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DAY 1: CUSCO – TINKI – UPIS

ACTIVITIES: Hike, from Tinki to Upis, and campsite in Upis.

DAY 2: UPIS – ARAPA´S MOUNTAIN PASS – AUSANGATE QOCHA

ACTIVITIES: Up and down hike, from Upis, passing by 2 mountain passes and lagoons and, up and down, to the Ansangate Qocha Campsite.

DAY 3: AUSANGATE QOCHA – HUANUHUANU

ACTIVITIES: Uphill hike to the Abra Palomani, lunch in a valley, and uphill hike to the Huanuhuanu Campsite.

DAY 4:  HUANUHUANU – PACCHANTA – CUSCO

ACTIVITIES: Uphill hike to the Jampa Mountain Pass, by 7 lagoons and, downhill, to have lunch in Pacchanta.

DAY 1: CUSCO – TINKI – UPIS

At 7:00 a.m., we´ll pick you up at your hotel, aboard our group tourism transportation vehicle, to head towards the District of Tinki, located about 3 hours from the city of Cusco.

After breakfast, we´ll start the trek, in Tinki, to get to Upis. The trail is quite picturesque, and it will be the best moment to take excellent pictures of the Apu (Tutelary Sacred Mountain) Ausangate. On the way, we´ll see local inhabitants, performing activities with their livestock, or shepherding Andean camelids, and busy with agricultural tasks. After a few hours of hiking, we´ll get to Upis, where we´ll have dinner, and will spend the night.

DAY 2: UPIS – ARAPA´S MOUNTAIN PASS – AUSANGATE QOCHA

Early morning, and after a pleasant breakfast, we´ll go on hiking, for about an hour. Then, reaching the Arapa Mountain Pass, we´ll contemplate the majestic mountain range that surrounds us. Afterwards, we´ll walk downhill, for a bit, to see some lagoons, with their beautiful colors and, bordering them, we´ll cross the second mountain pass, called ‘………..’.

Finally, we´ll walk down to the spectacular Ausangate Qocha Campsite, with views towards the snowcapped mountains, where we´ll have dinner, and will spend the night. Since it is the highest campground, on the whole trek, there, temperatures can fall to -5°C (23°F). So, we recommend you to bring good high altitude camping equipment, and thermic clothes, for cold nights.

DAY 3: AUSANGATE QOCHA – HUANUHUANU

This morning, our challenge will consist in hiking, uphill, and to overcome the highest mountain pass, at 5,200 m.a.s.l. (17,060 ft.), called ‘Abra de Palomani’. Then, we´ll walk down to a valley, in which we´ll have lunch, and then, we´ll go up to our next campsite, in Huanuhuanu. But, before getting there, we´ll see a rock fall where viscachas live. Finally, after a hard hike, we´ll have dinner, and will spend the night, in Huanuhuanu.

DAY 4:  HUANUHUANU – PACCHANTA – CUSCO

Today, we´ll go on hiking to the last mountain pass, called ‘Abra de Jampa’ and, afterwards, we´ll walk down to Pacchanta. In the course of the hike, we´ll have the chance of contemplating seven impressive lagoons. After lunch, in Pacchanta, we´ll return to the city of Cusco, arriving there at 7:00 p.m.

Included:

• Two-way group tourism transportation.
• Official mountain guide.
• Support staff and burden animals.
• Camping and kitchen equipment.
• 4 breakfasts, 4 lunches and 3 dinners.
• Hot teas and herbal teas, after meals.

Not included:

• Dinner, on the fourth day.
• Entrance ticket to Pacchanta´s thermal baths.
• Tips and personal expenses.

What to bring:

• Medium-size backpack.
• Canteen, for 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.
• Photo/video camera, with extra batteries.
• Flashlight, with extra batteries.
• Light binoculars.
• Extra cash, in Nuevos Soles (PEN).

10:00 a.m.: We leave the city of Cusco, aboard our group transportation vehicle, along the Cusco-Lima route and, after an hour and a half, we get to Limatambo. Then, we go on, for another hour, to Chonta.

There, the 1-hour hike starts to the Chonta Canyon, where we´ll observe the condors´ flight, in a wonderful natural setting. Afterwards, we´ll get back to our vehicle that will take us to Limatambo, to have lunch. Finally, we´ll be back, in the city of Cusco, at 8:00 p.m.

Included:

• Group tourism transportation vehicle.
• Bilingual guide.
• Lunch: Daily menu, with vegetarian option.
• Entrance ticket to the Chonta Canyon.

Not included:

• Tips.
• Personal expenses.

What to bring:

• Daypack.
• Mineral water and snacks.
• Clothes for warm weather, rain and cold, in successive layers.
• Wide-brim hat, sunglasses and sunblock lotion.
• Mountain hiking shoes or sneakers (tennis shoes).
• Photo/video camera, and extra batteries.
• Light binoculars.
• Hiking sticks.

Between 4:00 and 4:30 a.m., we´ll pick you up at your hotel, to travel, aboard a group tourism transportation vehicle, along the Southern Valley, on the asphalted road to Puno. After two and a half hours, we´ll get to the District of Cusipata (3,310 m.a.s.l. – 10,859 ft.), in the Province of Quispicanchis, where we´ll have breakfast.

Then, we´ll go on, aboard our vehicle, along a compacted dirt road, passing by several farming communities, like Japura and Hanchipata, to get to the Community of Pampachiri (4,600 m.a.s.l. – 15,091 ft.), where the road ends. There, we´ll start hiking, for about 5 km. (3.2 miles), to the Vinicunca Mountain Pass (5,020 m.a.s.l. – 16,469 ft.).

That horsepath goes gradually up to the pass, in a one and a half-hour hike, during which we´ll have the opportunity of observing alpacas and lamas and, at the top, we´ll get to contemplate the famous mountain range, and its impressive colors.

At the pass, we´ll have some free time, to enjoy the most beautiful panoramic views Mother Nature offers us, with the Colorful Mountain, that looks like a rainbow, in its pink, whitish, red, green, greenish-brown, brown and mustard-yellow tonalities.

Afterwards, we´ll descend, along the Red Valley, for about two hours, to reach the starting point of the second part of our hike, through magical places, with beautiful red mountains and, if we are lucky, we´ll sight vicuñas, condors, wallatas (Andean geese), etc., ´till we get back to our vehicle that will take us to Cusipata, for lunch.

In the afternoon, we´ll return to Cusco, where the vehicle will leave us a few blocks from the Main Square (Plaza de Armas), between 6:00 and 7:00 p.m.

Included:

• Tourism transportation vehicle: 19-passenger Mercedes Benz.
• Professional mountain guide.
• Breakfast and lunch.
• Hiking sticks.
• First-aid kit and oxygen.

Not Included:

• Entrance tickets to the Rainbow Mountain and Red Valley.
• Horses, to carry hikers.
• Water, snacks, personal medicine, etc.
• Tips and personal expenses.

What to bring:

• Daypack.
• Mineral water and snacks.
• Clothes for warm weather, rain and cold, in successive layers.
• Wool bonnet, scarf and gloves, sunglasse and sunblock lotion.
• Mountain hiking shoes or sneakers (tennis shoes).
• Photo/video camera and extra batteries.
• Light binoculars.
• Hiking sticks.

Between 4:30 ad 5:00 a.m., we´ll pick you up at your hotel. Then, on board our tourism transportation vehicle, we´ll travel, as a group, for about 3 hours, to the District of Tinki, where we´ll have a short stopover. Afterwards, we´ll go on, along a compacted dirt road, for about 45 minutes, to reach the Community of Pacchanta, where we´ll have breakfast.

There, we´ll start the hike, up a somewhat steep trail, to the Azulcocha, Alqacocha and Qomercocha lagoons. On the way, you´ll have chances to enjoy views of majestic mountains, like Mount Ausangate (6,834 m.a.s.l. – 22,421 ft.) that is the highest mountain, in the Department of Cusco, Mount Jampa (5,500 m.a.s.l. – 18,044 ft.), Mount Tinki (5,300 m.a.s.l. – 17,388 ft.) and Mount Pukapunta (5,740 m.a.s.l. – 18,832 ft.), as well as Mount Caracol (5,625 m.a.s.l. – 18,454 ft.), and Mount Mariposa (5,842 m.a.s.l. – 19,166 ft.), all of them situated in the Ausangate Cordillera.

As far as the area´s fauna is concerned, we´ll have opportunities to observe alpacas, lamas, viscachas and birds, such as ‘wallatas’, also known as ‘Andean geese’, the highland ibis, wild ducks, condors and gulls, among others. After about 5 hours, between hiking and pauses to take pictures of the lagoons and mountains, we´ll get to Pacchanta. There, we´ll have lunch, and will have some free time to take a dip in the local thermal baths. Finally, we´ll return to Cusco, concluding the tour in the city´s Historical Center, at 6:00 p.m.

Included:

• Group tourism transportation vehicle.
• Professional tour guide.
• Lunch.

Not included:

• Entrance fee to Pacchanta´s Thermal Baths.
• Tips, personal expenses and purchases.

Recommendations:

• Daypack.
• Mineral water and snacks.
• Clothes for warm weather, rain and cold, in successive layers.
• Wool bonnet, scarf and gloves, sunglasses and sunblock lotion.
• Mountain hiking shoes or sneakers (tennis shoes).
• Photo/video camera and extra batteries.
• Light binoculars.
• Hiking sticks.

At 8:00 a.m., we´ll start the tour, in front of your hotel, to travel, on the asphalted road that connects Cusco to Ollantaytambo, to the Incan and Colonial village of Chinchero; one of the most picturesque places, on Cusco´s High Plateau, famous for its ancestral architecture, and colonial church, inside which we´ll have the chance to admire famous paintings, by Masters of Cusco´s School of Art, and other anonymous authors, that represent biblical scenes, and were painted for the evangelizing process of the nearby Andean inhabitants, during the Colony.

Then, we´ll do a short stopover, to appreciate the work of Chinchero´s women weavers, dressed in their traditional clothes, who will give us a demonstration of the making process of beautiful hand-woven textiles, with alpaca wool threads, and the same techniques and designs used by our Andean ancestors.

Afterwards, we´ll visit Maras´ Salt Mines, where it is said that the world´s most nutritive salt is being produced, because of the minerals it contains, and due to the fact that it is not treated with chemical products, harmful to health, the way common salt is.

Leaving the Salineras of Maras, our transportation vehicle will take us to Moray that used to be a great Incan agricultural laboratory, with circular and concentric benched terraces, of small size, at the bottom, to larger, at the surface of natural depressions, or craters created, in a remote past, by the collision of meteorites.

There, in Incan times, Andean agronomists were researching and performing genetic manipulation experiments, with agricultural product, in order to improve their people´s alimentation and today, it is thanks to those research works that we have such a huge variety of foods, in Peru.

Finally, we´ll visit Ollantaytambo´s Fortified Architectural Complex, where we´ll end this program, at 2:30 p.m., to have lunch, and so that, later on, the members of the group, who have a train ticket, might board the train, to travel to Machupicchu Pueblo (ex Aguas Claientes), meanwhile those who have booked an accommodation, in the Sacred Valley, might go to their hotel.

As far as the other members of the group, our vehicle will transport them back to the city of Cusco, to arrive there around 5:00 p.m.

Included:

• Group tourism transportation vehicle.
• Professional tour guide.

Not included:

• Entrance tickets to the sites to be visited.
• Lunch in Ollantaytambo.
• Tips, personal expenses and purchases.

Recommendations:

• Daypack.
• Mineral water and snacks.
• Clothes for warm weather, rain and cold, in successive layers.
• Wide-brim hat, sunglasses and sunblock lotion.
• Mountain hiking shoes or sneakers (tennis shoes).
• Photo/video camera.
• Light binoculars.
• Hiking sticks, with rubber tips.

We´ll start the tour at 9:00 a.m. and, on board our tourism transportation vehicle, we´ll first head towards the Great Ceremonial Center of Saqsayhuaman; one of the most famous and important Incan architectural complexes, in the close vicinity of the city of Cusco, with its huge megalithic blocks and temples, that was built by our Andean ancestors, in a quite remote past.

Then, the second site we´ll visit is Qenqo that presents a small natural tunnel, in which our ancestors did the finest of works, in the bedrock. According to archaeologists, mummification processes were taking place there, because they used to believe in life after death.

Afterwards, our third visit will combine Puka Pukara, that might have been an Incan control and vigilance post, and Tambomachay, where we´ll appreciate the beauty of its crystalline water fountain, built with finely cut rocks, that could have been a temple dedicated to rituals to the Sacred Water, and the Inca´s resting place, when he was in Cusco.

Finally, we´ll visit the Incan architectural complex, situated on the heights, above the village of Pisaq, in the Sacred Valley, the benched terraces of which, built by our ancestors, on the slopes of nearby mountains, served to perform agricultural work, as well as of contention structures.

We´ll also have the chance to appreciate the depurated architectural beauty of temples, enclosures and housing quarters, and to take a stroll around the Incan cemetery that is considered as one of the largest, in the region. Finally, we´ll conclude the tour, in the city of Cusco, at 2:30 p.m.

Included:

• Tourism bus.
• Professional tour guide.

Not included:

• The entrance tickets to the visited attractions.
• Tips, personal expenses and purchases.

What to bring:

• Daypack.
• Mineral water and snacks.
• Clothes for warm weather, rain and cold, in successive layers.
• Wide-brim hat, sunglasses and sunblock lotion.
• Mountain hiking shoes or sneakers (tennis shoes).
• Photo/video camera and extra batteries.
• Light binoculars.
• Hiking sticks, with rubber tips.

Today, we´ll start the tour, on the Main Square (Plaza de Armas), from which we´ll walk, as a group, for about five blocks, to board a tourism bus that will take us on a 1-hour excursion to the Incan Architectural Complex of Tipón, with its aqueducts, fountains and benched terraces dedicated to agriculture and the Cult to Water. There, the Temple to Water stands-out, where the Incas used to perform ceremonies, in times of draught.

After that guided visit, our transportation vehicle will take us, for about 40 minutes, to the Pre-Incan Architectural Complex of Pikillaqta, of the Wari Civilization and Culture. There, temples stand-out, as well as houses, well-organized and distributed streets and squares, built with small stones and mud. In several rooms, one can still observe remains of a kind of coating, applied on the walls, with combined plaster and mud.

Finally, we´ll move on to the famous Colonial Church of Andahuaylillas, better known as ‘America´s Sistine Chapel’, the inside of which is almost entirely decorated with fresco paintings, murals and canvases, as well as with sculptures and paintings, of the Colonial Period, by famous Peruvian and foreign artists, and their disciples, with representations of biblical characters and scenes that evoke the native people´s evangelizing process, in the region.

After that last visit, our vehicle will drop us off just a few blocks from the city of Cusco´s Main –Square, around 2:00 p.m.

Included:

• Tourism transportation vehicle.
• Professional tour guide.

Not included:

• The entrance tickets to the places to be visited.
• Lunch.
• Tips and other personal expenses.

What to bring:

• Daypack.
• Mineral water and snacks.
• Clothes for warm weather, rain and cold, in successive layers.
• Wide-brim hat, sunglasses and sunblock lotion.
• Mountain hiking shoes or sneakers (tennis shoes).
• Photo/video camera and extra batteries.
• Light binoculars.
• Hiking sticks, with rubber tips.

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10:00 a.m.: We leave the city of Cusco, aboard our group transportation vehicle, along the Cusco-Lima route and, after an hour and a half, we get to Limatambo. Then, we go on, for another hour, to Chonta.

There, the 1-hour hike starts to the Chonta Canyon, where we´ll observe the condors´ flight, in a wonderful natural setting. Afterwards, we´ll get back to our vehicle that will take us to Limatambo, to have lunch. Finally, we´ll be back, in the city of Cusco, at 8:00 p.m.

Included:

• Group tourism transportation vehicle.
• Bilingual guide.
• Lunch: Daily menu, with vegetarian option.
• Entrance ticket to the Chonta Canyon.

Not included:

• Tips.
• Personal expenses.

What to bring:

• Daypack.
• Mineral water and snacks.
• Clothes for warm weather, rain and cold, in successive layers.
• Wide-brim hat, sunglasses and sunblock lotion.
• Mountain hiking shoes or sneakers (tennis shoes).
• Photo/video camera, and extra batteries.
• Light binoculars.
• Hiking sticks.

Itinerary:

Between 3:00 and 3:30 a.m., we´ll pick you up at your hotel, aboard our group tourism transportation vehicle, and we´ll leave the city of Cusco, to go on a 2-hour and 15-minute trip, and get to Sangrará, at 3,769 meters above sea level (m.a.s.l. – 12,365 ft.).

On the way, we´ll do a stopover, to have breakfast and, afterwards, our vehicle will take us, for another 45 minutes, to get to a beautiful lagoon called ‘Kénter’ (4,550 m.a.s.l. – 14,927 ft.), where the 3-hour hike starts, on a flat and ondulating path.

The trail is impressive, with unique landscapes, in which you will have chances to contemplate the Yanacocha Lagoon, as well as Andean camelids (alpacas, lamas and vicuñas). Given that we´ll use the same path, to go and come back, we´ll visit the Architectural Complex of Waqrapukara (4,300 m.a.s.l. – 14,107 ft.) that was inhabited by the Canchis and, later on, by the Incas.

Once the visit over, we´ll be coming back, to get to the city of Cusco, at 7:00 p.m., and drop you off just a few blocks from the Main Square (Plaza de Armas).

Included:

• Tourism transportation vehicle: 19-passenger Mercedes Benz.
• Professional guide.
• Breakfast and lunch.
• Hiking sticks.
• First-aid kit and oxygen.

Not included:

• Entrance ticket.
• Hot and/or cold drinks.
• Tips and personal expenses.

What to bring:

• Hiking shoes.
• Warm clothes and rain gear.
• Hat, sunglasses and sunblock lotion.
• Water, snack and personal medication.
• Photo and/or video camera.
• Light binoculars.
• Hiking sticks.
• Extra cash, in Nuevos Soles (PEN).