

The great Inca Trail that united in the past two of the most exquisite citadels of the Incas is still in use to be able to visit it and explore its beautiful landscapes that surround it. Andean Great Treks has designed this impressive trekking route, which visits the archaeological sites of Choquequirao, the sacred mountain of Salkantay, the mythical Inca trail to Machu Picchu.
If you are a traveler who loves culture and a lot of high-level hiking activity, this route will surely surprise you, for everything it offers. You will travel through ancient inca trail used by the messengers of the Incas the Chasqui. To start the tour you will visit from the Capuliyoq viewpoint to the depths of the Apurimac river canyon, and then ascend a steep path to the archaeological complex of Choquequirao, which is said to have been one of the last strongholds of the resistance of the Incas of Vilcabamba. during the war against the Spanish.
This site is located at more than three thousand meters and its architecture is unique in the entire empire of the Incas, currently only less than 30% of its original design can be seen, since over time this site was covered by large trees and bushes.
Afterwards we will hike from the base of the snowy Salkantay to the Inca Chiriasqa pass, following the most preserved original Inca trail and with many temples, houses, shrines of the Incas. This sector stands out among others for the incredible scenic beauty from the valleys, to the high peaks, and the deep jungles of tropical forests, finally leading us to the fabulous sacred city of the Incas, Machu Picchu.
The walk from Choquequirao to Salkantay and the great Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, is of a high level of physical demand, because it goes through two mountain passes over 4,600 meters. And there are days when great peaks are climbed up and down steep paths, stone walkways with steps on well-inclined slopes are also crossed. Likewise, this route crosses the most rugged climates in the world, you will have hot days (25 to 30 C °), and mountain days where climates with temperatures of up to -3 C ° are recorded.
For all these considerations, this circuit is the queen of walks in Peru, because it has all the characteristics in terms of degree of difficulty, recommended only for adventurers and very experienced hikers, since the circuit will demand it to the maximum every day.
But all these challenges in the Andes are worth it, because you will have one of the best experiences in South America, visiting the best high mountain landscapes, Inca temples over 600 years old, iconic landscapes.
Camping Tents: 08 nights
The overnight stays during the Choquequirao Trek, Salkantay and Inca Trail to Machu Picchu are made in double-roofed tents, which are installed by the accompanying team. The tents are equipped with thick foam mattresses that are carried by the horses. On your trek to Machu Picchu you will have a tent with your portable toilet, in the camps, these are always clean and you can use at any time. A dining tent offers enough space to eat together and end the evening in peace.
We will pick you up from your hotel between 3:30 to 4:00 AM to start our trip in a private van for 4 hours to northeast of Cusco city, through small towns until Capuliyoc town (2.800masl) where we have a delicious breakfast and where also we will meet with our trip staff (muleteers and horses).
After breakfast we begin with our hiking for about 20 minutes and will arrive to our first viewer where we have a panoramic view, in front of us we can see the vilcabamba mountain range called ( padreyoc) and the famous Apurimac Canon, after having an amazing view we will start our descend for 3 hours through beautiful landscapes where you will be able to see different medicinal plants which were used by our ancestors ( muña, chilca and different varieties of plants) If we are lucky we will be able to see the majestic Condor, we descend until Chiquisca Hamlet (1800masl) where we have a delicious tipycal Cusco Lunch .
After having Lunch we will have a 30 min break to continue with or hiking, Descending 45 minutes more until Playa Rosalina (1700masl), located in Apurimac River. After passing the famous Apurimac river we continue hiking uphill a zigzagging road for 4 hours until Marampata (3500masl), at sunset we will see andean people, how they live in the mountains with a style of life that maybe you wont believe compared to the city. We will arrive to our camping site at 5:30 pm, after a small break its time for dinner, during the night you will be able to see constellations according Andean or Inca religión.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
After breakfast, we will continue with our hiking to the ruins of Choquequirao, on this day the hiking is going to have a high level physically, where we will be able to see an amazing view of the Archeological Choquequirao Complex (3100masl) we will have amazing canon views. Choquequirao is also knew as the lost city of the Incas, we will visit the magnificent archeological site of Choquequirao for the entire day.These ruins are three times the size of Machu Picchu and new sections, hidden under the dense jungle, are constantly being discovered. Enjoy the private guided tour and explore all of the beautiful sections of the temples, terraces, palaces, the llamas’ section, and much more.
After to visit all of this places we will start our descend until Choquequirao Camping where our picnic Lunch is waiting for us, after having lunch we will take a 30min break and continue to an amazing place that only us know about it, this place is called cataratas de Pachayoc (water falls) a place where you will be in touch with the nature. Finally we will return to Santa Rosa Baja where dinner is ready and and sleep under the sky full of stars.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
After a beautiful sunrise between the mountains and the Apurimac canyon, we begin the descent for two hours to the lowest point called Playa Rosalina, and then we will begin the ascent along the road to the Chiquiska sector, which is inhabited by a group of families dedicated to the agriculture of tropical fruits such as mango, lemons, coca, orange trees, and sugar cane, from which they extract the juice even in an artisanal way, to later place it in a container where it is fermented, and is drunk for all the muleteers or travelers who wish, its local name is Cambray.
After taking a break for half an hour, we will continue with the ascent to the Cocamasana sector, where our cooks will be waiting for us with a nutritious lunch. In the afternoon we only have to climb a little more the last kilometers, to the Capuliyoq viewpoint, where we will spend the night enjoying the beautiful landscape of the snowy Padreyoq, and if you are lucky you will be able to see the Andean condor fly, a bird highly revered since Inca times.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Today we continue with our adventure along the Salkantay route, after having breakfast, and enjoying the Apurimac Grand Canyon for the last time, we will go in our private transport to the Soraypampa site, this trip will take approx. Three hours. Once we get there, we will meet our muleteers who will accompany us on the journey from Salkantay Base Camp to the town of Huayllabamba, along the ancient Inca road that linked these two valleys.
The first place we will visit is the Humantay lagoon, whose waters have green to turquoise colors, this walk takes two hours to complete, upon your return the buffet lunch awaits you.
Then we must make the two-hour walk to our camp site that is located near the Salkantay mountain, this day it will be our camp where it is colder, at night the temperature drops to -3 C °.
But we will have another spectacular night where we will sleep under the sky full of stars and the great milky way.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
After an early wake up and hearty breakfast, we start on a gentle uphill to Incachiriasca pass (4850 m/15908 ft) the highest point of the trek, we enjoy the views of this imposing mountain in front of our eyes , the mountain of Salkantay is the second highest mountain in the Cusco region and one of the Inca gods called “Apu”. As we ascend, we will make stops along the way to enjoy the outstanding mountain scenery of the Vilcabamba range, then we will descend towards our lunch spot at Sisay Pampa, a flat area from which one can observe the neighboring Salkantay Valleys. After lunch, we will gradually continue descending to our campsite in Pampacahuana community (3,700 m / 12,136 ft), located next to an original Inca canal. This is our camp for the night.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Today we will get up with a hot tea of coca leaves, which are very good for altitude sickness. After packing our things, we will follow the path down, which goes along the Cusichaka River, passing through small potato fields and we will meet some farmers who live in the high mountains taking care of their alpacas and sheep.
The landscape is very beautiful since this land is covered with shrubby vegetation, with beautiful flowers where hummingbirds are usually flying. At noon we will arrive at the ruins of Paucarcancha where we will pause for lunch, and where we will meet our team of porters, with whom we will share our adventure for the next few days to Machu Picchu. In the afternoon we will go down to the town of Huayllabamba, which is only 1 hour away, where we will spend the night, and recover our energies to conquer the next day one of the hardest passes of the classic Inca trail to Machu Picchu.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Your porters will wake up you, at 5:00 am with a hot cup of coca tea to get you ready for the day. Today is our longest day and we will start at 6:30 am. We’ll hike for roughly 4 hours to the highest pass of the classic inca trail trek to machu picchu, Dead Woman’s Pass (4215 meters/13829 feet). The first 2 hours , you will walk into highland forest, the way is steps and uphill. Then you will get the place of Llulluchapampa, where we will stop a long time, from this point until the dead woman pass is one hour and a half , the landscape gonna change , is a new microclimate, because the altitude it gonna be very hard, but not impossible to reach the pass at 12:00 pm, we’ll stop a short break to enjoy the views before setting off again to descend to the next valley (Pacaymayo Valley ). It’s another hour and a half down the side of the valley to our lunch spot, we will end the hike at 2:00 pm . In the afternoon is a free time, to relaxing , in case you like a cold shower there is , if not just enjoy the beauty of the landscape, this day we have also tea time and the dinner.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
We begin early again, wake up at 5:30am to begin what is commonly felt to be the most beautiful day of the whole classic Inca Trail hike to Machu Picchu. We begin ascending again to the second pass of the trek. It’s 2 hours to the pass and along the way we’ll stop at a small Inca site (Runcu Raccay) and see two huge waterfalls cascading down the opposite side of the valley. After the second pass, it’s another hour downhill hike to reach the magnificent Inca site, Sayacmarca (an otherwise inaccessible village). We’ll stop here for a rest and have a quick tour of the site and then watch the Vilcabamba mountain range. It’s then just another 20 minutes until we stop for the lunch place, in Chaquicocha at 11:00 am (Dry Lake, 3600 meters). After lunch, we hike for 2 hours along what we like to call “Inca flat” (gradual inclines) and begin to enter the jungle, known as the Cloud Forest. As we walk we will have the opportunity to see the majesty of Salkantay, the second highest snow-capped mountain in Cusco. Towards the end of the Inca flats we begin to make our way up to the last peak at Phuyupatamarca (3600 meters) from where we’ll have great views overlooking the Urubamba River. Down the valley we get our first views of Machu Picchu Mountain but the site itself is still hidden from view. From Phuyupatamarca it’s a 3 hour walk down a flight of steps, to our last campsite, arrival time is at 16:00 pm. Wiñay Wayna is the most spectacular Inca site on the trail after Machu Picchu and the most popular campsite because of its proximity to Machu Picchu.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Wake up time is at 4:00 AM. Then we will do a line in order to wait at the checkpoint to be opened. At 5:30 am once the park rangers do the last checking we start the walk to the Sun Gate, along the way we have spectacular views of the mountains and Urubamba river. We will reach the Sun Gate at 6:30am, over there you can take the first picture of Machu Picchu with amazing views, after to enjoy the sunrise, we will go down to the sacred citadel. At 8:00 am we will arrive to the gate of Machu Picchu , overe there we have to leave all our backpacks, because into the archeological site is not possible to do with rucksacks. As well you can use the toilets and buy some coffes or sodas. At 9:00 am we start the tour guiding into the complex with your tour guide for 2 hours , then you can explore a little bit more by yourself. At midday you have to go down to Aguas Calientes town, and look a restaurant for your lunch. So the return to Ollantaytambo by train is at 14:30 pm. After 1h 45m the train arrives to Ollantaytambo train station where gonna pick up you our staff, after to have amazing days you will arrive to your hotel in Cusco at 18:30 pm.
Meals included: Breakfast
Want an in-depth insight into this trip? Essential Trip Information provides everything you need to know about this adventure and more.
View Essential Trip InformationThe best time to visit Peru is during the dry season, between May and November, when the weather is dry and bright, with more frequent rainfall occurring between November and April.
To book this tour, a minimum of $ 200 USD per person is required, the remaining balance will be paid upon arrival in Peru, at the Cusco office.
Any other additional information, please coordinate with your travel agent.