Choquequirao Trek to Machu Picchu
(7 Days)

Good morning! Are you ready to do this?

• We’ll pick you up from your hotel in Cusco and head off for this adventure!
• After meeting our team and loading up our gear, we’ll start the first leg of the trek off easy with a 4 hour downhill hike into Apurimac Canyon.
• When we get to the town of Chiquisqa, our crew will be there waiting with a huge lunch to help you refuel for your 2 hour uphill climb to Santa Rosa.
• We’ll have Andean happy hour (tea and snacks) and dinner in Santa Rosa before camping here for the night.

Good morning! Coca tea?

• We’ll have a hearty breakfast this morning before starting a 3 hour climb to Marampata.  It’s a narrow path so we will want to take our time and enjoy the views of Apurimac Canyon.
• We’ll take a good rest and enjoy some lunch in Marampata before continuing on our journey to the wonderous Choquequirao.
• Choquequirao will be your playground for the afternoon – you’ll have the place to your self to explore until dinner time.  We can watch the sunset in the ruins and, if we’re lucky, we might even be able to spot some condors high in the sky.

Let’s go!  There’s so much to show you!

• We have about 8 miles to walk today, so we’ll want to start it off easy with a guided tour of the Choquequirao ruins.
• After the tour, we’ll continue on our journey and follow the water channel out so you can really experience some of Peru’s many microclimates.  We’ll spend the day hiking through the highlands down into the cloudy forest – a sub-tropical part of the Andes what will make you feel like Indiana Jones.
• We’ll follow this trail all the way to the 3rd campsite at Pinchayniyoq.

Already halfway, Chicos!

• Our trail will be challenging today so we’ll want to get an early start.  We’ll hike on a path with many uphill and downhill points as we work our way through the Rio Blanco valley.
• After filling our bellies with a hearty lunch, we’ll start our steepest climb to Maizal where we’ll be rewarded with amazing views of the snow-capped Salkantay (Savage) mountain at our campsite.  We may try our luck again here at spotting a few more condors.

We’re with you – just keep going!

• Today will give you a taste of some real high altitude hiking.  Make sure you load up on breakfast because we have 2 high mountain passes to get over today as we cover 14km/9 miles.
• We’ll hike over the San Juan Pass (4050m/ 13123ft) and the Choqueqatarpo Pass (4000/13120ft) before finally descending to the town of Yanama.
• We’ll say goodbye to our horsemen here and load our stuff onto a van for a ride to Lucmabamba for dinner and our last night of camping under the incredible southern sky.

Ready for a shower yet?

• Your final hiking day will test your endurance with a steep climb above the clouds to the Inca site of Llactapata.  If we cross our fingers, Pacha Mama may give us a clear view of the back side of Machu Picchu from here – a side of the citadel very rarely seen by any tourists.
• From Llactapata, it’s all downhill on sharp, zigzagged trails until we reach the Urubamba river where we can dip our toes in the fresh, cool water.
• Another hour or so will bring us to the hydroelectric center train station for lunch where we can decide if we want to take a train or hike to Aguas Calientes – the town at the base of Machu Picchu.
• Either way, our hotel in Aguas Calientes will be waiting for us with a hot shower, comfy bed, and dinner in the city.

Today is the day, people! Machu Picchu is here!

• It’s the day you’ve been waiting for – your visit to Machu Picchu!
• You’ll have a guided tour of the whole city while feeling the magic and energy that makes this place one of the most incredible places on Earth.
• After the tour, we’ll head back to Aguas Calientes, or if you’ve purchased a permit to climb Huayna Picchu or Machu Picchu Mountain (must be purchased separately in advance), you will go there at the designated time.
• You will get lunch or a snack in Aguas Calientes on your own before we catch the train back to Cusco.  At your hotel, we will say “hasta luego” to you, our new friends.

For a more detailed itinerary, click here.