Traditional Active Circuit: Lima - Cusco - Inca Trail to Machu Picchu in 08 days

Day 1: LIMA

• Places: Huaca Pucllana, historic Center of Lima, Plaza San Martin, Plaza Major, Cathedral of Lima, government Palace, Archbishop´s Palace.
• Highest Elevation: 161 m.s.nm/ 528.22 feet ASL
• Accomodation: Hotel in Lima

Pick up at the airport and transfer to your hotel.

Colonial City Tour in Lima (afternoon)

The city tour in Lima is optional and is done in two shifts in the morning or afternoon, depending on the time of day

Arrival in Lima. The city tour includes the visit of Lima known as the City of Kings and that he will start his excursion in the afternoon between 14:15 - 14:30.

The visit begins at Huaca Pucllana, which was a pre-Inca ceremonial and administrative building. Then will visit the city centre where the Cathedral, the Tomb of Pizarro, the Catacombs of San Francisco, the Congress, the Torre Tagle Palace, and some residential neighborhoods, such as San Isidro and Miraflores where you can see spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean.

Once your tour is over you will be transferred to your hotel or in Miraflores, the districts of San Isidro.

Hotel in Lima.

Day 2: LIMA - CUSCO (FREE)

Breakfast at the hotel

At the appropriate time transfer to the airport in Lima.

Flight Lima - Cusco (on behalf of the passenger)

Reception at the airport in Cusco and transfer to your hotel.

Afternoon free to acclimatize to the altitude or do activities on your own.

Overnight in Cusco

Day 3: SACRED VALLEY

• Meals: Breakfast, lunch.
• Accommodation: Hotel in Cusco.
• Places: Cusco, Sacred Valley, Pisac, Urubamba, Ollantaytambo, Chinchero.
• Highest Elevation (Chincheros) – 3,754 meters ASL / 12,316

Breakfast at the hotel.

We pick you up at your hotel (8:30 a.m.) and then we start our tour in the Sacred Valley of the Incas which is a beautiful place with beautiful landscapes and views, its people, its handicraft markets, and other tourist attractions. In Pisaq, we will visit the handicraft market where we will find works in textiles, ceramics, silverware and others. After visiting this beautiful town, we will go to the high part of the mountain where the archaeological center is located with its imposing constructions of agricultural terraces and other constructions that in spite of having more than 500 years are intact.

After visiting this place we will continue our tour along the banks of the river WILCAMAYU (sacred river) until we arrive to Urubamba, where you will have time to have lunch and rest a little for later continue with the tour in OLLANTAYTAMBO. Ollantaytambo is a very singular and picturesque town because the inhabitants of the place still use the Inca constructions as houses and their narrow and paved streets make a place a beautiful traditional town the religious center is located by the high part of the mountain where the temple of the sun continues imposing its majesty.

In this place, the tour ends approximately at 4:00pm to then head to the traditional town of Chinchero, where the remains of the royal hacienda of Tupac Inca Yupanqui are located. We will appreciate its very well preserved Inca walls in the main square and also appreciate the beautiful colonial temple with interesting frescoes on the porch, built on the foundations of an Inca construction, this town is a beautiful example of the mestizo and colonial style and at the appointed time return to Cusco

Overnight in Cusco.

Day 4: TRANSFER BY ITEP VAN FROM CUSCO TO KM 82 “INKA TRAIL ENTRANCE”

• Meals: Lunch, snacks, afternoon tea and dinner.
• Accommodation: Camping facilities.
• Distance: 11kms/6.8 miles (6 hours more or less of hiking)
• Difficulty: Easy/Moderate.
• Walking Time: Approximately 6 hours (including picnic lunch in route)
• Walk and Terrain: Walk, canter on open roads, some steep ascending.

Breakfast at the hotel, at the coordinated time you will be picked up from the hotel to be transported by ITEP from Cusco through the Sacred Valley of the Incas, finally we will arrive at Km 82 "Entrance to the Inka Trail".

Trekking Km 82 "Piscacucho to Wayllabamba"

Our transportation will pick you up from your different hotels at 06:00 and then we will go to kilometer 82, which is located at (2,800 m. /9,200 ft), point of travel for our hike and official control of entry to the Inca Trail for tourists, guides and porters.

The hike begins with a gentle climb. During the first 3 hours, we will be on relatively flat ground observing a magnificent view of the summit and the snowy Wakay Willka known as the Veronica, where we can enjoy an extraordinary Andean landscape and an Inca construction known as the Patallacta, located at 2,750 m. / 9,030 ft.

In this place, we will be able to observe some farming terraces that served to feed travelers from different places who took this journey to reach Machu Picchu.

Then, we will continue walking through a zone full of vegetation where it is very probable to observe the most popular bird Giant Hummingbird. After having walked for about 2 hours, we will arrive to our first camp located in the zone of Huayllabamba at 3,000 m. / 9,900 ft.

Huayllabamba is a small town surrounded by fields of corn, potato crops and other products; here we will have our first campsite.

Day 5: TREKKING “WAYLLABAMBA TO PACAYMAYUC/ RUNKURAQAY”

• Meals: Breakfast, water, lunch, snacks, afternoon tea and Dinner.
• Accommodation: Camping facilities.
• Distance: 16kms/10mls (9 hours more or less of hiking time)
• Difficulty: Moderate/challenge.

This day our cook will prepare a hot muña or coca drink, today we will have a great challenge; the one to ascend to the highest point of the opening of Warmi Huañusca, before undertaking our way we will have an exquisite and comfortable breakfast.

In this section, we already begin to appreciate the wide path with cobblestone on the outer edge and in risk areas, you can see retaining walls to control the slope of the road, the rise becomes heavier until you reach the sector of Ayapata an area prepared for the camps.

The ascent through the Salkantay river gorge becomes heavier, the road becomes steeper and the legs already take their toll from the effort made in the midst of the fog and constant drizzle that hovers over the landscape.

A final effort allows us to reach 4332 meters above sea level where the Warmiwañuska pass is located. A chink that opens between the mountain range that surrounds Machu Picchu, from here there is a wonderful natural landscape that makes the visitor feel as if he were face to face with the Apus tutelares, the Taita Inti, the Mama Killa, the Olympus of the Andean Gods at a step from the Hanaq Pacha.

The natural landscape has changed notoriously, from the leafy vegetation of the inter-Andean valleys we pass to the icy mountains where the wild straw abounds in the midst of the silence that is silently cut by the discreet winds that comb the mountain.

A network of paths for all visitors enables us to take a break for lunch and replenish our energy.

The road down to Pacaymayu Alto is completely integrated and is dates back to the time of the Incas. It is wide and slides in the middle of shallow ravines and noisy streams that the mountains give birth to.

Day 6: TREKKING “PACAYMAYUC TO WIÑAYHUAYNA”

• Meals: Breakfast, water, lunch, snacks, afternoon tea and dinner.
• Accommodation: Camping facilities and cold showers.
• Distance: 10kms/6.2mls (5 hours more or less of hiking)
• Difficulty: Moderate

After a hearty breakfast, around 7:00 am, the trail climbs very steeply from the Pacaymayo camp on a well-preserved cobblestone road. Here the Inca Trail takes 1 hour to reach the ruins of Runcuracay, a circular structure with rectangular out buildings located at the end of the valley, an old Inca Tambo, it is here that the chaskis rested and stocked up on food and other materials.

Here there is a guard post, a lookout point, and a ritual building, its buildings facing east. From this site, you have a better view when you continue the stairway to the left bank. The second pass (3,950 m/12,956 ft), also known as the Abra de Runcuracay, is about an hour away, and beyond it, there are a series of false summits, and above them a series of steep stairs. Just before reaching the real pass, the trail winds between two small lagoons where Andean gulls occasionally gather. The second pass is a wide platform, which has exceptional views, and with clear weather, you can look back at Warmiwañusca and have an amazing view of the snowy peaks and the road you have traveled. Forward to the 6,000 meter high mountain - Pumasillo (La Garra de la Puma) massif. From here, most of the road is downhill.

After descending through a small tunnel, the trail begins with a series of tight zigzags, descending rapidly until it reaches a small lookout point above the promontory. Beyond, the descent is more gradual and the path winds and coils across the slopes. To the right of this pass is a long lake covered with seaweed, and in front of you, the imposing Inca town of Sayacmarca is visible. You are now in time to explore and learn interesting things from the explanations of your guides. After these talks, we will continue to descend and the trail will take us to Chakicocha (3,400 m/11,000 ft), where we have a quiet camp where we can rest and have lunch.

There are toilets here. From here, after lunch the excursion becomes breathtakingly beautiful as we pass the ruins of Phuyupatamarca, and then descend to Wiñaywayna and Intipata, to enjoy spectacular views of the Aobamba Valley. This extension of the trail is made of well-maintained paved granite stone, still in good condition even after many centuries. Your lungs will appreciate the fact that today's hike is much lower than the one above, and is significantly shorter than yesterday's hike. To reach Phuyupatamarca (El Pueblo de las Nubes), we pass through the first of two short natural tunnels in the mountains. After visiting this site, we descend about 2,000 cobblestone steps to the Wiñaywayna citadel. If you did not have knee problems until now, you will suddenly have problems after this descent. If you have knee injuries, we recommend that you hire a carrier to carry your things from the beginning.

Use trekking poles to help your legs. Then, there is an additional short hike to the Intipata complex. Another important Inca site has agricultural terraces, before arriving at our campsite for the night. At about 5 pm, we will arrive at our campsite in Wiñaywayna (2,700 m/8,856 ft). We will set up our things in the tents, and before it gets dark, we will hike for another 20 minutes to enjoy the wonderful views and take a tour of the site. This Inca complex is the largest and most preserved of the other Inca sites on the Inca Trail. There are also many hikers at this camp, preparing for the final excursion to Machu Picchu early tomorrow morning. Therefore, we recommend that you take extra care of your personal belongings here. Keep an eye on your backpacks and do not leave anything outside your tent at night. Now it is time for tea and a buffet dinner. Please note that the hostel here that had existed in the past for decades is now closed. Here you will only find cold showers, no drinks and basic toilets.

Day 7: TREKKING “WIÑAYHUAYNA – INTI PUNKU & MACHUPICCHU GUIDED TOUR”

• Meals: Breakfast
• Distance: 8.9kms/5.5mls “By Bus in 25 minutes”
• Difficulty: Easy

We will be up very early at about 04: 00 am to enjoy our breakfast and follow our final journey of the Inca Trail. We will advance almost in a straight line north to Inti Punku. The trail is surrounded by abundant vegetation that provides the necessary shade to cover from the solar radiation that increases with the passing of the hours. On the way there are attractive sections that show stone roads, wooden gates, and some viewpoints that allow you to appreciate the valley floor with the Vilcanota River a few meters before reaching the Intipunku where there are half-built stone buildings probably abandoned by the Incas after the Spanish invasion.

A whim of the road can be appreciated when arriving at Intipunku where a small but steep slope forces us to spend the last energies arriving. The visitor feels glimpsed with the impressive view of the wonderful Inca llaqta of Machu Picchu and part of the Hiram Bingham wagon that communicates with the district capital of Machu Picchu.
Intipunku is a small set of stone forms that evidently served as a checkpoint and administration of people and goods that move along this route here we can enjoy Machu Picchu, from another angle with the broad panorama that opens with the mountains, valleys and ravines that are visualized from this point.

When arriving at Machu Picchu, the marvel of the world, synthesis and summary of the colossal architecture of our ancestors, summit of the Andean civilization, pride of the Peruvians and sign of cultural identity of all the cusqueños. Shows us how high degree of development reached the Andean civilization of the hand of the Incas always accompanied by our experienced guide who allows us to cross this religious site par excellence.

"Machu Picchu Maravilla del Mundo" with an altitude of 2,437 masl / 7,995 ft. We understand their superior knowledge reached in the astronomical and astrological that puts in our knowledge the hydrological cycles of rains and droughts by means of the solstices for the development of the agricultural activity, having a free time to take pictures and to stroll by own account.

To the terminal the route, we will board the bus of descent with direction to Aguas Calientes to enjoy a repairing tourist menu considering the schedule of return of the train to the station of Ollantaytambo, where our Transport will wait for you to return to the city of the Cusco and its later transfer to its reference hotel.

ABOUT THE CAMPS ON THE INCA TRAIL:
Please note: Camps may change (according to the itinerary) depending on weather and availability of the reserve, weather conditions or restrictions adopted by the Peruvian government for security reasons.

Day 8: CUSCO OUT

Breakfast at the hotel

At the appropriate time, transfer to the airport in Cusco.