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Stunning views of snow‐covered Andean peaks, ancient cloud forest, abundant wildflowers and the Inca ruins of Choquequirao are just some of the highlights of this outstanding trek. Our route follows a mountain traverse between two sacred Inca rivers ‐ to the west the Apurimac and to the east the Urubamba. These mighty rivers are the main tributaries of the Amazon. Between them lies the great Vilcabamba Mountain Range ‐ the last stronghold of the Inca Empire. Unique to this area is the spectacular ‘lost’ ruins of Choquequirao. Built by the Incas in the 15th century, like Machu Picchu, it became lost in high jungle which engulfed the ruins until being rediscovered in the early 20th century. A day is set aside to explore this impressive site before continuing our trek to the Inca site at Patallacta which provides a stunning and rarely seen view of our final destination ‐ Machu Picchu.
Non-exclusive trips:
On selected departures, this trip is not exclusive to Rogue Adventures, and you will be joining a group of 2 – 8 adventurers from around the world.
Day 1 ARRIVE CUSCO
Day 2 IN CUSCO, SIGHTSEEING
Day 3 TOUR OF THE SACRED VALLEY OF THE INCAS
Day 4 SECOND DAY IN THE SACRED VALLEY OF THE INCAS
Day 5 DRIVE TO TRAILHEAD AT CAPULIYOC TO START TREK
Day 6 TREK TO PLAYA ROSALINDA AND CONTINUE TO CHOQUEQUIRAO
Day 7 FULL DAY EXPLORING CHOQUEQUIRAO
Day 8 TREK CHOQUEQUIRAO TO PINCHI UNUYOC
Day 9 TREK PINCHI UNUYOC TO MAIZAL
Day 10 TREK MAIZAL TO YANAMA
Day 11 TREK YANAMA TO TOTORA
Day 12 TREK TOTORA TO LUCMABAMBA
Day 13 TREK LUCMABAMBA TO PATALLACTA AND TRAIN TO AGUAS CALIENTES
Day 14 VISIT MACHU PICCHU
Day 15 TRIP CONCLUDES IN CUSCO
14 breakfasts, 9 lunches and 8 dinners
Airport transfers if arriving/departing on first or last day
Expert bilingual guide
Group medical kit
Comfortable and central hotels, primarily Casa Andina Classic hotels
Private internal transportation
The use of a gear pack including sleeping bag, fibre filled jacket, thermarest and headtorch
Group camping equipment
Porters to carry personal gear
Sightseeing and site entrance fees as listed (including Machu Picchu entrance fee)
International Flights and Taxes
Internal Flights and Taxes
Travel Insurance (compulsory) Visas
Medical treatment
Excess baggage costs
Cost of laundry and alcoholic beverages
Depending on the itinerary for the day, you will either be travelling or sightseeing. Local experts generally fill the mornings with tours to the local sites. After lunch, further sightseeing will take place or there will be leisure time for you to read, relax at the hotel or explore.
Our trekking day starts around 5.30am with a wake‐up call and fresh cup of tea brought to your tent. Hot water is available for a light morning wash. Breakfast is served in the dining tent and consists of hot porridge and toast and jam, served with coffee, hot milk and tea. On some days we serve bacon and eggs or pancakes. Before breakfast it’s often a good idea for you to pack up your duffle bags, prepare your day packs and take down your tents so that the mule or llama skinners can organise the loading for departure.
The mornings hike usually lasts from about 8:00am to 12.30pm allowing plenty of rest and photo stops. Lunch is of the picnic type and is prepared by one of the cooks who accompany us during the morning. It consists of salads (vegetables and/ or noodles), sometimes soups, salamis, cheese, peanut butter, bread, crackers, tinned meats and fish, topped off by freshly brewed tea and biscuits. After lunch we set off for the afternoon’s hike ‐ usually 2 to 3 hours to the camp.
On arrival in camp (which will have already been set up in advance) tea and coffee will be served and you are then free to do as you like until dinnertime. Served at 6:30 ‐ 7:00pm, dinner consists of three courses ‐ soup or fresh salad, a main course of stews, spaghetti or rice dishes (all prepared with fresh meat and vegetables) served with red or white cask wines (on last night of trek) and followed by dessert, tea, coffee and Milo. Nor will you go hungry during the walking day. Apart from lunch you will also get a “snack pack” made up of chocolates, nuts and fresh fruit. Most of the walking is on fairly well‐defined tracks, including some remarkable sections of ancient Inca stone “highways”. There are occasional river crossings but no really steep sections where scrambling is involved.
Most groups like to spread out over the trail, stopping for photographs, resting, and bird‐watching or just ambling and taking time out to absorb the lovely surroundings. The only thing we ask you to remember is not to get too far ahead of, or behind the main party, and to keep your guide within view. One of the guides or camp staff almost always walks with the slowest member of the group ‐ so there’s no chance of being left behind. In fact almost everyone finds and manages to keep to their own pace.
Obviously in the event of very bad weather or adverse conditions, the guide will keep the group as close together as possible. The evenings are often one of the most enjoyable parts of the day. After a relaxing dinner, people like to sit in the dining tent ‐ talking, playing cards or scrabble, reading, chatting or just relaxing (a good idea to bring games, cards and books along).Mules (and Porters on the Inca Trail) are used to transport your baggage but you will need a day‐pack to carry the things you’ll want during the walking day ‐ water bottle, camera etc.
Peru has a population of 28 million, made up of pure‐blooded Indians (biggest group are the Quechuas, whose forebears were the “Incas”) and Mestizos, who are a mixture of Indian and European backgrounds. More than half the population lives in the largest cities, namely Lima, Arequipa and Trujillo. Peru has an area of 1,300,000 square kms, and is located on the Pacific coast of South America. Its capital, Lima, located 12 degrees south of the equator, was the capital of Spanish South America from its founding in 1535 until the early 19th Century. The old central part of the city with its impressive commercial section, whose architecture was greatly influenced by the English, contrasts sharply with the more modern office blocks, shopping centres and suburbs and especially the ever expanding shanty towns or “pueblos jovenes” where the poorer country cousins, who move to the city to try and find work and live. Official languages are Spanish and Quechua.
Geographically, Peru is made up of the three distinct regions. Firstly the arid coastal strip, mainly desert and up to 60 kms wide. Down the centre of the country runs the great range of snow peaks and highlands that make up part of the immensely long chain of mountains known as the Andes, running from Colombia in the north all the way to the southern tip of Chile. The third region is the jungle ‐ from the “eyebrow of the jungle” in the Andean foothills to the pristine jungles of the great Amazon rain forest. The coastal area is the economic heartland of Peru, and the coastal waters with the cold Humboldt Current running north up the coast contain some of the richest fishing grounds in the world.
The highlands or “sierra” contain more than a third of the population ‐ mostly the Quechua‐ or Aymara‐speaking Indians engaged mainly in pastoral farming. This is a high, very often lush and fertile land of gentle slopes and valleys surrounded by the high peaks of the Cordilleras Vilcabamba, Vilcanota and Blanca. Cusco, once the capital of the great Inca Empire, stands at 3400 metres (11,200’) in the heart of the southern sierra. It is remarkable for the perfect stonework of its Inca ruins, its many beautiful colonial churches and palaces, and of course the world‐renowned ruins of the lost city of the Incas at Machu Picchu.
The trekking season in Peru lasts from the end of April (the last month of the wet season) through to mid‐October (by which time the rains have returned and hiking becomes more difficult due to muddy trails and snowed‐in passes). Temperatures in the area around Lima are warm during the day (20‐25°C) and cool (5°C) at night. In the highlands of Peru, where the treks take place, daytime temperatures will be in the range of 10‐20°C falling as low as ‐10°C at night. Also it is possible that we’ll get some snow on the higher ground and some of the higher passes.
Provided we are advised in advance of your departure we are able to cater for vegetarian diets and can assist with medically recommended diets (allergies and intolerances). Please ensure you discuss your requirements with us well in advance (at least 1 month prior to your trip) to determine whether we can cater to such dietary requirements on your chosen adventure. Please note that options are likely to be limited in very remote locations or alternatives may be more expensive or unavailable. There may be times when those with special requirements may need to provide their own food. We are unable to guarantee a peanut‐free or allergen‐free trip, and therefore, we strongly encourage that travelers with life‐threatening or severe allergies take all necessary medical precautions to prepare for the possibility of exposure. Passengers must travel with all necessary medications for food allergies and be capable of self‐administering these medications.
While in Lima or Cusco, you will typically stay at a Casa Andina hotel, or another property of a similar style. The Casa Andinas specialise in integrating the characteristics of each destination such as architecture, decoration, gastronomy and music to create an authentic experience for our travellers. They are centrally located and come with good service and comfort. Most of the hotels and lodges we use can be described as 3 star accommodation, some of them are categorised as 4 stars. In smaller towns and villages hotel options are often limited and we might have to use more basic accommodation with a lower or without star rating. Please note that the star rating in South America is very fluid and can’t be compared to a western standard star rating, however you can be assured of clean, comfortable and well located lodgings.
During the trekking section, enjoy our fully supported camping experience in quality two person tents with plenty of personal space and storage for your luggage. Our team are on hand to ensure your comfort and safety with a dining tent, separate cooking tent and where appropriate, toilet tent erected.
pre and post tour accommodation
If you would like to extend your stay in Peru we would be more than happy to assist with your pre or post tour arrangements. Please ask your reservations consultant for further details.
In your daypack you will need to carry extra warm clothing (depending on the altitude, location and weather), a rainjacket, water bottle, camera gear, valuables and personal items such as sunscreen, lip‐eze etc. Porters and mules carry all group gear and your trek pack.
Specialist gear required include walking boots and day pack (a comprehensive gear list is provided in the pre‐departure information provided on booking).
Please note, the following items are prohibited in Machu Picchu: drones, selfie sticks, tripod for cameras, walking stick without rubber tip, backpack that exceeds 40cm x 35cm x 20cm, aerosol spray, heals, sharp objects, banners or posters. As of December 2018, single‐use plastic bottles and any other single‐use plastics (bags, cups, straws, etc) are prohibited in the Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu, on the Inca Trail and all other protected natural areas in Peru. This regulation was established by the Ministry of Environment, following the Sustainable Tourism Regulation which aims to conserve these protected natural areas. Please ensure to bring your reusable water bottle on all our Peru trips. Water refill stations have been installed in areas near Machu Picchu and other national parks. Your guide will brief you where you can refill your water bottles with drinking water.
During the course of your trip, we will use a variety of vehicles, all of which are fit for purpose and the conditions encountered. It should be noted that laws governing transportation safety may differ from those in your home country and whilst wherever possible, vehicles with seatbelts are provided, on occasion some vehicles may not have seat belts fitted.
Porters:
Porters are an integral part of the Rogue Adventures philosophy and style of travel. We take our travellers off‐the‐beaten track, avoiding the congested trails, to experience our often remote tent‐based adventures … this style of trekking is enabled by porters. When we trek, the entire group ‐ travellers, guides and porters alike ‐ are a team who share the same needs for safety in the mountain environment. Our Peruvian porters receive the following:
*All porters receive the same access to medical service as clients.
*We provide all food (3 meals per day based on a menu requested specifically by the porters), gas stoves for all cooking.
*We are one of the 5 companies (among almost 200 companies) that pay the highest wages to their porters.
*All our porters can also access interest free long‐term loans from us as long as they can clearly indicate how those funds will be used.
*We provide all our porters with basic life and accident insurance. In addition we provide any porter (or any member of their family) full coverage of any medical costs that they incur whether it be work related or not e.g. if they have an accident in their fields or if they get any kind of illness we fund their treatment until they are well again. We are one of the only companies in Peru to care for their staff to this extent
*We provide transport (private buses and train) to and from the trek start and finish.
We provide sleeping tents, sleeping pads, (plus sleeping bags if requested), footwear (shoes or boots), warm jackets and raingear.
Porters are not to carry more than 20 kilos camp gear and 5 kilos of personal gear
The minimum age for a Porter is 20 and the maximum age is 58 years old.
We have yearly meetings to discuss the needs of Porters.
Rogue Adventures supports the good work of a number of international organisations that operate to ensure the health and education of porters, they are:
International Porter Protection Group >> www.ippg.net
International Mountain Explorers Connection >> www.mountainexplorers.org
Kilimanjaro Guide Scholarship Foundation Inc. >> www.kiliguides.org
A visa is exempt for passport holders from the following countries visiting Peru for short term tourism purposes:
Australia
New Zealand
Canada
United States
United Kingdom
For all other nationalities and longer stays please contact the relevant embassy.
Please bear in mind that visas may be required for countries you are visiting en route or transiting through on the way to your destination. It is important that you check the requirements of all countries you will visit. Visa costs and requirements do change regularly so we suggest you check with your travel agent or Rogue Adventures reservations consultant. It is your responsibility to obtain all necessary visas.
The adventures featured in our brochures, and on our website, are just a starting point for many of our private group travelers. Working closely with our Groups Department we can organise custom designed itineraries for groups of friends, clubs, charity’s, schools or even work colleagues. Our team will assist you with all aspects of your private group adventure from itinerary design to group flights. Contact our team today.
