Choquequirao trek to Machu Picchu

Day 01 Cusco – Capuliyuc – Marampata

If you’re looking for an authentic, adventurous experience on a trek to Machu Picchu, our 4-day tour of the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu is the perfect option for small groups. Come and join like-minded travelers from across the globe on the trip of a lifetime. This package is a superb option whether traveling alone, with a partner, or with a small group of friends.

Day 02 Marampata – Choquequirao – Choquequirao Camp Site

If you’re looking for an authentic, adventurous experience on a trek to Machu Picchu, our 4-day tour of the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu is the perfect option for small groups. Come and join like-minded travelers from across the globe on the trip of a lifetime. This package is a superb option whether traveling alone, with a partner, or with a small group of friends.

Day 03 Choquequirao – Rio Blanco – Maizal

If you’re looking for an authentic, adventurous experience on a trek to Machu Picchu, our 4-day tour of the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu is the perfect option for small groups. Come and join like-minded travelers from across the globe on the trip of a lifetime. This package is a superb option whether traveling alone, with a partner, or with a small group of friends.

Day 04 Maizal – Minas Victoria – Yanama

If you’re looking for an authentic, adventurous experience on a trek to Machu Picchu, our 4-day tour of the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu is the perfect option for small groups. Come and join like-minded travelers from across the globe on the trip of a lifetime. This package is a superb option whether traveling alone, with a partner, or with a small group of friends.

Day 05 Yanama – Totora – Colpapama

If you’re looking for an authentic, adventurous experience on a trek to Machu Picchu, our 4-day tour of the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu is the perfect option for small groups. Come and join like-minded travelers from across the globe on the trip of a lifetime. This package is a superb option whether traveling alone, with a partner, or with a small group of friends.

Day 06 Colpapampa – Playa Sahuayaco – Cocalmayo (hot springs)

If you’re looking for an authentic, adventurous experience on a trek to Machu Picchu, our 4-day tour of the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu is the perfect option for small groups. Come and join like-minded travelers from across the globe on the trip of a lifetime. This package is a superb option whether traveling alone, with a partner, or with a small group of friends.

Day 07 Santa Teresa – Hidroelectrica – Aguas Calientes

If you’re looking for an authentic, adventurous experience on a trek to Machu Picchu, our 4-day tour of the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu is the perfect option for small groups. Come and join like-minded travelers from across the globe on the trip of a lifetime. This package is a superb option whether traveling alone, with a partner, or with a small group of friends.

Day 08 Aguas Calientes – Machupicchu – Cusco

If you’re looking for an authentic, adventurous experience on a trek to Machu Picchu, our 4-day tour of the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu is the perfect option for small groups. Come and join like-minded travelers from across the globe on the trip of a lifetime. This package is a superb option whether traveling alone, with a partner, or with a small group of friends.

Day 01 Cusco – Capuliyuc – Marampata

Our life experiences in the land of the Incas start with the pick up from your hotel between 3:30 to 4:00 AM to start our journey in a private van for 4 hours to the northeast of Cusco city, passing through small villages until we arrive to the village of Capuliyoc (2.800masl) where we will have a delicious breakfast and there we will also meet our travel staff (muleteers and horses).

After breakfast we start with our hike for about 20 minutes and we will arrive to our first viewpoint where we will have a panoramic view, in front of us we can see the mountain range of Vilcabamba called (padreyoc) and the famous Apurimac canyon, After having an amazing view we will start our descent for 3 hours through beautiful landscapes where we can see different medicinal plants which were used by our ancestors (muña, chilca and different varieties of plants). If we are lucky we can see the majestic Condor, we descend to the village of Chiquisca (1800masl) where we will have a delicious typical Cusquenian buffet lunch.

After lunch we will have a 30 minutes break to continue with our hike, descending 45 minutes more to Rosalinas Beach (1700masl), located on the Apurimac River separated by two important Peruvian regions CUSCO and APURIMAC.

After passing the famous Apurimac river we continue descending for 4 hours to Marampata (3500masl) on the way we will see bird dancing, at sunset we will see the Andean people, how they live in the mountains with a lifestyle that you might not believe compared to the city. We will arrive at our private camp at approximately 5:30 pm, after a short rest it is time for dinner at approximately 7pm and overnight in our CAMP, during the night you will be able to see constellations according to the Andean or Inca religion.

Day 02 Marampata – Choquequirao – Choquequirao Camp Site

Early in the morning we will wake up with a cup of hot coca tea and we will have enough time to organize our things. Approximately at 7:30am we will have a delicious typical breakfast. Then we will continue with our hike to Marampata, on this day the hike will have a high level physically, where we will be able to see an impressive view of the Choquequirao Archaeological Complex (3900masl) through our hike we will have impressive views of the canyon where our tour guide will explain us about the flora and fauna, we will have 3 hours to explore the whole Choquequirao Complex (cradle of gold) also known as the lost city where we will visit saquare sector, lamas sector, astronomical sector and other important places.

After visiting all these places we will begin our descent to Choquequirao camp where our picnic lunch awaits us, after lunch we will take a 30 minutes break and continue to an incredible place that only we know, this place is called Pachayoc waterfalls a place where you will be in contact with nature. Finally we will return to Choquequirao camp where dinner is ready and it is time to stop for a break.

Day 03 Choquequirao – Rio Blanco – Maizal

Before breakfast, we recommend going to appreciate the magnificent sunrise from this picturesque place. We will have breakfast at 6 AM.

We start today’s hike passing and exploring the ruins of Choquequirao. After 5 hours of walking, the trail continues through agricultural terraces called Pinchinoyoc which means “water jumping forward” (2750 MASL – 9022 FASL). There we will see different species of birds, varieties of orchids and local coca plantations.

We will have lunch near the Rio Blanco. We take advantage of the break here to take a refreshing swim in the cold, clear water of the river if you wish.

We cross the river on foot because there are no bridges.

On the other side, we start the long and steep climb to our camp in Maizal, above the river and closer to the sacred Apus of the Incas. This climb takes about 3 hours. This is the most challenging day. We will camp at 3000 MASL – 9842 FASL.

Day 04 Maizal – Minas Victoria – Yanama

Waking up on the hillside to the sounds of the forest and birds is a truly great experience. Recharging with a hearty breakfast and following the trail upwards, the scenery is lush green vegetation. If we stay motivated and the gods give us a clear sky, we can simply sit back and appreciate the snow-capped mountains around us. Today’s climb is about 7 hours to the summit, and this trail is historically important due to some archaeological remains and Inca canals along the way. We will pass the impressive Inca mines called Minas Victoria, from which silver was extracted, and head towards Victoria Pass (4200 MASL – 13773 FASL). This is a long climb, but we will walk through an absolutely stunning area, first with cloud forest and then over the Andean Puna with its well-known Ichu grass. As we approach the top, we will be able to see original Inca cobbled paths. We will have lunch at the pass with views of the Choquetakarpo and Pedrayoc mountains. While we have lunch, hopefully we will be able to see condors flying overhead, depending on the weather. Finally, we descend to our campsite at Yamana, a small settlement at the bottom of a long valley surrounded by mountains (3800 MASL – 12467 FASL).

Day 05 Yanama – Totora – Colpapama

The native community of Yanama surrounds the base camp. We start another long day with the big smiles of the local children, the sun shining on the camp grounds, the sound of a large waterfall, and breakfast at an outdoor table to appreciate all that surrounds us.

We then start walking uphill to the highest pass of this trek (5 hours). This is the Yamana Pass (4700 MASL – 15419 FASL).

During the day, it is common to see Andean farmers growing potatoes in their fields and possibly even some frozen potatoes. Again, the view will be amazing from here as we will be surrounded by the Saqsarayoc and Pedreyoc mountain ranges.

Once again, we have the chance to see condors flying, and this morning’s gentle climb takes us through new landscapes – especially the wet grassy fields below the snow line and the water stream. At the pass, we may walk through the snow at a new entrance to the Santa Teresa valley. Here, we can observe one of the Inca gods – the mountain Salkantay. Afterwards, we descend on a long, misty path through grassy fields and bush areas, crossing bridges on the way to the community of Totora. where we will have lunch, After a brief rest we continue down into warmer climes again and our path will finally converge with Colpapampa (2900m / 9514 ft.) where we will camp for the night.

Day 06 Colpapampa – Playa Sahuayaco – Cocalmayo (hot springs)

After breakfast at 6:00 AM we start our day of trekking until we reach our lunch site at La Playa. After lunch we will have a fairly easy descent where you will experience the Ceja de Selva. Here, you will see coca, coffee, fruit plantations, birds, orchids and begonias.

Then a bus will take us for two hours to the village of Santa Teresa, where we will have dinner and spend the night in tents.

Day 07 Santa Teresa – Hidroelectrica – Aguas Calientes

After breakfast, we will board our transport to the hydroelectric power station, where the government control and the entrance to the Machu Picchu National Park (Machu Picchu Historic Sanctuary) is located. At this point we will start our hike to the town of Aguas Calientes, passing through the area called Intihuatana, a small archaeological site where the guide will share an explanation to better understand the site. Then we will continue to Inka Rakay, where we will enjoy our lunch. During the trek, we will enjoy and contemplate the majesty of the Machu Picchu and Huayna Picchu mountains as well as other agrological sites in the heights of the mountain. We will finish the trek in the town of Aguas Calientes, where we will spend the seventh night of the tour.

Day 08 Aguas Calientes – Machupicchu – Cusco

Today we reach the long awaited end of our trek, one of the New 7 Wonders of the World and a UNESCO World Heritage Site – Machu Picchu! We will rise early after a refreshing night in our hostel to beat the crowds to the top of Machu Picchu and enjoy its serenity in the soft morning light. The entrance checkpoint to Machu Picchu is open from 06:00 AM until 17:00 PM. We will walk to Machu Picchu (a bus ride is optional and included if you do not wish to walk) and enter the hidden Royal Citadel of the Incas.

Here we will have a 2 hour guided tour through this incredible ancient city to visit temples, terraces, palaces, priests’ houses, the sundial, the industrial sector and the cultivated fields. Marvel at the engineering ingenuity of the Incas, so far ahead of their time and still partially a mystery today. With no modern tools or even steel and iron to work with, the people who built this city were geniuses at organising this community sustainably and beautifully on the side of a mountain, even carrying water in canals through its streets for people to use. When a Peruvian guide showed this place to Hiram Bingham, it was almost unrecognisable, covered in thick vegetation and in a state of disrepair. It has since been cleaned and restored, and is now protected and a treasure for the whole world to see.

After this visit, you can climb Huayna Picchu or Machu Picchu mountain (be sure to book in advance to get tickets). Each mountain takes approximately 3 hours to climb up and down. Another lower impact option for which you will not need an additional entrance fee is to walk to the Sun Gate, the main entrance from the Inca Trail (it takes about 2 to 2.5 hours round trip). Another option is to walk to see the Inca Bridge. You will be able to stay and enjoy this magical city for over 7 hours before walking back to Aguas Calientes to catch the train at 18:45 to Ollantaytambo. A private bus will pick up our group and drop you off at your hostel in Cusco at around 23:00. Rest your feet and body now, but we assure you that your heart will keep flying for weeks and years to come!