Vilcabamba Trek to Machu Picchu 5D/4N

Day 1 : Santa maria Village – Huancacalle – Vilcabamba – Camp site

After an early breakfast at 7.00 am, we will take our private van and drive 3 more hours to get to Huancacalle. Along the way we will make some short stops to visit farmland so you can see plantations where Peruvians grow coffee, cocoa, achiote, bananas, oranges, mandarines, mangoes, pineapples, papaya and the green gold of the incas – coca. You will be able to pick up some goods to take with you. Some of the wildlife we will see include birds like quetzals, humming birds and the peruvian national bird. We will pass through several small villages before arriving to huancacalle (2900 msnm) by 12.00 am. Here we meet our arrieros (horse men) and will give them the duffle bags with your stuff to be taken to the camp, so you will just need to take your day pack. At 1.30 pm we will have our first lunch with the porters. After lunch we will walk 1 hour to get to the LAST CAPITAL OF THE INCAS – it’s just amazing! Here you will really see how the Incas fled from Cusco and why they chose this place. Afterwar you will walk another 30 minutes to get to the Religious part of this Inca site named ÑUSTACHISPANAN by the Spaniards. In reality this part of the site was the Sun Temple, Moon Temple and Water Temple. There is an amazing carved rock that mystifies archeologists. They have yet to understand the significance of the rock. We will spend the night very close to the LAST CAPITAL OF THE INCAS. This is where the final 4 Incas Manco inca, Sairy tupaq, Tito Cusi upanqui and Tupaq Amaru I ruled the Inca empire until 1572. The American professor Hiram Bingham was looking for the Last Capital of the Incas when he found Machupicchu, he mistakenly believed Machu Picchu was the last capital. From the white rock we will walk 25 more minutes and then arrive at our campsite (3100 msnm) by 5.30 pm. Your tents will already be set up and we’ll have Happy hour plus dinner. Then you will sleep like a baby alpaca.

Walking distance: 5 km (2 hours)
Campsite altitude: 3,100 meters high above sea level.
Considered: Easy day (only the inca site)
Area: High cloud forest
Weather: Warm and very humid

Day 2.- Llaulliyoc – asutiyoc– raccachaca ( modrerate day)

Hot coca tea will be brought to your tent to wake you up and then you have an early breakfast at 6.30am. On our second day we start the real hike heading gradually up an ancient Inca trail which hasn’t been restored by the national park. You will see some Andean grass growing on the trail and you will really feel like the Incas did, walking on this trail. This is the big difference between the classic Inca trail and the Vilcabamba route. Here, no other groups are walking with us so we can enjoy the nature: the beautiful flowers, orchids, the birds singing and the sound of the river. Along the way we will start to see some glaciers such as POMATA at 5.500 msnm. We will arrive to our lunch spot at approx 12.00am at an altitude of 4.000msnm. Then we will hike up to the first pass at 4.200 msnm. This is a perfect photo opportunity. We will walk downhill for 2 hours from the pass where we might see some falcons and Andean geese. We will pass a couple of lakes before arriving to place call Wasichayoc at 3.400 msnm. This is where we will meet the Pacchanta river where we will stop to take more spectacular photos. We will see some farmlands with crops including the Andean potato and cereals. We might come across some llamas and sheep. Once we meet the river we will follow it to our campsite, which we will get to by 5.30 pm. We will be camping at a village called RACCACHACA AT 3.600msnm. Here there are about 10 families who still live following Inca customs and traditions and all of them are quechua language speakers.

Walking distance: 16 km (7 hours)
Campsite altitude: 3,600 meter high above sea level
Considered: Moderate day
Area: High cloud forest and the Andes
Weather: Cold

Day 3.- Raccachaca – pumaccasa- mojon – mutuypata.

We will have an early breakfast and before hiking we will visit SIMONA’S traditional house to see how these people live up to 3.600 meters high above sea level. We’ll give some grass to the guinea pigs and some gifts to the kids. Here we will have an oportunity to gain some information about the tradition and customs of the local people. From the village, it will be a steady uphill walk which will lead us over 3 passes. The first pass is called PUMACCASA at 4.500 msnma. We will have some time at this pass and will see many of the sacred birds of the Incas, including the messengers of the Incas, the CONDORS. We will keep going on the Andean flat and will see two lakes, at the second pass (4.440 msnm). We will be on the border between Vilcabamba and Santa Teresa. From here we will walk another hour on the inca flat and see spectacular views. We will encounter more lakes, birds, Andean geese, falcons, condors and also the Andean gull. We will eventually reach the last pass at 4.450 msnm. if the weather is clear and there are no clouds, we will be able to see Machu Picchu Mountain at the bottom of the mountains. On our right side will be the PUMASILLO (pumas cloud) Mountain at 5.800 msnm. For the whole day we will have been crossing the Vilcabamba Mountain Range and we will continue to do so for the duration of the day. We will walk 30 minutes downhill until we reach our lunch spot called Mojon, which is set beside a lake at 4.400msnm. After lunch we will walk five and a half hours, which is mostly downhill. On the way, we will see more Andean geese, Andean rodents, or chinchillas, and we may come across black bears/spectacled bears. By 5.30 pm we will arrive at the campsite called MUTUYPATA at 2.900 msnm in the high jungle.

Walking distance: 18 km (9 hours)
Campsite altitude: 2.900 meters high above sea level
Considered: Top day
Area: All day in the Andes Mountains
Weather: Cold and chilly

Day 4 .- Mutuypata – hot springs- aguas calientes ( easy day)

We will wake up at 6.30 am and we’ll have breakfast before starting our walk. The whole day will be spent walking gradually downhill. We will be walking in the high jungle and the tropical forest, which will be exciting for those who are interested in flora and fauna. There will be no other people walking along the way to disturb the wildlife. On this day we will see unbelievable flowers, orchids, including the forever young orchid, begonias, bromelias, strawberries and the oldest trees in the cloud forest. We will also see fauna like parrots, quetzals, tanagers and many others which your guide will point out to you. We will pass by some plantations growing bananas, coffee, passion fruits and avocados. We will even pick some fruits for lunch. Finally, as we hear the sound of the CCASCCARA RIVER, we will reach the end of the trek at PUNTA CARRETERA at 2.000 msnm. We’ll say goodbye to our horsemen with a small ceremony and change to a van to drive for one hour to get the most beautiful hot springs. These are the best and hottest hot springs in the Cusco region, called COCALMAYO(1300 msnm). While you are enjoying the hot springs, our porters will prepare the last lunch we’ll have with them. We will have two hours at the hot springs, which will be plenty of time to relax your muscles after an exhilarating hike. At 2.30 pm, we will have lunch and say good bye to our porters. We will then take a van to the HYDROELECTRIC station so we can catch our train. The last train is t 4.30 pm and takes about 45 minutes to get to AGUAS CALIENTES. We will then take you to a hotel where you can take a hot shower. After your shower we will have dinner in a restaurant and go bed early to get some rest for Macchu Picchu.

Walking distance: 11 km (4 hours)
Campsite hostel: 2000 meters high above sea level
Considered: Easy day (only down hill)
Area: High cloud forest
Weather: Warm and very humid

Day 5.- Machupicchu ( the most important day for you )

We will wake up early to get to Machu Picchu when it opens. If the group is feeling active and wants to reach to Macchu Picchu by foot, it will take an hour and 20 minutes. Alternatively, we can take the bus which takes 25 minutes. When we arrive at Machu Picchu we will get tickets to hike Huaynapicchu Mountain, which has incredible views of the entire site. The citadel opens at 6.00 am, and your guide will take you to this spot to take classic post card photos. Not many people will be at Macchu Picchu, so we’ll wait for the sunrise before heading back down for the tour. You’ll have a three hour tour of Machu Picchu and then you will have plenty of time to explore by yourself. You can climb Waynapicchu, if you have a ticket, or you can go to the sun gate. Both are at the same altitude and have almost the same views of Macchu Picchu. You will then take a bus down to Aguas Calientes at about 1:30 pm. You can stay longer if you would like, but we will be having our last lunch in Aguas Calientes, and then we will have to take the train back. We typically take the 3.00 pm train. The train takes an hour and 30 minutes to get back to Ollantaytambo and then we will go by private bus back to Cusco. We will arrive in Cusco by 6.30 pm.
If desired, an extra night in Aguas Calientes town can be arranged. (Please let us know whether you would like to stay an extra night when booking your tour.)

Walking distance: One hour up hill to machupicchu
Machupicchu’s altitude: 2,400 meter high above sea level
Considered: the most important day
Area: High cloud forest
Weather: Warm and very humid