Cordillera Vilcanota | Perú

Day 1: Cusco (3400m. / 11,1150ft.) – Chikisca (1900m. / 6,233ft.) – Santa Rosa

We depart from the hotel in Cusco (5:30am) to the city of Cachora (3100m. / 10,170ft). We’ll follow a trail to the lookout in Capuliyoc (2650m. / 8,700ft.). This is the place we’ll meet our Muleteers. We will also be able to take in some incredible views of the Padreyoc Snow Mountain (5775m. /18,950ft.) and the majesty of the Apurimac river Canyon. We’ll get set for a trek to Chikiska (1900m. / 6233 ft.) and then go down to “La playa”. One hour and a half later, we’ll reach our camp in Santa Rosa (1900m. / 6233ft.)

Day 2: Santa Rosa – Marampata – Choquequirao (3033m. / 9950ft.)

After an early breakfast, we’ll begin our ascent that will take us through a beautiful forest to “Marampata” (2850m. / 9350ft.). From here, we’ll continue our walk for an hour and a half until we reach the Archeological Site of Choquequirao (3033m. / 9950ft.), which we’ll visit all afternoon till dusk. We’ll get to witness areas such as: the main square, the qolqas, the ceremonial “ushnu/ushno”, agricultural terraces, and much more. 

Day 3: Choquequirao – Chikisca – Cocamasana (2350m / 7709 ft.)

We’ll leave very early to Marampata once again. We’ll take the trail down to cross the river and begin our climb to Chikiska. The ascent from the river can be quite scorching, so we’ll take it slow and take a break to enjoy the cool water. In the afternoon we’ll continue our way up to Cocamasana (2350m. / 7709 ft.)

Day 4: Cocamasana – Capuliyoc – Cusco

From our last camp site, we’ll go up for 3 hours to the Capuliyoc high pass where our shuttle will wait for us to bring us back to Cusco. 

Day 5: Inca’s Sacred Valley

We’ll pick you up early in the morning for the guided visit to the Inca’s Sacred Valley. This is a shared tour in which we’ll visit many picturesque communities, incredible terraces and remarkable archeological sites. 

The landscape is ruled by the massive peaks of the Vilcanota mountain range. Historically, this valley has served as a place for gathering and supplying agricultural products to the city since the Inca civilization. Nowadays, it’s famous for its corn, said to have the largest kernels in the world. We’ll also visit the Pisac and Ollantaytambo communities, from where we’ll take the night train to Aguas Calientes. 

Day 6: Machu Picchu / Huayna Picchu

Visit to Machu Picchu. The iconic Machu Picchu Citadel is the most famous and well preserved Inca site of the Andean region. It was rediscovered in 1911 by American explorer Hiram Bingham, and is considered one of the most extraordinary examples of landscape architecture in the world. The citadel sits above the 2300 meters above sea level mark and offers us a magnificent view of the valley surrounded by Urumbamba river. If we book the tickets in advance, we can climb to the Huayna Picchu, the best lookout in the area. After our visit to Machu Picchu, we’ll head back to Ollantaytambo by train and then to Cusco, by bus. 

Day 7: Day off in Cusco. After a few days of heavy walking, we will need a day to rest. We can use it for doing our laundry, resting a bit and visiting the beautiful city of Cusco. Careful not to drink too much at the bar! The next day is a long one!

Day 8:  Cusco – Upis (4400m. / 14432 ft.)

We leave from Cusco very early to catch a 4hs transfer to Tinqui. We’ll leave all of our gear in our muleteer’s hands and begin our walk to the first campsite. 

Day 9: Lake Ausangate Q’ocha (4600m. / 15088 ft.). In the morning, we’ll walk to the first pass of the day, Arapa (4850 m. / 15912 ft.) and then continue through the valley of Lake Jatun Puga Q’ocha. Later, we’ll go up to the next pass, Apuchata (4900m. / 16072 ft.) and its impressive view of Lake Ausangate Q’ocha, constantly fed by the Ausangate snow mountain. 

Day 10: Lake Ausangate Q’ocha – Abra Palomani (5200m. / 17056 ft.) – Suyrocochapampa (4500 /14764 ft.)
From our campsite by the lake, we’ll go up again to the Palomani pass, the highest spot of our hike. Then we’ll traverse the following valle for a couple of hours to our destination in our next campsite.

Day 11: Suyrucochapampa – Campa Pass (5050m. / 16568 ft.) – Pacchanta (4300 / 14107 ft.)

In the morning, we’ll walk through large rocky fields with the snowy peaks of Tres Picos and Puca Punta in sight. After we go past a very small community, the trail continues Northwest to the final pass of this trip, Campa pass. From there, we’ll walk down for a few hours until we reach the town of Pacchanta, where we’ll spend our last night together in a pretty hostel. At night, we can visit hot springs with incredible views of the Ausangate.

Day 12: Pacchanta – Cusco

On the last day of the trip, depending on your schedules, we can sleep as much as we want. After breakfast we’ll shuttle back to Cusco. The End.

The itinerary hereby presented is estimative. Do not hesitate to ask for a taylor-made experience!