Cusco Travel

Tour: Alternative Inca Trails
(4 Days / 3 nights)

We leave Cusco in the early morning, driving to the provincial town of Calca in the Sacred Valley of the Incas, and climbing northward to a spectacular high pass before dropping down to the village of Lares on the east slope of the Andes. Here we take a delicious dip at a hot springs in the meadows outside of town and then enjoy a picnic lunch. Then we begin a leisurely half-day hike up the valley of the rushing Rio Trapiche, before reaching the highland village of Huacahuasi, where we camp for the night. (L/D)

We climb steadily, traversing an open, treeless landscape of ground-hugging plants and flowers among pastures of Andean bunch-grass scattered with roaming herds of alpacas and llamas. Reaching an altitude of 4,500m. we cross the pass of Ipsayccasa then descend into the Patacancha watershed, with the lake of Ipsaycocha to our right. We may see Andean Geese, Puna Ibis and other waterbirds in the wetlands here as we journey through the heartland of these Quechua people, who are locally nicknamed “Huayruros” – the name of a red and black seed reminiscent of the color combinations of the local textiles. We reach the village of Patacancha and camp nearby. (B/L/D)


You will be transferred to Cusco Our transport takes us downvalley to Pallata, where we begin a short, half-day hike to Ollantaytambo, via the scenic early-Inca site of Pumamarca (Puma town). This well-preserved Inca outpost was apparently a fort protecting the approaches to the Sacred Valley. From there we hike down a trail that winds gently across steep mountain slopes, through a stupendous series of agricultural terraces built by the Incas and now partially restored to agricultural use. At the village of Munaypata we rejoin the main road, where our transport makes the final short drive to Ollantaytambo. After lunch we visit the impressive ruins here, and tour the nearby village, where people go about their daily lives among original Inca streets and houses. Overnight in the Sacred Valley. (B/L)

We take the morning train from Ollantaytambo to the town of Aguas Calientes, and then ascend by bus to the fabled ruins of Machu Picchu. Return to Cusco in the afternoon and transfer to hotel. (B/L)





More about Machu Picchu

Perched high above a sinuous bend in the Urubamba River, Machu Picchu has lured explorers, poets and pilgrims to its mist-wreathed ridge top ever since its discovery by the American explorer Hiram Bingham in July, 1911.
No one lived here before the Incas. Those mighty empire builders from Cusco discovered this extraordinary place, finding it rich in natural features sacred to their religion. Both inspired and humbled by its dramatic natural beauty, their answer was to create on a vast scale one of the planet's most sensitive and harmonious works of art. The aesthetic genius of its layout and architecture coupled with the durability of its brilliant planning and engineering have given us today this finest of jewels among the UNESCO world heritage sites.
Scholars still argue about the meaning of Machu Picchu: why it was built and what purpose it served, who lived there and when they departed. Most agree that its main intent was spiritual and ceremonial.

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