Quelccaya Day Tour

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.