Inca Jungle Trek (4 Days)

Early morning, we pick you up from your hotel in Cusco to transfer by private  vehicle passing Sacred Valley of the Incas to a starting point of the trek at Abra Malaga (4,350 m.a.s.l.) which is the highest place of the trek. There we sit on a bicycle and start biking down for about 4 hours to the small town of Santa Maria. On the route, you can appreciate an Incan site, cloud forest´s birds, medicinal plants, butterflies, snakes and tropical fruits. We also can visit local families to find about their daily routine. When in Santa Maria, we accommodate ourselves in a familial basic hostel where we can have a shower. After dinner, we spend the night there.

Optional tour: Rafting in the afternoon in Santa Maria, 3-5 class of rapids. The price of the tour is extra USD 45.

The starting point of our rafting adventure is the Santa Maria bridge, which is located 2 minutes from Santa Maria town. We will arrive at this point in a private vehicle. Once there, we will give you the necessary equipment (windbreakers, vests and helmets) and a safety talk before we venture into the waters of the Vilcanota river. We will find level II, III, and IV rapids.

We continue our trip early morning after breakfast getting progressively steeper until we get to a restaurant where we have lunch. Then we can relax in hammocks admiring surrouning coca plantations. Later on, we continue trekking to later reach an authentical Inca path – “Qhapaq Ñan”!! The path winds around steep hillsides and sheer gorges for approximately half a mile. Please note that this part of the trek is not for people suffering from vertigo!!

Later, we descend to the famous hot springs of Cocalmayo and refresh ourselves in its healing water!! After that, we trek to Santa Teresa, a town located at Santa Teresa River. There, we accommodate ourselves in another familial simply hostel.

We have early breakfast before taking a private transport to Llucmabamba Town. There we observe a stunning sunrise above a lovely landscape with Machu Picchu in its centre!! Later, we descend to bamboo groves and a cloud forest with increasingly thick vegetation and tall trees offering us some excellent birdwatching opportunities! Later in the afternoon, we get to Hidroelectrica (a hydroelectric plant) Railway Station and there we start following trails leading us to the Aguas Calientes Town. We spend the last night in a more comfortable hostel there with private rooms and bathrooms offering us a hot shower.

Optional tour: Zipline in the morning in Santa Teresa. The price of the zipline is extra USD 40.

Our zipline circuit consists of five lines of 3kms approximately in length and one 120m long Tibetan bridge. During the activity, the participant can perform some maneuvers such as the regular style, fetal, tandem in couple, head down, turns and superman style.

The average travel speed is 70 km/ h. If the client wishes, he can use his camera or camcorder during the entire activity. You can also request a photography session for an additional cost. Our zipline circuit has an approximate duration of 2 hours.

After an early morning breakfast, we hike for 1 hours 20 min up to the mysterious city of Machu Picchu that we enter for the early morning best photos opportunities! Then our Tour Guide shows us around the Incan city and explains us about its history and purposes. After the guided tour, we have an opportunity to climb up for about 45 minutes to Huayna Picchu, a peak above Machu Picchu that serves to take some panoramic pictures of the Incan city. Then, we are given time off to spend and explore Machu Picchu on our own.
In the afternoon, we return by train to Ollantaytambo (alternatively to Poroy), from where we are taken by van back to Cusco.

Machu Picchu is both, the best and the least known site of the Incas as it is not mentioned in any Spanish conquistador´s chronicle so that contemporary archaeologists can not do anything more than just speculate on its functions. Local Quechuan farmers had known about Machu Picchu for centuries before an 11-year-old boy showed the American historian Hiram Bingham (who was in a search of Vilcabamba) this site on the 24th of July  1911. At that time, all the rest of the world became aware of its existence. However, the site was covered with thick vegetation so Hiram Bingham along with his team returned and within the years of 1912 and 1915 cleared its surface. Over the years, plenty of work has been done on excavating and studying the site. Despite these efforts, many unanswered questions remain.