Choquequirao to Machu Picchu
PRICES IN DOLLARS
👥 Minimum number of people: 2
📅 Season: March/December
💪 Difficulty: Medium
Imagine a lifestyle where great importance was given to the community and where there was a deep love and respect for Mother Nature. This intense and important connection between human beings and nature allowed the Incas to carry out true wonders of architecture and engineering. Anti-seismic stone cities high up on the mountain. Aqueducts that bring fresh and clean water for 500 years. Agricultural platforms on the steep mountain sides.
An amazing route in one of the most impressive tourist destinations on the planet.
ITINERARY
INCLUDED
NOT INCLUDED
OPTIONAL
Day 1: Cusco - Cachora - Santa Rosa
We’ll start our adventure very early in the morning. We’ll pick you up at your hotel at 5:00 am and will travel for 4 hours to Cachora.
In Cachora we’ll meet the rest of the team of assistants, as well as the animals who’ll carry our belongings and after defining some details, we’ll begin the walk. 4 hours downhill awaits us to the lunch point in Chikiska, a beautiful town full of fruit fields. Along the route we’ll be able to contemplate the impressive landscape that the Apurímac Valley offers, as well as two other gigantic snow-capped mountains: Padreyoc and Wayna Cachora. We’ll continue the descent for 2 more hours until we reach the bottom of the valley where you’ll find the fast-moving Apurímac river, whose name in quechua means "Speaking God". Then, we’ll make a 2-hour ascent until you reach the Santa Rosa camp (1.800m) where a delicious dinner and an incredible night of rest await.
Day 2: Santa Rosa - Marampata - Choquequirao
After savoring a delicious breakfast, we’ll continue our journey and start the walk at 5:30 am. A 3-hour zig-zag climb awaits us, up to Marampata (3.100m) where you can capture impressive photographs of the canyon and the snow-capped peaks. Then a gradual descent of 3.5 hours will begin that will take you to the very archaeological complex of Choquequirao where you’ll enjoy lunch. Our camp will be set up near there. Contemplate your surroundings, feel the energy that this place has stored for 5 centuries, and take advantage to stretch your muscles as we will briefly visit the most important places in Choquequirao. At sunset, enjoy a beautiful sunset that will flood the endless valleys and white glacial mountains with its orange light. When it begins to get dark, we will return to the camp to enjoy a dinner that will comfort your stomach and restore your energy.
Day 3: Choquequirao - Maizal
Today we recommend waking up before the sun come up to appreciate the magnificent sunrise. After breakfast, we’ll begin our ascent towards the cloud forest. We will arrive at the Choquequirao pass (3.300m) to descend to the archaeological site of Pinchaunuyoc (2.750m) that will surprise you with its agricultural platforms suspended over the abysses of the White River canyon. We’ll continue descending to enjoy our lunch near the river. Many of our travelers take advantage of this opportunity to take a dip in the cold and crystal-clear waters of the river. It will be a pleasure to take a bath after 3 days of trekking! We’ll cross the river and begin a challenging ascent to our camp in Maizal. This will be the most difficult day.
Day 4: Maizal - Yanama - Santa Teresa
Today you’ll wake up with the unanimous song of the birds that will greet the sun. After recharging your energy with a delicious breakfast, we’ll head down an uphill path covered by lush vegetation. The snowy mountains will surround us once again reminding us of their power and beauty. In case the sky is not clear, you’ll see how the clouds cover the valley below us. In one way or another, the landscape will be extraordinary. 6 hours of ascent await us. This sector of the route is of great historical importance because several archaeological sites are scattered along the way. In addition, you’ll be able to observe some ancient Inca silver mines called Minas Victoria and then ascend to the Victoria pass (4.200m). It will be quite a long climb, but the beauty of the route is so great that you won't even notice the effort. Near the top we’ll begin to see cobbled sectors of the road that are original constructions of the Incas. Finally, we will make a decent to Yanama (3.500m) a small town located at the bottom of a huge valley.
From here we travel 6 hours in a private shuttle to the village of Santa Teresa. We reach the Cocalmayo hot springs for lunch and then continue on to Santa Teresa where we will spend the night.
Day 5: Santa Teresa - Hidroelectrica - Aguas Calientes
After a comfortable breakfast in the town of Santa Teresa we will arrive at Hidroelectrica, a 10Km route that runs along the train tracks, located at the bottom of an incredible valley in the vegetation has already been completely transformed into high jungle, here we will have the option to take the train ($30) or walk around 2,5hrs until hot waters.
When we arrive in Aguas Calientes we will leave our luggage in the hotel and we will have free time to know the town, its market or just relax with a bath in its thermal waters. At the end of the afternoon, we will meet again the whole group. We will have dinner in a restaurant and plan with the guide for the next day, in which we will visit Machu Picchu.
Day 6: Aguas Calientes - Machu Picchu - Cusco
At dawn of the third day around 4:00 am. We will get ready to go to the inca citadel of Machu Picchu a way up through the jungle, having the opportunity to see the sunrise, after registering in the control of the park, 6:20 am, You will appreciate the sunrise while luck accompanies us. The option of getting on the bus is also offered ($12).
We start the walk back at 12:00 am after a snack, returning the same way as the previous day. Our transportation will be waiting for us at Hidroelectrica to take us to Cusco in approximately 6 hours.
