Machu Picchu by the classic Inca Trail

Early morning, I will pick you up from your hotel and take you by a private transport to the starting point of the Inca Trail: Piscacucho, also called Km 82 (at 2,350 m). There, you’ll have a briefing about the Machu Picchu program and after that, you’ll cross the checking point of the Classic Inca Trail. Then you’ll hike along the Urubamba River visiting the Willca Raccay and the enormous Llactapata. You then continue up to the Cusichaca River Canyon which offers magnificent views of the Cordillera Oriental and particularly the Veronica Mountain (5,850 m). Lunch in Chamana and continue along the Cusichaca River until reaching the village of Wayllabamba. Thereafter, you start ascending so that in the afternoon, you’ll get to the village of Llullucha Pampa, our first campsite (3,850 m). Dinner and rest.

Early after breakfast, you continue hiking uphill towards the highest point of the trail: Abra Warmiwañusqa at 4,200 meters passing through the cloud forests of Yunkachimpa and Corral Punku. From there, you descend to the Pacaymayo Valley (3,300 m), where you have a lunch break. Then you continue hiking through the valley to the Inca’s ruins of Runkuracay. Afterwards, you climb up and get over the second pass, Abra Runkurakay (3,860m), walking on this “Royal Inca’s Highway” down to the next Inka site: Sayacmarca. On the way, you’ll pass the Yanacocha Lake. In the end, we get to our second campsite Chaquicocha.

Today, we start hiking passing through a subtropical vegetation and other archaeological sites. Before we reach the first site, we get over Phuyupatamarca Pass (3,670 m) and just behind it, we can see the Phuyupatamarca Inka complex (3,600 m), one of the best preserved and most completed sites of the Inca Trail hike. The complex is located on the top of a mountain and it corresponds with its Quechuan name that means the “Town above the Clouds”. After a guided tour, we have lunch there. Then, we start a steep descent  in direction to our last campsite at Wiñay Wayna (2,700 m). There, we have a guided tour around. Finally, we will have dinner and go to sleep to get ready for the exciting final Machu Picchu hike!!

This is the last day of the Inca Trail so we get ready early in the morning and after breakfast, we start climbing antique steps to Inti Punku (the Sun Gate) to see the sunrise above the long-expected citadel of Machu Picchu! Then, you will enjoy a guided visit of we call the “Lost City of the Incas”. After that, you have the opportunity to climb either the peak of Huayna Picchu (45 minutes up and the same time back) or Machu Picchu Mountain (1 hour and 30 minutes up and down) on your own to take some panoramic pictures of Machu Picchu! This trek finishes by an afternoon’s descent to the town of Aguas Calientes where we take a train back to Ollantaytambo. There you will take the tourist bus to Cuzco. Arrival in the evening.