to the handler. They know when the animal will stop or lurch forward. If you share no language, ask your guide to translate the basics before you set off;
• Expect the edge. Horses tend to walk along the outer edge of the trail, which feels exposed if heights unsettle you. Look up the path ahead rather than down the slope;
• Pack light. Keep the daypack small and your phone zipped away while the horse moves; something dropped on that slope is hard to recover.

Travel insurance is not part of the group tours, and Chullos lists it among its exclusions, so check whether your policy covers a ride at this height before you climb on.

Riding down or walking down

Most riders walk back. The descent takes about an hour on foot, and many people find a horse going downhill over loose stones less comfortable than their own feet. Only Chullos' GetYourGuide listing quotes a price for the way down, so a ride back may be possible on some days, but do not build your plans around it. If your knees are the worry rather than your lungs, poles help most on the descent. Chullos and Kantu lend them, and Inka Altitude hands each guest a wooden stick. Grippy soles matter as much, since reviewers describe slips on the loose path down; what to wear and bring to Humantay covers footwear.

Tours with the horse built in, or not

If you already know you want to ride, Cusco Grand Adventure's Humantay Lake on horseback, from ~$86 on GetYourGuide, puts the horse in the price. After a 4–4:30 am pickup and breakfast, a 20-minute walk leads to the horses at Balcompata, and about 40 minutes in the saddle takes you most of the way up. You get roughly 40 minutes at the water and walk down in about an hour. Lunch is in Mollepata, and you reach Cusco at 5–6 pm. The catch has several parts. Only the ride up is paid for, so you still need cash for the entrance and for any horse down. Nobody under 10 or over 91 kg (200 lb) can ride. With just 20 reviews averaging 4.6, the track record is thin, and one guest describes a hot bus with weak air conditioning.

The other route is a normal group day with the horse paid separately. Viagens Machu Picchu's full-day trek, from ~$53, keeps a relaxed pace with up to 17 people and offers a horse as an option. Its catch is that the horse still costs extra there, while the ticket already runs about twice what the cheapest group days charge.

Deciding on the day

Since the horses wait at the start, the decision comes before you take your first steps. If the winding drive left you queasy or a headache has already begun, that is a good reason to ride. If you feel fine, walking slowly with rests often works better than expected. Travelers who want their own speed from the outset can look at private and small-group Humantay tours. Anyone still choosing between this lake and the striped hills south of Cusco should read Humantay Lake or Rainbow Mountain, and the Salkantay overnight suits hikers who would rather stretch the trip to two days.