Bikepacking the Ausangate Circuit in Peru was the most effective and hardest bikepacking journey I’ve achieved thus far. It’s an epic route with unimaginable environment and various terrain. Study my journey and research how one can plan your Ausangate journey!
I’ve achieved a great deal of bikepacking journeys, nevertheless the Ausangate Circuit in Peru was by far the hardest and most epic bikepacking journey I’ve achieved thus far. It was unimaginable! (and intensely laborious…) Nonetheless I LOVED it. The thought for this 5d/4n journey occurred after a superb pal – Malcolm – and I accepted spots to work on the South American Epic. We knew we would have liked to do a pre-trip journey earlier to turning into a member of the tour in Cusco, Peru, and the Ausangate Circuit regarded good. We did our planning, nevertheless I really feel we every can agree now that it was additional gorgeous, tougher, and further epic than we had anticipated.
The whole 40+ mile circuit is beautiful with steady views of snow-capped jagged peaks, turquoise blue alpine lakes, crackling glaciers, and wide-open llanos (plains) dotted with llamas and alpacas. It’s distant Andean wilderness at its most luxurious.
Nonetheless, as we found, bikepacking the Ausangate Circuit can be very tough. The route is principally traveled by hikers and horses (do you have to’re a mountain biker, you already know what which means…) and the whole circuit is above 15,000 ft. Respiration and sleeping had been robust, to say the least.
The biking was moreover an uphill battle – really! All of the climbs had been hike-a-bikes, each as a result of altitude (pedaling at 15k ft is not any joke y’all), the steepness of the climbs (my arms purchased additional of a train than I’d anticipated), or the rocky terrain (I like navigating rock gardens, nevertheless some stretches on the circuit should not attainable to journey). I’d say we rode about 50% of the whole route and pushed our bikes for the other 50%. Laborious? Certain. Nonetheless worth it? 100%.
Bikepacking the Ausangate Circuit is an unimaginable journey, nevertheless you undoubtedly should do some planning and know what to anticipate sooner than making an attempt it. The route is extraordinarily distant, at extreme altitude, and bodily very demanding. If it’s a go to you’re considering, this data provides you all the data it is important help plan your journey.
An infinite because of Haku Expeditions for serving to us make our journey doable. They organized our bike leases and supplied transport to and from the start of our journey from Cusco. Do you have to’re planning a DIY journey, attain out to them for help with logistics. Or, when you want to do a supported journey, they supply a 5-day Ausangate Mountain Bike Journey that seems fantastic and incorporates a soak in scorching springs!
Ausangate at a glance
Ausangate is a sacred mountain to the Quechua people. It’s part of the Vilcanota mountain fluctuate, which is located a variety of hours southeast of Cusco, Peru. The peak rises to twenty,945 ft (6,384 meters), making it the most effective mountain throughout the Cusco space. Most people hike the Ausangate Circuit, nevertheless we biked spherical it (undoubtedly not as commonplace – we purchased some uncommon seems and solely seen one totally different bikepacker- our new Aussie good pal!). The circuit doesn’t take you to the summit of Ausangate, nevertheless you will be at about 15,000 – 16,000 ft on a regular basis.
This area is additional distant and fewer crowded than totally different high-altitude treks in Peru similar to the Inca Path to Machu Picchu and even the Huayhuash Path (which can be presupposed to be unimaginable, nevertheless even a lot much less applicable for bikes). I cherished the remoteness and solitude we had on our journey, nevertheless not all people will actually really feel cosy being so far-off from civilization and corporations.
Do it’s a must to Hike or bike the Ausangate Circuit?
Clearly, we chosen to bikepack spherical Ausangate, nevertheless you can also make it a backpacking journey. We seen a variety of groups of backpackers alongside one of the simplest ways and, in fact, we ended up hike-a-biking about 50% of our route anyway. Personally, I’m not a variety of a backpacker – I’ll on a regular basis choose biking over climbing – nevertheless do you have to’re not an expert rider, backpacking the Ausangante Circuit may be a better match.
The Route
The route spherical Ausangante is pretty straightforward, HOWEVER, it could be tough to navigate on account of there are a great deal of side trails going every which method and it’s easy to get caught ‘low’ when it is best to have stayed ‘extreme’ and vice versa. A GPS navigation machine (not your phone) is vital. I used my Garmin Edge 830, as I do for all my bikepacking journeys, and it has on no account led me astray.
How technical & tough is it?
It’s laborious. Harder than I assumed it will likely be. The altitude makes the hike-a-bikes kinda brutal (nevertheless worth it) and there are a selection of climbs which is likely to be steep, unfastened, and rocky. You could possibly be contemplating “oh, it’s solely 40 miles or so” nevertheless it is a laborious 40 miles. I extraordinarily advocate aiming to do solely 8-12 miles a day. Don’t underestimate the Ausangate Circuit!
As far as technicality, it’s a blended bag. There are some unimaginable descents which is likely to be fast and flowy and there are some soul-sucking climbs up steep and rocky switchbacks. There are moreover pot-holed traverses by boggy terrain and straightforward pedaling all through open llano. There’s really just a little bit of each half on this route, which makes it rather more attention-grabbing. Nonetheless as I mentioned above, we ended up utilizing solely about half of of the circuit regardless that we every are very expert riders.
A lot much less expert mountain bikers will uncover just a few of the descents steep, unfastened, and tough. Underscore unfastened! If you want gratifying on this journey, I prefer to advocate having a minimum of intermediate mountain biking skills with some experience on technical terrain.
Our Route Recap
Alright, let’s communicate route decisions on account of there are a selection of other methods to do the Ausangate Circuit.
This is what we did:
- We purchased a visit with Haku Expeditions from Cusco to Chillca (three hours drive). A great deal of bikepackers will start throughout the metropolis of Pitumarca below Chilcca, nevertheless we had been tight on time, so we opted to drive as a lot as Chillca after which finish our journey in Pitumarca (which is often downhill!)
- For navigating the Ausangante Circuit, we largely adopted this route by Sarah Swallow. There are some issues I’d change, though, which I’ll dive into below.
- We moreover added on Rainbow Mountain. It’s worth going to Rainbow Mountain, nevertheless I wouldn’t do this route as soon as extra. There’s a really steep half by a canyon which may be a really laborious hike-a-bike. See below for a singular alternative for attending to Rainbow Mountain (which is ready to nonetheless be laborious, nevertheless not pretty as laborious :).
- From Rainbow Mountain, we descended the first road all one of the simplest ways once more to Pitumarca the place we stayed the night after which returned to Cusco the following day by means of a Haku Expeditions change.
Tip: The gravel road from Pitumarca to Chillca is a mild uphill with the potential for many vacationer bus web site guests heading to Rainbow Mountain. It’s biggest to do it later throughout the day do you have to plan on utilizing it.
Proper right here’s a breakdown of our 5-day 4-night journey:
Day 1: We left Cusco spherical 10am and arrived in Chillca spherical 1:30pm with a quick stop in Pitumarca for some grab-and-go meals. After organizing our gear and loading our bikes, we started pedaling out of Chillca spherical 2:30pm. The first few miles are on doubletrack road, which is an environment friendly warm-up, nevertheless doesn’t really put collectively you for what’s to return over the next 32 miles! (hint hint…) We made it about 7.5 miles to a nice open topic the place we organize camp by some boulders and watched the photo voltaic set over the snow-capped peak of Qullpa Anata.
>> Day 1 stats: 7.58 miles / 981 ft climbing / 1 hr half-hour shifting time / max elevation 15,162 ft
Tip: Pitumarca is the ultimate metropolis with reliable supplies for the rest of the journey.
Day 2: Neither of us really slept correctly (possibly as a result of altitude), nevertheless we slowly packed up camp, made breakfast, and acquired once more on our bikes. Proper this second we tackled the biggest climb of the route and it was laborious! However moreover stunningly gorgeous. In accordance with my GPS, we solely made it 7.5 miles and had a shifting time of two hours, nevertheless come what may it took us lots of the day! Most likely on account of we took loads of breaks and as well as on account of the going was slowwww. Depend on to push your bike up 99% of the climb. Nonetheless whenever you make it to the very best of the cross, the descent down the other side is epic. Positively a highlight of the journey! We camped at a really good spot on the bottom of the descent subsequent to an alpine lake (I extraordinarily advocate leaping in!).
>> Day 2 stats: 7.66 miles / 1,683 ft climbing / 2 hours shifting time (it felt method longer) / max elevation 16,544 ft
Day 3: I slept terribly, so we had a gradual morning and didn’t end up leaving camp until spherical 10:30am (a mistake in hindsight). I assumed it was going to be a greater day, but it surely absolutely wasn’t! We had one different hike-a-bike climb that was steeper and further technical than yesterday and navigating the route was moreover a bit trickier. Nonetheless the views continued to be spectacular. The descent from the very best of the climb was moreover my favorite of the whole journey – fast and flowy with merely the right amount of tech on the end. For tenting, we would have liked to make it to the free tenting huts at lake Pucacohca. Daylight was waning, nevertheless we agreed that we must always all the time push ahead, regardless that there was one last sturdy hike-a-bike half. We arrived on the huts just because the photo voltaic was setting over the lake, but it surely absolutely was so good to get out of the wind and organize our tents contained within the little cabanas (which saved us good and warmth!)
>> Day 3 stats: 12 miles / 2,444 ft climbing / 3 hrs half-hour shifting time / max elevation 15,711 ft
Day 4: We wakened understanding that we had one different huge climb ahead of us – the final word one in all many Ausangate Circuit. This last climb was the most effective of the three, nevertheless we nonetheless hike-a-biked most of it as a result of altitude. Nonetheless the descent down the other side was large gratifying and likely primarily probably the most steep and technical out of the entire descents (I cherished it :). Earlier, we had moreover decided to extend our route yet one more day and head as a lot as Rainbow Mountain to see its well-known multicolored layers of mineral deposits. We adopted Sarah Swallow’s Rainbow Mountain add-on, nevertheless this ended up being a really sturdy hike-a-bike by a canyon (see my notes below on what I’d do otherwise). Initially, we would have liked to do lots of the climbing as a lot as Rainbow Mountain proper now, but it surely absolutely ended up being an extreme quantity of, so we camped at a longtime campsite with little huts and had dinner and carried out taking part in playing cards with our new Australian bikepacking good pal. Positively the most effective decision!
>> Day 4 stats: 9.3 miles / 2,139 ft climbing / 2 hrs 50 minutes shifting time / max elevation 16,052 ft
Day 5: I do know I’ve acknowledged that every one the climbs on this journey had been tough, nevertheless this final one as a lot as Rainbow Mountain was the hardest for me. Maybe it was on account of I hadn’t been sleeping correctly and was exhausted, nevertheless this climb kicked my butt. The worst half, too, was that the descent down the other side was a hike-a-bike, too! It was too steep and unfastened and switchbacked to journey with a loaded bikepacking bike. Nonetheless… I will say that Rainbow Mountain is unquestionably well worth the struggling to get there – the multicolored striations are literally distinctive aaannndd you’re going to get a picture with a llama carrying shades. Correct!? From Rainbow Mountain, we bombed down the road (which was gorgeous) and rejoined the road heading to Pitumarca, which was (thankfully) moreover largely downhill.
>> Day 5 stats: 29 miles / 2,297 ft climbing / 3 hrs 45 minutes shifting time / max elevation 16,579 ft
Tip: We stayed at an superior little guesthouse in Pitumarca known as Hospedaje Malvin.
What I’d do otherwise
Whereas we did a great deal of evaluation and planning for our Ausangate journey, and whole it went really simply, there are some issues I’d do otherwise.
- I’d drop down onto the road principal into Upis at spherical mile 20 on day 3. The route we adopted stayed extreme on the foothills, nevertheless navigation was tough since there wasn’t really a path to adjust to and the utilizing was pretty stop-and-go. If you’re going to get all the way in which right down to the road, you presumably can have a nice pedal into Upis the place there is a bridge that crosses the river (instead of a sketchy dam crossing) and there’s a small retailer with basic resupplies sooner than the massive hike-a-bike.
- I wouldn’t descend all one of the simplest ways all the way in which right down to the start of the Rainbow Mountain climb. Instead, our Aussie bikepacker good pal found an answer to maintain on a greater traverse, which decrease off the nasty canyon hike-a-bike. It gained’t make the second half of the climb as a lot as Rainbow Mountain less complicated, nevertheless a minimum of it’ll make the first half a bit a lot much less soul-sucking! (See route below)
- If I had an extra day, I’d return to Pitumarca by means of Valle Rojo from Rainbow Mountain. It’s presupposed to be really gorgeous and I was type of bummed that we didn’t get to see it. (See route below)
So, with all that in ideas, listed under are three routes I’d use if I had been to bikepack the Ausangate Circuit as soon as extra:
- Ausangate + Valle Rojo: This is likely to be the first path to adjust to. (Observe that I’ve not ridden this complete route – it’s a compilation of what I did journey and what I’d do subsequent time). It has the Upis detour and higher traverse to Rainbow Mountain. Do you have to don’t want to do Valle Rojo, you presumably can each do the ‘quick exit’ below or simply descend all the way in which right down to Chillca and skip Rainbow Mountain altogether. Do you have to do Valle Rojo, I’d plan for six days, 5 nights.
- Rainbow Mountain quick exit: Do you have to don’t have time to do Valle Rojo, that’s the quickest method down Rainbow Mountain and once more to Pitumarca.
- Pitumarca to Chillca: In case you may have the time or are relying on transportation, that’s the route from Pitumarca to Chillca. Worth vary an extra day do you have to start in Pitumarca.
Planning Your Ausangate Journey
When to go: the most effective time to do the Ausangate Circuit is throughout the dry season – Would possibly by October. Perceive that that’s the southern hemisphere, though, so Would possibly-August is winter and is likely to be really chilly. We did our journey in early September and had good local weather, nevertheless the nights had been nonetheless pretty chilly (below freezing). I wouldn’t advocate doing all of your journey throughout the moist season, which is November by April – it will likely be pretty miserable to be moist and soggy the whole time! This net web page has a superb summary of what to anticipate all through each month spherical Ausangate.
Number of days: We did a 5 day/4 night journey and it was good for starting in Chillca, doing the circuit, and together with on Rainbow Mountain, then ending in Pitumarca. Ought to you choose to do Valle Rojo, you could want to worth vary 6 days/5 nights and do you have to start in Pitumarca I prefer to advocate together with one different day for that.
Getting there: A great deal of bikepackers start in Pitumarca, which is less complicated to get to from Cusco than Chillca, the place we started. There are busses from Cusco to Pitumarca or your can hire private transporation. We booked a visit to Chillca from Cusco and from Pitumarca once more to Cusco with Haku Expeditions. They’re large expert, have a bike rack on prime of the auto, and should show you how to finalize your journey plans.
Peajes: We’d heard regarding the peajes sooner than starting our journey, nevertheless we didn’t discover what variety of there might be and we had been pretty irritated with how lots we paid by the highest of our journey. Peajes are principally ‘tolls’ that it is important pay to cross by parts of the Ausangate Circuit. There is no such thing as a such factor as a rhyme or objective for when or the place you’ll encounter an space asking for money, nevertheless be able to pay a minimum of 4-5 cases all by means of your journey. Each peaje costs 20-30 soles per particular person ($5-8 USD). I don’t ideas paying, but it surely absolutely was pretty irritating that there was no regulation or development for when or the place we’d encounter a peaje. Ship extra Soles.
Water: Water is plentiful alongside the route, so that you really don’t need to maintain numerous hours worth. You do should filter and take care of it, though. We launched a water filter (a Sawyer Squeeze, although I would like I’d launched my GravityWorks on account of it’s less complicated and sooner) and we moreover launched AquaMira drops to purify the water.
Meals: Plan on packing your total meals. There are few to no resupplies alongside all of the Ausangate Circuit. We launched dehydrated meals for dinners, bars for breakfasts, and lighweight snack meals for lunch. The potential areas for resupplies are: a small retailer in Chillca, a small retailer in Upis, and distributors at Rainbow Mountain.
Bike: We every had fast journey hardtails with 2.2-2.3 ish tires. I assumed the had been pretty good and I was defintely glad to have some entrance suspension. The Aussie bikepacker we met on the circuit had a very rigid touring bike and I really feel he’d agree that he struggled. A quick journey hardtail is one of the simplest ways to go.
Gear: Check out my bikepacking gear report for a complete inventory on what to convey for a bikepacking journey. Specific for the Ausangate Circuit, you’ll want a warmth sleeping bag and liner (my NEMO Disco 30 and Sea to Summit Reactor Liner labored good), a whole gadget and restore package deal (there’s no one in the marketplace that shall be prepared that may show you how to in case of a mechanical), a water filter and purification system (see above), and a lightweight bikepacking bag organize. We every had a handlebar roll, physique bag, seat put up bag, and a backpack. I extraordinarily advocate NOT doing panniers – they’ll be a ache throughout the ass on the hike-a-bikes.
Tenting: It appears such as you presumably can camp nearly wherever on the Ausangate Circuit. There are a selection of ‘established’ campgrounds (don’t anticipate one thing fancy), nevertheless you don’t should rely upon them for sleeping for the night. The one campground we did hold at was on the bottom of Rainbow Mountain. There have been rustic shelters to set our tents up in and bogs. I moreover advocate using the free tenting huts at Lake Pucacocha!
Altitude sickness: It’s a biggie. We had been a bit crunched for time, so we didn’t have a ton of days to accclimate. We did spend two nights in Cusco (elevation 11,152 ft), nevertheless we moreover took Diamox for the whole thing of our journey, which I really feel really helped. Altitude sickness must be taken severely! We had a plan for ‘escape routes’ in case one among us purchased sick, nevertheless thankfully it didn’t come to that. Nonetheless please do your self a favor and have a plan for dealing with the altitude – the whole route is above 15,000 ft and likewise you WILL actually really feel it. For me, it affected my sleep largely. Nonetheless you can also get really nauseous, endure from unhealthy issues, and easily actually really feel pretty horrible whole.
Phew, that’s a great deal of knowledge! I’m the type of one which does some evaluation after which likes to find out points out as my journey evolves. Hopefully, this data will give a superb begin line for putting collectively your Ausangate bikepacking journey. It’s an epic route with unimaginable views, sturdy climbs, and an precise model of distant Andean solitude. I utterly cherished this journey, nevertheless merely know that it’s no stroll throughout the park. Plan correctly and have an incredible time!
Is the Ausangate Circuit one factor you’d be up for bikepacking (or backpacking?) What questions do you proceed to have? Go away a comment below!
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The Ausangate Circuit sounds like an incredible adventure. I appreciate the detailed planning tips and the emphasis on altitude acclimatization.
Thanks for sharing your experience. It seems like the route is quite challenging, especially for bikers. I’ll definitely consider your advice about using a GPS.
This article provides a great overview of what to expect on the Ausangate Circuit. The scenery sounds breathtaking, but I’m curious about the logistics involved.
I found your insights on bikepacking versus backpacking helpful. It’s good to know that both options are available depending on skill level.
I appreciate the honesty about the challenges faced during this journey. It’s important to prepare properly for such demanding routes.