Peru Treks: Choquequirao to Vilcabamba Trek

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Tour Highlights

• Choquequirao
• Vilcabamba cordillera

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Trip Style

• Adventure
• Culture / History
• Nature

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Physical Difficulty

• 3-Challenging

• Choquequirao to Vilcabamba trek
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Designed for seasoned trekkers looking to venture off the beaten path, this extraordinary trek through the Vilcabamba range is a once-in-a-lifetime adventure. Extremely isolated and fairly unknown, this region was once the retreat of the glorious Inca Empire.

Forced to retreat by the Spanish, the Incas sought refuge in these wild and impenetrable lands, building impressive strongholds, fortresses, and sacred sites in the desolate mountains. As you hike along the remote trails of the Vilcabamba cordillera, you’ll pass by incredible sites that could rival the ingenuity and beauty of Machu Picchu itself.

This epic Peru trek takes you through this mountainous wilderness, along ancient pathways and through traditional communities, crossing a variety of ecological zones, and visiting some of the most important archeological sites of the Incas’ final days.

Much of this region is largely unexplored and virtually unvisited by outsiders. On this exciting adventure, you’ll trek through virgin territory in the footsteps of the Incas. To support you on this demanding but rewarding experience, you’ll be accompanied by a team of expert guides, cooks and porters who are on hand to guarantee life long memories of Andean exploration.

Day 1 : Cusco to Chikiska
Day 2 : Chikiska to Choquequirao
Day 3 : Choquequirao Tour
Day 4 : Choquequirao to Pinchaunuyoq
Day 5 : Pinchiunuyoq to Maizal
Day 6 : Maizal to Yanama
Day 7 : Yanama to Yuthupata
Day 8 : Yuthupata to Qelqamachay
Day 9 : Qelqamachay to Huancacalle
Day 10 : Huancacalle to Cusco

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Day 1 : Cusco to Chikiska

• Start your adventure early in the morning and meet your guide at your hotel in Cusco for the drive to the beginning of the trail. You’ll drive away from the city and into the mountains, entering the magnificent Vilcabamba range.
• Once you reach San Pedro de Cachora, you will stop for lunch before setting out on foot. The trail will take you across the Cachora ravine before climbing toward a lookout from where you’ll be rewarded with spectacular views of the Apurimac canyon.
• From here you’ll begin a gentle descent toward a settlement called Cocamasana before entering a cool forest of native trees, bromeliads, and other flora. You’ll arrive in the late afternoon at your first campsite at Chikiska. Here you can enjoy a well earned evening meal and relax after your exciting first day of trekking.

Distance: 11.80 miles (19 km)
Maximum altitude: 9,514 feet (2,900 m)
Approximate time: 6 hours
Level: moderate

Day 2 : Chikiska to Choquequirao

• Enjoy a filling breakfast early in the morning before setting off on the trail. You’ll begin the day with a descent to the Apurimac River before beginning the long climb to the remote site of Choquequirao.
• The trail brings you to the settlement of Marampata where you will stop for lunch, enjoying sweeping views of the canyon and Choquequirao. After lunch you’ll continue on to your next campsite at Choquequirao.

Distance: 8.69 miles (14 km)
Maximum Altitude: 10,043 feet (3,061 m)
Approximate Time: 8 hours
Level: challenging

Day 3 : Choquequirao Tour

• After another delicious breakfast, you will spend the day exploring the entire site of Choquequirao. You will be one of the very few outsiders who get a chance to visit this extremely isolated site.
• Your expert guide will explain the significance of this ancient site, as well as its many mysteries. The site reveals the Inca's ingenious blend of various Andean and Amazonian materials and decoration, as well as stonework that is as equally impressive as in the Sacred Valley. You will identify irrigation channels, agricultural terraces, and spiritual centers, and see some of the great stretches of the site that are yet to be excavated and understood.
• After your tour, you’ll return to your campsite next to the ruins.

Day 4 : Choquequirao to Pinchaunuyoq

• After breakfast and a last look at the magnificent Choquequirao site, you will set off on a route that rises up through a forest of native trees and other flora, and takes you to a wide pampa.
• You will then start the descent towards the archeological site of Pinchiunuyoq. After lunch you will enjoy a tour of the site, exploring more of the Incas’ final footsteps through the Vilcabamba.

Distance: 2.97 miles (4.5 km)
Maximum Altitude: 10,826 feet (3,300 m)
Approximate time: 6 hours
Level: moderate

Day 5 : Pinchiunuyoq to Maizal

• After an early breakfast, you will follow a trail that leads downhill towards the Rio Blanco. Crossing the river, the route then leads back uphill towards the settlement of Maizal.
• The route leads you through a forest of native trees and your guide will help you spot some of the numerous bird species that live here. Arriving at your campsite for the night, you’ll enjoy a delicious dinner and relaxing evening under the star-lit Andean sky.

Distance: 3.23 miles (5.2 km)
Maximum Altitude: 9,881 feet (3,012 m)
Approximate Time: 6 hours
Level: challenging

Day 6 : Maizal to Yanama

• Enjoy an early breakfast before setting off on the day’s hike. Your trail begins to climb uphill, through a forest and along an original stone path before finally reaching the mountain pass at Mina Victoria, where you will be stunned by views of the Vilcabamba and its snow-capped mountains Choqetacarpo and Pumasillo.
• Descending towards the community of Yanama, you will stop for a well deserved evening meal and rest after a long day's hike.

Distance: 4.97 miles (8 km)
Maximum Altitude: 13,779 feet (4,200 m)
Approximate Time: 7 hours
Level: challenging

Day 7 : Yanama to Yuthupata

• Leaving camp early, you will follow the river Yanama downstream allowing you to see how the environment changes as the vegetation grows thicker and beautiful rare orchids can be spotted.
• You will be able to rest in this peaceful, heavenly scene before making the climb uphill to your next campsite at Llutupata, where you will enjoy a fine meal while taking in the stunning vistas of the Vilcabamba range.

Distance: 6.21 miles (10 km)
Maximum altitude: 10,299 feet (3,140 m)
Time: 6 hours
Level: challenging

Day 8 : Yuthupata to Qelqamachay

• Following breakfast, you will once again climb upwards through a small, steep canyon and into the next valley.
• Your trail continues up the valley towards the campsite at Qelqamachay.

Distance: 3.10 miles (5 km)
Maximum altitude: 12,635 feet (3,852 m)
Time: 5 hours
Level: challenging

Day 9 : Qelqamachay to Huancacalle

• You’ll begin the day with a trail leading up to another mountain pass, called the Choqetacarpo pass, with stunning views of the Pumasillo mountain range.
• From here you’ll head downhill, crossing numerous ecological zones until you arrive at the town of Huancacalle for a well deserved rest and evening meal.

Distance: 9.32 miles (15 km)
Maximum altitude: 15,230 feet (4,643 m)
Time: 8 hours
Level: challenging 

Day 10 : Huancacalle to Cusco

• Your final day will bring you to the real highlight of your journey, with a tour of the archaeological remnants of the last days of the Inca resistance against the Spanish.
• You will visit the White Rock, Yuraq Rumi, an intricately carved ceremonial rock presumed to be of immense spiritual importance. After your exploration of this rarely visited place, you will return to Huancacalle to meet your transport back to Cusco, marking the end of this spectacular voyage.

Distance:  4 miles (6.5 km)
Maximum altitude: 10,498 feet (3,200 m)
Time: 5 hours
Level: light

Included

• Private transportation Cusco to Cachora
• English-speaking guide
• Sleeping bag
• Cook & cooking equipment
• All meals on trek
• Snack
• Cooking, eating, and bathroom tents
• Two person tents (3-people capacity tent)
• Mule-handlers & mules
• Saddled horse (1 saddled horse for every 6 passengers)
• First-aid kit & emergency oxygen bottle
• Private Transportation Huancacalle to Cusco

Not Included

• Extra food
• Optional tip for field staff
• Extra costs