Can You Ride a Horse Up to Humantay Lake?
The horse option is real, local, and cash only. It also does not take you all the way. Here is exactly how it works and who should say yes.
Written with Carlos Mamani, Humantay Lake tour guide & high-altitude specialist
Short answer
Yes. Local horsemen rent horses at the Soraypampa trailhead for about 80 soles one way, paid in cash on the spot; tour operators do not manage it. A handler leads the horse the whole way, and the animals stop 15 to 20 minutes below the lake, so the steep final stretch is on foot for everyone.
Every morning at Soraypampa, before most of the vans have even opened their doors, the horses are already standing in a loose line along the fence, breath steaming, saddles on. The horsemen walked them up from the valley in the dark. I have stood at that fence with more groups than I can count, watching people make the same calculation: my lungs, my knees, 80 soles, that slope. This guide gives you everything you need to make that call well, because it is a better decision made at the trailhead with real information than in a hotel room with none.
Can the horse take you all the way to the shore?
No. The horses stop at a flat area roughly 15 to 20 minutes below the lake, where the trail turns into steep, rocky switchbacks that are unsafe for a loaded animal. Every visitor, rider or walker, does the final section on foot. Plan for a short, sharp climb at the end no matter what you paid.
This surprises more people than anything else about the horse option, so I am putting it first. You do not ride to a turquoise shoreline. You ride to a drop-off point in the upper meadow, dismount, and then face the steepest 15 to 20 minutes of the entire route with legs that have been sitting in a saddle for an hour. At 4,100 metres and climbing, that final push gets everyone breathing hard.
The geography explains it. Humantay Lake sits in a glacial bowl at about 4,200 metres, and the lip of that bowl is a wall of loose rock and tight turns. Horses with riders have no business on it, and the local community does not allow them past the drop-off. Honestly, that last section on foot is part of the experience: you crest the lip, the wind hits you, and the lake appears all at once below Humantay peak. Nobody gets to skip that moment, which I think is exactly right.
So when you weigh the 80 soles, understand what you are buying: the long grind of the lower and middle trail, which is most of the elevation, but not the summit moment. If your concern is whether you can manage any steep walking at all, read the full difficulty guide before booking anything.
How much does a horse cost and how do you pay?
About 80 soles one way uphill, with recent reports ranging from 70 to 90. You pay cash, in soles, directly to the horseman at Soraypampa. It is a community business, not an add-on your tour operator sells or manages, so no card, no advance booking, no receipt in your booking app.
| Horse facts | The reality on the ground |
|---|---|
| Price, one way up | ~80 soles (reports 70 to 90) |
| Payment | Cash only, soles, direct to the horseman |
| Booked through the operator? | No, arranged on site at Soraypampa |
| Who controls the horse | A local handler leads it the whole way |
| Riding experience needed | None |
| Where it stops | 15 to 20 minutes below the lake |
| Riding down | Sometimes offered separately; most people walk the ~1 h descent |
The arrangement is beautifully simple and completely analogue. The horses belong to families from Soraypampa and the wider Mollepata district, and the fee goes straight into that household. Your guide can help you agree the price and match you with a horseman, but the transaction is yours. Bring the money in notes a horseman can actually change: two 20s and four 10s beat a single 100 every time, a point I hammer on in the cost breakdown guide.
One practical warning from many early mornings up there: on busy dry-season days the horses can all be taken by mid-morning. Groups arriving on the earliest tours get first pick. If you know your body will want one, do not dawdle at the trailhead.
How does the handoff actually work at the trailhead?
Your guide gives the Soraypampa briefing, asks who wants a horse, and waves the horsemen over. You agree the price, pay, and get helped into the saddle. A handler leads your horse on foot the entire way while the walkers set off on the same trail. At the upper drop-off you dismount, and rejoin your group for the final climb.
There is no counter and no queue system, just a short, friendly negotiation in the meadow. You do not need any riding skill because you are not really riding: the handler holds the lead rope from the ground for the whole ascent, picking the line through the rocky sections while you concentrate on staying centred in the saddle. The horses do this climb most days of their working lives and know every stone.
Riders and walkers leapfrog each other up the mountain. The horse path braids alongside the walking trail, and a led horse reaches the drop-off comfortably ahead of walkers taking 1.5 to 2 hours on foot, so riders usually wait there or start the final section early. Your guide keeps the group together at the lip so nobody arrives at the shore alone.
| The day with a horse vs on foot | Riding | Walking |
|---|---|---|
| Soraypampa to upper drop-off | In the saddle, handler's walking pace, quicker than hiking | 1.5 to 2 h |
| Final section to the lake | 15 to 20 min on foot, steep | Same, 15 to 20 min |
| Effort saved | Most of the ~300 to 470 m of climbing | None |
| Descent | On foot ~1 h (separate fare if ridden) | On foot ~1 h |
| Cost | ~80 soles one way, cash | Free |
Who should take a horse, and who should walk?
Take a horse if you arrived in Cusco recently and feel the altitude, if a knee or hip complains on sustained climbs, or if you are pacing a child or a parent. Walk if you have acclimatized two or more days and hike regularly. Deciding at the trailhead, feeling that morning's body, beats deciding in advance.
| Your situation | My honest advice |
|---|---|
| Under 2 days in Cusco, headachy at the briefing | Horse. Altitude does not negotiate |
| Acclimatized, regular hiker | Walk. The climb is the point |
| Travelling with kids or older parents | Horse for them, walk beside |
| Bad knee, hip or back on climbs | Horse up, careful walk down with poles |
| Fit but nervous about "holding the group up" | Walk. Guides pace for the slowest, always |
| Pregnant, serious heart or lung condition | Neither: the operator lists this day as not suitable |
Altitude is the honest variable here, not fitness. I have watched marathon runners sit down grey-faced at 4,000 metres while their unathletic partners strolled past, purely because one acclimatized and one flew in the day before. If you have fewer than two full days in Cusco behind you, the horse is not a luxury, it is insurance. The acclimatization guide explains the why and the how.
This is also where the structure of a good tour earns its keep. The featured small-group day carries a first aid kit and an emergency oxygen bottle, the guide is watching for altitude symptoms at the briefing, and both meals are handled, so the horse is the only decision left on your plate. If that is the version of the day you want, book the Humantay Lake day trip with both meals included and check live availability and prices on GetYourGuide. The listing shows 4.8 stars across 3,809 reviews with free cancellation up to 24 hours, and it leaves the horse exactly as it should be: optional, on site, your call.
Are the horses treated well, and how do you ride respectfully?
Traveller reports from recent seasons describe working animals in reasonable condition, led at a walk by handlers who own them, with weight limits applied informally. You can help: respect the handler's pace, do not demand speed, carry your own daypack if asked, and tip the handler, not just the guide.
These are not trekking-company animals on a rotation schedule. They are family horses, and the family walks beside you the whole way, which is itself a decent welfare mechanism: nobody runs their own horse into the ground in front of paying strangers. The handlers rest the animals between trips at the trailhead, and the drop-off rule below the lake protects them from exactly the terrain that would cause injuries.
That said, you are part of the equation. Ride with your weight settled, let the handler choose the pace and the line, and if you are a larger rider and the horseman hesitates, take it gracefully rather than pressing. A 5-sol tip to the handler at the drop-off is rare enough that it lands. And at the shore itself, remember whose place this is: the lake is sacred to the local communities, entering the water is prohibited, and the horses stay below partly out of respect for that too.
The horse question is really a question about your own morning: how your head feels at the briefing, how the legs feel after the van. Keep 80 soles in small notes in your pocket, stay honest with yourself at Soraypampa, and either answer is a good one.