Huchuy Qosqo Trek to Machupichu 3D / 2N

Day 1 .- CUSCO – GOLDEN LAKE – QUENCCO.
We pick you up from your hotel at 6.00 am by car and take you to the Inca site called Puca Pucara (3700msnm) which is only 20 minutes from the city of Cusco. We begin hiking gently uphill for 1.5 hours to get to the first pass (4100 msnm) from where we have a spectacular views of two valleys. To your right you will see the capital of the incas, Cusco, with stunning mountains surrounding it. Your guide will tell you about how and where the Incas arrived to this area and also about the conquest of the Spaniards. There are two Inca sites at the bottom of the valley and on your left, there is beautiful landscape of grass-covered mountains and farmlands. From the pass we follow the side of the valley along making our way towards the top of the valley so as to cross to the other side. It´s about a 45 minute walk to the top end of the valley, once we get there we´ll cross a small stream that divides the valley and then begin making our way up to our lunchspot at Queullacocha Lake. The scenery at the lake is quite barren, this whole area is a high plain between the mountains and is covered with a tough Andean grass called Ichu. In this area it is possible to see a wide variety of birdlife such as Andean Geese, Lapwings, Partridges and a variety of birds of prey.

After our lunch stop we´ll carry on to our campsite for the night at the village of Quencco. Making our way over the top of one of the ridges we´ll descend towards Qoricocha Lake (Golden Lake) and loop around it. It´s about a 2 and a half hour walk to the village where we´ll be greeted by groups of children and adults, happy to meet and welcome us to their community. After we´ve settled in and had a steaming cup of mate de coca we´ll visit one of the local families to learn about their way of life, if you have brought any gifts with you then you hand them over to the family now. After visiting the family we´ll have some free time to relax and your guide will teach you more about the Andean way of life. If you are interested in taking home gifts or souvenirs of the Andes, there is a good opportunity to find them here

Distance walked: 14 km

Day 2 .- QUENCCO – HUCHUYQOSQO – LAMAY- OLLANTAYTAMBO- AGUAS CALIENTES.
You will be awoken with a hot coca tea and when you are ready we will enjoy a tasty breakfast. From Quencco we begin our walk to the Inca site of Huchuy Qosco. It´s about 2 hours walking before we reach a stretch of original Inca trail, just below the village of Pumamarca. Along the way we´ll pass by many local people caring for their llamas, this is one of the main industries of the people at this altitude as the terrain is perfect for it. Once we reach the Inca Trail the scenery really changes going from the high mountaintop to a secluded valley. This valley is beautiful and is full of lush vegetation, there are many small birds that can be seen including a variety of hummingbirds that feed off the many flowers that grow here. As we make our way down the valley we will be able to see snow capped mountains above us and the famous Urubamba mountain range. There will be ample time to take advantage of the many picturesque photos on offer.

Little by little we will be making our way towards the main site, as we approach we´ll pass through an adobe Inca gate way and finally arrive to the magnificent Inca site of HUCHUYQOSQO ( LITLE CUSCO 3600 msnm) which is perched above one of the sacred valley of the incas. Here, you will see amazing Inca buildings like religious houses, store houses, Inca terraces for agriculture and an Inca reservoir used to deposit water in the dry season. Your guide will take you on a tour of the site and is an expert in the history of the Incas, so he will explain and teach you about everything. Afterwards you will have time to explore the site by yourself before we have lunch. From here we will begin our walk downhill to the Sacred Valley, it takes about 2 hours to get to the village of LAMAY (2 800msnm) on the Urubamba River where the bus will be waiting to take us to Ollantaytambo. We will have dinner in a restauraunt here before taking the 7.pm train with your guide to Aguas Calientes. We will get set up in our hotel and be able to rest, hot showers are available. Walking distance 7 km.

Day 3 .- AGUAS CALIENTES – MACHU PICCHU- AGUAS CALIENTES – CUSCO.
Reaching Machu Picchu is the most important part of our trip and we will give you the option of how you want to arrive to this sacred site. You can either walk up the stairs for 1hr 20 minutes at 4.00am or you can take the first bus at 5.30 am, which takes 25 minutes. We need to wake up early in order to arrive early to Machu Picchu to see the sunrise over this beautiful place (weather allowing) and once we enter you will have a guided tour around the area for 2 hours. Then you will be free with the options of climbing huaynapicchu if you  choose (this is a separate entrance ticket and costs $25 per person) or the Sun Gate. Both have breathtaking views but make sure there is plenty of time to explore machupicchu. After you have taken in all of Macchupicchu, you will return to Aguas Calientes to enjoy lunch with your guide. Then board the afternoon train (usually at 3.pm) to Ollantaytambo where you will board a bus and return to Cusco at approximately 6.30pm.