Hi all,

I am going to Peru in February, and we'd like to do the Lares trail in light of the closure of the Inca trail. Does anyone have any tour providers to recommend? I'm not interested in booking a 7 or 8 day itinerary, we really just to be sure that we are following the trail properly, and porters and equipment (tents, sleeping bags, etc) would be nice. Can anyone recommend a good, inexpensive tour agent?

Also, February is rainy season... what exactly can we expect of the trail during this time?

Thanks!
Anne

Just go there and book through your hostel when you get there. It will offer more choices and be a lot cheaper.

I did my tour thru SAS tour operators. I booked ahead since i was traveling solo, but you can definitely book it once in Cusco. Especially since it is the off season. Most tours do leave on certain days of the week so I would check into that as soon as you arrive.
They offered 4 day Lares and 5 day Salkantay (which I did and highly recommend) National Geographic Adventure magazine just had an article on the Salkantay trek.
With SAS, even though we hiked alot, we also ate a ton. I actually gained weight during the hike! Our cooks were amazing!
Have a great trip! You will love it!

Try this
http://www.perutourism.com/.

I was very pleased with their services. Great service from the entire team.

Plan B would be to set it up from Cusco, there are hundreds of travel agents so finding one should be the least of your worries. Depending on what ratio of time/money you're in you may want to choose booking ahead or booking when you get there. I booked in advance as I was on a very tight schedule. Looking back I could have saved a bit by booking locally.

Lares or Salkantay trails both seem to be a better option to Inca trail, which is usually too expensive and too commercial.
I went on Salkantay trail last Oct, 5 days 4 nights. I booked with Puma Trek at Plaza de Armas in Cusco.
Tents, food and transport were provided by the travel agent. Sleeping bag at extra charge $10. All I paid was about half of what others pay for Inca trail.
We had pack horses to carry all the equipement. I seemed to like it more than using porters.