Machu Picchu

June 28-July 6, 2023 Cusco, Peru

PLUS Rainbow Mountain

4 Days/3 Nights on the Inca Trail (30 Miles)

 4 Days/ 3 Nights in Hotels

$3,295.00 per person (double occupancy*)

$3,795.00 per person (single occupancy*)

This hike is rated STRENUOUS

Imagine spending 8 days in Peru exploring one of the most iconic, ancient treasures of the world, Machu Picchu! Machu Picchu is an Incan citadel set high in the Andes Mountains in Peru, above the Urubamba River valley. Built in the 15th century and later abandoned, it’s renowned for its sophisticated dry-stone walls that fuse huge blocks without the use of mortar, intriguing buildings that play on astronomical alignments and panoramic views. Its exact former use remains a mystery. But it’s a bucket list item for any serious hiker! We’ll spend 2 days exploring Cusco and Ollantaytambo as we acclimate to the high altitudes before our hike. Then on Day 3, we hit the trail for 4 days, reaching Machu Picchu on our final day. Then after a day of rest, we’ll head out for a horseback ride and hike up spectacular Rainbow Mountain!

*Single occupancy means you get a hotel room and tent all to yourself. Double means your sharing lodging.

Travel Day – This day you are flying from your point of origin to Cuzco. Many of you will be travelling overnight and arriving the following morning. 

Day 1 – Cusco, Peru

As Cusco is a high altitude town (11,319′), we’ll arrive a few days early so we can spend some time acclimatizing. Due to the high altitude, the air is thinner and some people can suffer altitude sickness, regardless of age, gender or fitness. We’ll have an Orientation Meeting with our guide, then do a bus/walking exploration of Cusco. The Costa Del Sol hotel presents a typology of a house with a colonial style that was recovered through continuous restoration interventions at the beginning of Seventies, maintaining the structures and design of the old houses of the colonial era,

 Accomodations: Wyndham Hotel Costa Del Sol

Day 2 – The Sacred Valley

This will be a full day excursion to the Urubamba Valley, visiting the colorful native market in the town of Pisac, where you can appreciate the mixture of colors, traditions, and have an opportunity to test your bartering skills, interact with the local craftsmen and purchase their hand-made souvenirs. Pisac is located at the entrance of the Sacred Valley. After Pisac, we will go to Urubamba, where we will have a delicious lunch buffet at Tunupa restaurant. We continue our journey to Ollantaytambo, the oldest continuously occupied town in the South American continent. The last stop in our journey will be the Chinchero market. After our tour, we travel back to our hotel in Cusco.

 Accommodations: Wyndham Hotel Costa Del Sol

Day 3 – The Inca Trail (7 miles)

Today travel by minivan to the 82 kilometer marker and meet your crew of local porters, cook and guide. The first day includes uphill trekking to the campsite, which is at 10,170′ above sea level. On the hike you’ll see the Inca sites of Ollantaytambo, Huillca Raccay and Llactapata, as well as incredible views of snow-capped Veronica Peak. In the evening, unwind at the campsite with a nourishing meal and group time . Our team of porters will carry your bags for us, together with the food and equipment for the trail. Please note that you won’t have access to these items until the end of each day, as they will always be ahead of the us.

Accommodations: Tent Camping

Day 4 – The Inca Trail (12 miles)

This is the longest day of the trek as you ascend a long steep path (approximately five hours) to reach the highest point of the trail. Colloquially known as ‘Dead Woman’s Pass’, Warmiwanusca sits at a height of 13,780′ above sea level, providing amazing views of the valley below. We will also have time to appreciate an incredible variety of native plants and trees such as the Polylepis or Q’ueuña trees, which grow in the astonishing cloud forest located at 11,972ft. You will feel a real sense of achievement upon reaching the top. After climbing through our second pass of the day at Runkuraqay, the group will then descend toour camping area where we’ll unwind at the campsite with a nourishing meal and group time.

Accommodations: Tent Camping

Day 5 – The Inca Trail (8 miles)

We’ll start the day with a climb over the trail’s third pass to the ruins of Phuyupatamarca (12,631′), also known as ‘Town Above the Clouds’. This Incan site is located a few minutes walk from the third pass and after visiting this point, we’ll continue walking through the cloud forest and the impressive agricultural Incan site of Intipata until we arrive to our third campsite Wiñay Wayna (8,792ft). On this day, we will only walk about 4 to 5 hours and arrive at our campsite by lunchtime. A short distance from our campsite is an Incan site of the same name Wiñay Wayna (meaning Forever Young) where you will have the opportunity to visit before dinner and group time that evening.

Accommodations: Tent Camping

Day 6 – Machu Picchu (3 miles)

This is the final and most spectacular leg of the trek to Machu Picchu. The day starts before dawn with breakfast at 3:30 am. Say farewell to the porters as they descend to the train station and then begin hiking by 4.30 am. One the final checkpoint opens at 5 am, we begin the final leg of the trek. The walk to Intipunku (the Sun Gate) takes around two-and-a-half hours. Weather permitting, enjoy unforgettable views over the ‘Lost City of the Incas’ as you enter Machu Picchu through the Sungate. Our tour guide will give us a walking tour (2 hours) and after this, we can explore the mysterious citadel ruins on our own. 

After taking advantage of the seemingly endless photo opportunities, it’s time to return to Cusco for a well-deserved shower and a Pisco sour. We’ll meet our tour guide in Aguas Calientes, have lunch and be given our train tickets back to Cusco. The train takes us as far as Ollantaytambo and then a bus will take us the rest of the way to Cusco. Our train leaves Aguas Calientes in the afternoon and we’ll need to be at the train station 30 minutes early ahead of time (our tour guide will tell us the exact times). In Ollantaytambo, we will have a bus waiting for us to return to Cusco. Our evening is then free for dinner on our own on the last night of our adventure. Lunch and dinner are on your own.

Accommodations:  Wyndham Hotel Costa Del Sol

Day 7 – Leisure Day in Cusco

We’ll enjoy a leisurely breakfast at our hotel, then everyone in the group is free to tour the city, do some shopping, get a massage, or just lounge around all day. Lunch and dinner are on your own.

Day 8 – Rainbow Mountain Trip!

After breakfast at our hotel, ground transportation will take us to Rainbow Mountain. There we’ll ride horses for about 2 miles to the base of the mountain, then trek another mile up to the top for spectacular pictures. After we return, the bus will take us into a small village for a delightful lunch, after which we’ll return to our hotel. Then ground transportation will take us back to the airport for our flights home with amazing photos, new friends, and memories that will last a lifetime. Bucket List. Check.

This trip is limited to the first 14 people who register. We cannot offer any discounts for this trip. We cannot offer refunds for this trip unless we don’t have enough participants. We must have a minimum of 7 participants to do this trip. Permits for the Inca Trail are non-transferable, non-refundable, and the dates are unchangeable. DO NOT PURCHASE AIRFARE UNTIL WE HAVE CONFIRMED THE MINIMUM OF 7 PARTICIPANTS. We will hold your registration in escrow until then. If we do not get 7 participants, we will offer you a full refund.

Take 6 months to pay! Use the registration buttons below to divide your adventure cost into 6 equal monthly payments!