Exploring lake Humantay (and where you can eat the best ice cream in Peru)

Traveling during the rainy season around Cusco can be tough, as the weather can change at any time. Thus planning the trip to lake Humantay came with some challenges. The weather forecast was predicting rain for whole weeks which was not ideal, as one has to walk for 1.5 to 2 hours from the point where the car / bus drops you off (Soraypampa).

Nevertheless, we decided to risk it and made our way to Soraypampa, where we were rewarded with clear sky and the most beautiful view of the snowy mountains.

From Cusco it takes around 3.5 hours to reach Soraypampa but we have family in Limatambo and stayed with them the night before. Thus it only took us 1.5 hours and we were able to arrive before all of the tourist buses from Cusco. There are also some accommodation options in Soraypampa available, for those wishing to arrive even earlier (from what I understand the weather is the best early in the morning).

From Soraypampa (3900 m above sea level) there are two routes to reach Humantay lake (4250 m above sea level), one by a river and one on a wide path. We decided to take the route by the river to go up, as it is fresher because of the water nearby. 

After 1.5 hours we reached the top and unfortunately the clouds already started to cover the snowy mountains behind us.

By the time most of the tourists arrived, the clouds fully covered the mountains behind. Despite this, the color of the lake was really beautiful.

At the top there is also a tiny little hut where one can buy soft drinks and local snacks. One can also walk around to some viewpoints to get different angles of the lake, so I believe one hour at the top is enough.

On our way back to the car, parts of the way were completely flooded, as water was coming down from another mountain where it was raining. Thus we had to literally jump from one dry spot to the next, as the water was going all the way up to our knees.

Finally back in Limatambo, we paid a visit to my uncle's ice cream cafe (which is right on the way back to Cusco). My uncle and my aunt make their ice cream themselves every evening and incorporate many different local fruits.

They sell ice cream in cones / cups and also in small plastic bags (so called Marcianos). Many of the truck drivers on their way from Cusco to Lima like to buy these, as they can still easily navigate the car while enjoying the ice cream.

So, should you ever visit lake Humantay, please ask your tourist guide to make a stop on their way back there so you can try yourself. :) Also, there is nothing better than some ice cream after walking up a mountain at 4000 m above sea level.