Trek Choquequirao Machu Picchu 6D/5N USD 700

DAY 1: CUSCO – CAPULIYOC – PLAYA ROSALINA – SANTA ROSA

ACTIVITIES: downhill hike, from Capuliyoc to Playa Rosalina and, uphill, to Santa Rosa.

DAY 2: SANTA ROSA – CHOQUEQUIRAO

ACTIVITIES: Uphill hike, from Santa Rosa to Choquequirao.

DAY 3: CHOQUEQUIRAO – MISKI UNUYOC

ACTIVITIES: Hike, from Choquequirao to Miski Unuyoc.

DAY 4: MISKI UNUYOC – RÍO BLANCO – MAIZAL

ACTIVITIES: Downhill hike, from Miski Unuyoc to the Río Blanco and Maizal.

DAY 5: MAIZAL – VICTORIA MINES´ MOUNTAIN PASS – YANAMA – SANTA TERESA

ACTIVITIES: Uphill hike, from Maizal to the Victoria Mines Mountain Pass and, downhill, to Yanama, and transportation to Santa Teresa.

DAY 6: SANTA TERESA – MACHUPICCHU PUEBLO – MACHU PICCHU – OLLANTAYTAMBO – CUSCO

ACTIVITIES: Hike to Machu Picchu, guided visit of the Incan City, lunch in Machupicchu Pueblo, and train trip to Ollantaytambo.

DURATION 6 Days / 5 Nights

DIFFICULTY Challenging

MAX. ALTITUDE 3,050 m

GROUP TRAVEL Escorted

 

Day-by-Day Itinerary

DAY 1

Cusco – Capuliyoc – Playa Rosalina – Santa Rosa

 

At 6:00 a.m. we will pick you up at your hotel to set off on a four-hour journey, travelling as a group aboard our tourism transportation vehicle, to reach the trek’s starting point. There, our agency’s support staff will be waiting with mules and horses to carry the camping and kitchen equipment, as well as our luggage.

We begin the trek in Capuliyoc, a vantage point offering beautiful views over the Apurímac Canyon. With good fortune, this is also a wonderful spot to sight condors — the world’s largest flying birds — in majestic flight.

From here we descend along a quiet, zigzagging trail where only the footsteps of the mules, our own steps, and birdsong break the silence. After roughly four hours of descent into the Apurímac Canyon, we reach Playa Rosalina, where lunch is served. Crossing the bridge over the river, we continue for a further two hours to Santa Rosa, where dinner and overnight camping await.

 

DAY 2

Santa Rosa – Choquequirao

 

Following a hearty breakfast, we resume the trek uphill towards Choquequirao — approximately two hours of ascent, followed by a further hour along undulating terrain.

After lunch we visit the lower sector of Choquequirao and the Pacchayoc terraces, home to a beautiful waterfall. The day concludes at Choquequirao campsite, where dinner and overnight accommodation are provided.

 

DAY 3

Choquequirao – Miski Unuyoc

 

An early start allows us to explore the Llamas Sector, famed for its 38 white-stone llama figures set into the terraces, along with the shepherd figure represented in the lower part of the complex using the same technique.

We then visit the Sacred Plaza, the Usnu, and other sectors of this remarkable Inca llaqta (multifunctional urban centre), before descending for half an hour to stop for lunch. In the afternoon we continue down to Miski Unuyoc, admiring fine Inca terracing along the way, and camp nearby.

 

DAY 4

Miski Unuyoc – Río Blanco – Maizal

 

After breakfast we descend towards the Río Blanco (White River) — around two hours — cross the river, and climb onward to Maizal, roughly four hours further. This remote area is home to a small farming community that cultivates corn and keeps livestock and mules.

Dinner and overnight stay are at the campsite of a local Maizal family.

 

DAY 5

Maizal – Victoria Mines Pass – Yanama – Santa Teresa

 

After an early breakfast we continue towards the Victoria Mines mountain pass, passing numerous tunnels once used to extract silver and copper — now abandoned.

We then descend to Yanama, a small village where lunch is served, before boarding public transport to Santa Teresa for dinner and overnight accommodation.

 

DAY 6

Santa Teresa – Machu Picchu Pueblo – Machu Picchu – Ollantaytambo – Cusco

 

Around 4:30 a.m. we begin the uphill walk to Machu Picchu in time for sunrise over the citadel. A guided tour through the main highlights of the Inca complex follows, with free time afterwards to explore independently and take photographs until midday.

We then descend to Machu Picchu Pueblo (formerly Aguas Calientes) for lunch. In the afternoon we board the train to Ollantaytambo, connecting to a tourism vehicle for the return journey to Cusco.

Included:

• Transportation: Cusco-Capuliyoc.
• Entrance ticket to Choquequirao.
• 6 breakfasts, 5 lunches and 5 dinners.
• 5 nights in tents.
• Isolating mattress.
• 1 night at an inn, in Santa Teresa.
• Professional guide.
• Mules, to carry the camping and kitchen gear, as well as 8 kg. (17.10 pds.), per participant.
• Cook and kitchen assistant.
• Muleteer and ‘carpero’ (tent man).
• Entrance ticket to Machu Picchu.
• Return train: Machupicchu Pueblo-Ollantaytambo.
• Transfer: Ollantaytambo-Cusco.

Not included:

• Entrance ticket to Cocalmayo´s thermo-medicinal baths, in Santa Teresa.
• Bus up to Machu Picchu, and down to Machupicchu Pueblo.
• Lunch, in Machupicchu Pueblo, on the last day.
• Tips for the support staff.
• Other personal expenses.

What to bring:

• Medium-size backpack.
• Canteen, to carry water.
• Snacks.
• 1 full change of clothes, per hiking day.
• Personal hygiene kit and towel.
• Mountain hiking shoes.
• Wide-brim hat, sunglasses and sunblock lotion.
• Wool bonnet, scarf and gloves.
• Thermic clothes, for cold nights.
• Rain gear.
• Insect repellent.
• Hiking sticks, with rubber tips.
• Photo/video camera, with extra batteries.
• Light binoculars.
• Flashlight, with extra batteries.
• Extra cash, in Nuevos Soles (PEN).