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HUCHUY QOSQO TREK

& SHORT INCA TRAIL COMBINATION

THE BEST ALTERNATIVE TO THE CLASSIC INCA TRAIL

The Huchuy Qosqo – Short Inca Trail combination is this most amazing ‘off the beaten path’ hike alternative to the Inca Trail. In it, you will get to walk on a secret Inca Trail where no other tourists go, camp right next to an abandoned Incan city, walk on the last stretch of the Classic Inca Trail, and get to VISIT Machu Picchu TWICE. First, at Sunset and another one at Sunrise. The best adventure for those looking to explore unique and undisturbed attractions.

PAY NOWBOOKING FORM
  • Hike Distance:
  • Altitude:4380 ft/ 1335 m  
  • Difficulty:​ Moderate
  • Duration: 4 days/3 nights
  • Elevation Gain: 
  • Weather: See below
  • Seasons:  This trek is open all year round
  • Hike Trail Map:   See below
  • Cusco Drive Time to Starting Point:  
  • Town Nearest Hike:  Tambomachay
  • Highlights: High mountain jungle, Cloud forests, High mountain Paramo.  Views of Vilcabamba mountain range, scenic trail, and local villages.  Wildlife: Prairie horses and dogs, Vizcachas, Andean foxes, spectacled bear. Birds including; Andean condor, Mitred Parakeet.
  • Activities: Hiking trail, archaeological site tours, nature and Andean community visits.​
  • Prices: from $700 USD   Per person based on group size.

HUCHUY QOSQO TREK

You will get:

  • Professional, bilingual Tour Guide.
  • ​Assistant Guide (for groups of 9 or more people).
  • ​Return transportation; Bus to the start of the trail at Tambomachay, Lamay – Ollantaytambo. Tourist train from Ollantaytambo – KM104 and Aguas Calientes to Ollantaytambo.
  • ​Water (Not included for first 4 hours of trek, we will provide you with boiled water for drinking for the remainder of the tour).
  • Entrance fees to Inca Trail and Machu Picchu.
  • ​3 breakfasts,  2  lunches, 1 lunch box to be carried by each tourist,  3  afternoon snacks,  3  dinners  (Breakfast on day 1 and lunch in Aguas Calientes on the last day  not included). 
  • Dining tent with tables and chairs.
  • Porters to carry food,  camping tents,  cooking equipment*
  • Cook,
  • 2  person tent.
  • ​​Sleeping pads.
  • 1 night accommodation in Ollantaytambo and  in Aguas Calientes. (Hot showers, private bath and breakfast included).
  • Return bus trip from Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu.
  • Oxygen bottle.
  • First Aid kit.               
  • Vegetarian food / especial meals  on request at  no extra cost! 


​*Important!!!  Our porters carry cooking and camping equipment only.   YOU NEED to hire an EXTRA PORTER if you don’t wish to carry your own belongings on the trail.  We recommend this as the best thing to do when booking a tour with us.   

There is no such thing as a ‘free porter’. Companies that offer this complimentary service are usually engaging in exploitative practices that force porters to carry extra  unpaid weight. Do not fall for of this  fishy marketing scheme.

Permits are needed for your chosen start date.   Tour prices  are based on the number of people in a group. Prices are valid from  March 2022 to January 2023.

All prices quoted are $USD

  • 2 to 3 trekkers  $1200 per person
  • 4 to 5 trekkers  $850 per person
  • 6 or more Trekkers: $790 per person

Optional services not included.

  • Premium sleeping bag  (0°F) –   $40 
  • Trekking poles (single) – $10 
  • Premium insulated Inflatable pads – $35 
  • Full porter (up to 14kg or 30lbs can be shared between 2 people)*** – $180
  • Half porter  (up to 7kg or 15lbs)*** – $100
  • If you require an extra porter  or a half porter, please advise us when filling in booking form.
  • Single tent  supplement – $35
  • Train Upgrade  – Vistadome   train or 360° Inca Rail train    –   $75USD
  • Huayna Picchu Mountain or Machu Picchu mountain permits. $90USD


***NOTE: Total weight  includes sleeping bag and pads  (Sleeping bags and pads weight approx. 3kg) 

ITINERARY:

Starting time: 
5:00 am

Travel:
Bus to start of trek at Tambomachay then trekking all day.

Difficulty level: 
Hard – Strenuous.

Highlights of the Day: 
We will start our hike at Patabamba (122020 ft). From there our path will lead us through the vast grassland of the Andean Puna above the Sacred Valley. After lunch we climb toward the Sihuas mountain pass at 13700ft. .  On our trail we will pass through many small communities, rivers and farms  In those places we will be able to contemplate the life of the traditional Andean villagers that inhabit these areas.   The people inhabiting these grasslands and villages are mainly farmers and herders.  This area is off the beaten track and very rarely will we see other tourists on these trails.  After a well deserved lunch the original Inca trail will lead us through one of the most beautiful hiking places of Cusco, which is a ravine formed by the lares river.  The second part of the day will come to an end when we reach our destination at the archaeological site of Huchuy Qosqo.  Our camping spot for the evening will be located right within this impressive and beautiful Incan site. At night, we will be delighted by the breathtaking Andean sky.  Our tour guides will give us a brief introduction to the Andean astronomy as well as contemporary astronomy. Huchuy Qosqo is by far one of the best places in the mountains of Cusco to do some stargazing.

Meals: 
Lunch on the trek at Sihuas and dinner at Huchuy Qosqo campsite

Accommodation: 
Camping in tents at Huchuy Qosqo.

Starting time: 
7:00 am

Travel:
Trekking then car to Urubamba

Difficulty level: 
Moderate.

Highlights of the Day: 
To help us ease into the day and set our mood for the beautiful day ahead, our guides will prepare a nice cup of coca tea or a hot drink of your choice. After we have packed up and finished our breakfast overlooking the Sacred Valley and amazing views of the peaks of the Urubamba mountain range, our guide will give us a walking tour around the archaeological site of Huchuy Qosqo.  During this tour our guide will explain to us the historical background of this ancient Incan city. Every lecture our tour guide will deliver will be to prepare us for what we will see at our final destination; Machu Picchu.  We encourage all our customers to visit the resource section of our website and to watch the videos or read some of the materials to enhance the presentations our guides will deliver throughout the trek.  After we finish our visit to Huchuy Qosqo Incan site we will continue our hike to Lamay town.  This part of the trek is mainly downhill, the trail follows through a lush and beautiful ravine filled with birds and exotic plants. It will take us approximately two hours to get to the bottom of the mountain at Lamay.  Once at Lamay town, we will have aa walking tour around Lamay town and get to see a place where very few tourists have seen.  Lunch will be ready upon our return to our lunch spot located at the side of the Urubamba river.  After lunch we will catch a us toward the best anthropological and historical museum of Cusco, which is the Inkarri museum located in the city of Calca.  Here a local guide will take us on a 45 minute tour of the museum to show us the most important aspects of the civilizations that preceded the Inca; this information will be valuable to our visit to Machu Picchu. Our bus ride will finish at Our campground at the Spirit of the river lodge in Urubamba. 

Meals: 
Breakfast at Huchuy Qosqo, lunch on the trek and dinner at Urubamba

Accommodation: 
Spirit of the lodge at Urubamba

Starting time: 
5:40 am

Travel:
Transfer to train station, train to KM104, then trekking.

Difficulty level: 
Hard.

Highlights of the Day: 
Our third day of adventure starts early in the morning at the hotel, after breakfast we will check out and head to the train station where we will catch the train that will take us to the starting point of the short Inca trail at 104Km or Chachabamba.  At Chachabamba we will go through the first checkpoint, and park ranger post of the national Sanctuary of Machu Picchu.  Here we will show our documents and tickets before we start our hike.  The hike to Winaywayna Incan site is a long and steady climb, the hot temperatures of the Machu Picchu canyon will demand a lot of our energy before we reach our lunch site. The first part of the trail goes through a lush area with abundant vegetation roper of the cloud forest, but a half hour into the trail we will get to a grey area where we will be exposed to the sunlight.  We recommend people take a lot of water and electrolytes for this part of the trail as it takes a toll on our physical endurance.  Once we get out of the grassy area, we will enter into the lush, humid tropical cloud forest.  In this section of the trail, we will encounter a great variety of air plants, “epiphytes”, orchids and bamboos as well as moss and an enormous amount of butterflies and hummingbirds. At Winaywayna Incan site or ‘Forever Young” 2680m/8792ft our guide will give us another presentation about this beautiful Incan site, perhaps the most beautiful of all Incan sites in Peru.  after a well deserved and necessary lunch, we will proceed to the second part of our hike toward the Sungate or Inti Punku 2730m/8956ft. The path to the Sungate is easier than the first one; it is mainly flat or undiluted with a few small stairs to climb.  Once we get to the Sungate we will have the first view of this impressive place.  Then, we will continue with our hike following the path that goes down the hill toward Machu Picchu 2400m/7873ft. Once we get to Machu Picchu we will spend some time in the are near the “house of guardian” where we will enjoy the beauty of Machu Picchu before the park closes at 5:00 pm.  From Machu Picchu, we will take a shuttle bus to Aguas Calientes where we will have dinner and spend the night at our hotel.

Meals: 
Breakfast at the hotel, lunch on the trek and dinner in Aguas Calientes.

Accommodation: 
Hotel in Aguas Calientes.

Other information:
Although a shortened Inca Trail, this trek joins the main Inca trail in time to see the highlights.

Starting time: 
5:00 am

Travel:
By bus to Machu Picchu.

Difficulty level: 
Easy.

Highlights of the Day: 
Early in the morning we will walk from our hotel to the bus station for the shuttle buses to Machu Picchu.  The line to catch the bus takes approximately an hour, and the bus ride itself takes approximately 30 minutes.  Once we get to Machu Picchu, our guide will give us a final walking tour bringing together all the lectures we have listened to throughout our 4 dyas as we tour the most important sites of Machu Picchu. 
The optional climb of Huayna Picchu 2720m/8923ft takes approximately 45 minutes to reach the top. 

Meals: 
Breakfast at the hotel in Aguas Calientes.

Accommodation: 
You will be back in Cusco to your own accommodation for the evening. 

HUCHUY QOSQO TREK
  • Original passport and Student card (if applicable)
  • Sleeping bag (not included)
  • Walking boots
  • Waterproof jacket/rain poncho
  • Warm jacket
  • Hat and gloves
  • T-shirts
  • Hand sanitizers
  • Comfortable trousers
  • Sun hat
  • Sun protection cream
  • Insect Repellent
  • Toiletries
  • Personal medication
  • Camera and films
  • Torch with spare batteries (headlamps are useful)

Optional items to take:

  • Shorts
  • Walking stick
  • Plasters and bandages
  • Sandals
  • Binoculars
  • Extra money
  • Bathing suit for hot springs in Aguas Calientes.

Optional services not included.

  • Premium sleeping bag  (0°F) –   $40 
  • Trekking poles (single) – $10 
  • Premium insulated Inflatable pads – $35 
  • Full porter (up to 14kg or 30lbs can be shared between 2 people)*** – $180
  • Half porter  (up to 7kg or 15lbs)*** – $100
  • If you require an extra porter  or a half porter, please advise us when filling in booking form.
  • Single tent  supplement – $35
  • Train Upgrade  – Vistadome   train or 360° Inca Rail train    –   $75USD
  • Huayna Picchu Mountain or Machu Picchu mountain permits. $90USD


***NOTE: Total weight  includes sleeping bag and pads  (Sleeping bags and pads weight approx. 3kg) 

HUCHUY QOSQO TREK