Inca Trail - 3N/4D

1/2

Difficulty:

Average

Length:

3 night/4 days

Brief description:

Follow the footsteps of the ancient Inca's as you take a 4 day hike along the Inca trail crossing mountain terrains, lush jungles and visiting the ruins. On our final day we reach the famous Sun Gate to catch the glorious sunrise over Machu Picchu.

Itinerary

Day 1:

Cusco - Piskakucho - Wayllabamba

Pick up from your hotels around 4.00am-5.00am, we head to Anta village where we stop for breakfast.

We continue our drive for around 2 hours through the Sacred Valley of the Incas and Ollantaytambo until we reach our starting at KM 82.

Our porters will meet us here and we will start with a gentle two hour walk down the Urubamba Canyon, visiting the sculpted Inca farming terraces and the settlement of Llaqtapta on the banks of the Salkantay river.

We will stop at Tarachayoc for lunch then continue our climb up the Cusichaca Valley to Wayllabamba, this is the last inhabited village on the trail.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 2:

Wayllabamba - Pacaymayu

After an early breakfast we climb the steep-sided Llullucha Pampa Valley, passing a rushing stream and through enchanted native polylepis woodland. Crossing the rim of a small plateau, we find ourselves in Puna, the treeless grasslands of the High Andes. The trail traverses an open slope opposite mighty mountain crags as we ascend to the first and highest pass, Warmiwañusca (4,200m). Here we encounter spectacular views of the trail ahead to the second pass, looking back over the sweeping snow peaks and valleys of the Huayanay massif.

We follow the trail to the floor of the forested Pacaymayu Valley, here we will have lunch, dinner and spend the night.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Day 3:

Pacaymayu - Winay Wayna

Starting early in the morning we climb up the Inca stairway and ascend past the Inca site of Runkuracay. As we reach the second pass the landscape opens onto a spectacular view of the snow peaks of the Pumasillo range. We descend to the ruins of Sayacmarca, an intricate labyrinth of houses, plazas and water channels, perched precariously on a rocky spur overlooking the Aobamba valley.

The Inca trail, now a massive buttressed structure of granite paving stones, continues along the steep upper fringes of the cloud forest through a colourful riot of orchids, bromeliads, mosses and ferns.

At the third pass we see Inca viewing platforms overlooking the archaeological complex of Phuyupatamarca. Pausing to explore the wondrous maze of Inca stone towers, fountains and stairways that spill down the mountainside.

We begin our descent through ever-changing layers of cloud forest. An Inca stairway partly cut from granite leads us finally to our camp by the ruins Winay Wayna. the largest and most exquisite part of the Inca trail sites.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Day 4:

Winay Wayna – Machu Picchu – Cusco

Our hike for the day takes us across a steep mountainside through lush, humid cloud-forest of giant ferns and broad-leaf vegetation.

We cross the stone threshold of Intipunku (Sun Gate) and encounter an unforgettable sweep of natural beauty and human artistry with a backdrop of twisting gorge and forested peaks framing the magical city of Machu Picchu.

We complete the final leg down to the royal flagstone walkway, past outlying shrines and buildings and into the heart of Machu Picchu, here we spend the rest of the morning with a guided tour of the highlights and some individual exploring among Machu Picchu's multitude of hidden nooks and corners.

In the early afternoon a bus takes us to the small town of Aguas Calientes, here we board our return train to Cusco.

Meals included: Breakfast

Included: