Cusco Travel

Tour: Inca Trail Discovery
(5 Days / 4 Nights)

Trip type	:	High altitude walking / moderate grading
Recommended season	:	March to December
Good for	:	Minded travelers interested in archaeology, ancient history, traditional Andean cultures, spectacular scenery, flora and fauna.
Group size	:	Small group. Average 4.5 passengers per departure
Departures	:	Every Monday, Wednesday & Friday
Bookings	:	Must be done 4 o 5 months in advanced due high demand.

A spectacular early morning drive through the Sacred Valley of the Incas takes us to our trailhead at Km. 82 of the Machu Picchu railroad. After getting acquainted with our trail crew we set out, crossing a footbridge to hike a gentle two hours down the Urubamba canyon, and then visit imposing sculpted Inca farming terraces and the settlement of Llaqtapata on the banks of the Cusichaca side river. We then climb a short way up the Cusichaca valley to Huayllabamba, the last inhabited village on the trail, where we camp.


The trail climbs gently into the mountains through the last inhabited village of Huayllabamba, and then more steeply past a rushing stream through enchanted native polylepis woodland. Crossing the rim of a small plateau, we abruptly find ourselves in the puna, the treeless grasslands of the high Andes. We camp below mighty crags, looking eastward to the snowpeaks and valleys of the Huayanay massif.


We climb to the first and highest pass, Warmiwañusca (4,200m/13,776ft), with spectacular views of the trail ahead to the second pass. Descending to the forested Pacamayo valley we pick up an Inca stairway and ascend again past the small Inca site of Runkuracay. We reach the second pass, where the landscape opens onto spectacular new views to the snowpeaks of the Pumasillo range, then descend to the ruins of Sayacmarca (Inaccessible Town), an intricate labyrinth of houses, plazas and water channels, perched precariously on a rocky spur overlooking the Aobamba valley. The Inca trail, now a massive buttressed structure of granite paving stones, continues along the steep upper fringes of the cloud forest through a colorful riot of orchids, bromeliads, mosses and ferns. At the third pass we camp by pinnacles topped with Inca viewing platforms, overlooking the archaeological complex of Phuyupatamarca (Cloud-level Town).


We explore the wondrous maze of Inca stone towers, fountains and stairways spilling down the mountainside at Phuyupatamarca then begin a long descent through ever-changing layers of cloud forest. An Inca stairway partly cut from living granite leads us finally to the site of Wiñay Wayna (Forever Young), the largest and most exquisite of the Inca Trail sites. In the afternoon we follow the last stretch of trail across a steep mountainside through a lush, humid cloud-forest of giant ferns and broad-leaf vegetation. Suddenly we cross the stone threshold of Intipunku (Sun Gate) and encounter an unforgettable sweep of natural beauty and human artistry -a backdrop of twisting gorge and forested peaks framing the magical city of Machu Picchu.


We return to Machu Picchu by bus and spend the day in both guided and individual exploration, visiting the best-known features of this astounding and mysterious Inca settlement. Some will want to take the optional hike to the summit of Wayna Picchu for an amazing overview of the site, while others may want to investigate Machu Picchu's multitude of hidden nooks and corners. After a full-on experience of this glorious monument to the Inca achievement.



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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