Travel to Peru: Inca Trail Trek and Amazon

Home  >  Destinations  >  South America  >  Peru  >  Inca Trail Trek and Amazon

Inca Trail Trek and Amazon

			DAYS: 12 GRADE: III define PRICE: From $3250 per person * $450 Internal Flights * HIGHLIGHTS: Cusco Urubamba Valley Inca Trail Trek Winay Wayna Machu Picchu Tambopata rain forest ACCOMMODATIONS: Hotels/Lodges Wilderness Camp MEALS: As noted  [B-Breakfast, L-Lunch,   D-Dinner] Prices, Departure Dates and Included Services Send to a Friend Print this Itinerary

Trek the Inca trail to the ancient city of Machu Picchu along the royal road built by the Incas 500 years ago. Discover native Quechua Andean life and explore Inca stone monuments in Cusco, the Urubamba Valley and on the trail to Machu Picchu. We descend from the Andes to explore the Amazon rain forest based at a comfortable jungle lodge in Las Piedras, a region known for its high levels of biodiversity, featuring giant river otters, monkeys, and many species of tropical birds.

DAY 1 :  LIMA
Arrive in Lima. Overnight in the Costa del Sol Ramada Airport Hotel or transfer to overnight at Hotel Antigua in Miraflores.

Quechua woman selling textiles at the village market.

DAY 2 :  CUSCO
Airport transfer for early morning one hour flight to Cusco. Airport reception and transfer to your hotel. Afternoon half-day guided orientation of ancient Inca temples, Spanish churches and the surrounding ruins of Sacsayhuaman, Qenko, Puca Pucara and Tambo Machay. Your guide will also direct you to shops, museums and markets where you can explore on your own. Overnight at the Hotel Novotel or similar. [B]

Note: Optional upgrade at extra cost to El Monasterio or Hotel Libertador, both of which are luxurious colonial-style hotels.

DAY 3 :  URUBAMBA VALLEY
Full day private guided exploration through the Sacred Valley of the Incas including the village of Pisac and the Inca fortress of Ollantaytambo. Visit Quechua villages where highland Indians tend their fields and sell handcrafts in outdoor markets. Overnight in the serene Urubamba Valley at the Hotel Sol y Luna or the Inka Villas Urubamba. [BL]

Note: We highly recommend adding another day in the Urubamba Valley. You can enjoy a beautiful, easy downhill day hike beyond the valley floor on local foot trails through the high Andes to the native Quechua Indian village of Patacancha (12,500 elevation) where crops are sown and textiles woven with simple hand tools and methods that have been in use for centuries. Or, you can combine the Patacancha village visit (with less hiking) with a day rafting on the Urubamba River. Ask about mountain bike day trips from Moray past Maras and into the Urubamba Valley.

DAY 4 :  Q'ENTE
Hotel pickup, drive or ride the train to the trailhead and walk into Qente, our base camp on the Urubamba River. We hike two hours up the mountain on a little-known Inca pathway to the Inca site of Qente, a spectacular lookout and ancient spiritual site perched high over the valley. This is a great day for acclimatization in an interesting area that is overlooked by most trekkers on the Inca Trail. Besides acclimatization, the other advantage of our base camp (with hot showers) is that it gives us the opportunity to get started on the main Inca Trail the following morning ahead of other trekkers, before the train deposits them at the trailhead so we encounter few others. (8,365 ft., hiking time on trail including rests: 4 hours) [BLD]

DAY 5 :  LLULLUCHAPAMPA
The trail goes along the river through the semi-arid Cusichaca River gorge, past native gardens and thatched-roof houses. Explore Llactapata, a large Inca settlement of agricultural terraces nearby that probably supplied many other sites in the region including Machu Picchu. Over your shoulder Mt. Veronica (18,975 ft.) rises in the background. Past the village of Huayllabamba, begin a relatively steep ascent through partial cloud forest until you reach camp in the small meadow of Llulluchapampa at 12,465 ft. (hiking time: 7 hours). [BLD]

	Quente ruins and view of the Quente camp in the lower valley.

DAY 6 :  PHUYUPATAMARCA
After a hearty breakfast, continue the steep ascent. The mountain valley opens up as you approach the Warmiwausqa Pass (13,776 ft., Dead Woman's Pass), the highest point of the trek, where you can rest for a while, knowing you've successfully negotiated the most difficult part of the trail. Descend into the Pacamayo River valley where you'll see a waterfall, creeks, and meadows. Then ascend to the Inca watchtower of Runcurakay. Continue up and over the second high pass (12,628 ft.). The trail descends down an ancient stone stairway into a cloud forest transition zone, and to the fascinating site of Sayacmarca, a compact, expertly-built ancient Inca town that you'll enjoy exploring. Later, pass through a rock tunnel carved by the Incas and follow the well-engineered trail to the Inca site of Phuyupatamarca (Town Above the Clouds, 11,972 ft.). Campsite is located nearby. Magnificent Mt. Salkantay (20,574 ft.), the principal Apu or sacred mountain of local Indians, dominates the landscape on clear days (hiking time: 8 to 9 hours). [BLD]

DAY 7 :  WINAY WAYNA AND MACHU PICCHU
Your last day of trekking is an all day descent into thicker cloud forest including a continuous Inca stairway 2,300 steps long! After a few hours of hiking, arrive at Wiay Wayna (Forever Young), an Inca town perched on a steep forested slope high above the Urubamba River. This beautiful site is a large complex of ancient dwellings, terraces, and still functioning waterworks - an amazing feat of architecture. The final two hours on the trail leads to the Intipunku (Gate of the Sun), the Incas main entrance to Machu Picchu. The spectacular ancient city at 7,868 ft. elevation is just a half-mile walk below you. Surrounded by emerald-green Andean mountains, the view is truly awe-inspiring. Walk through the ruins and take the bus further below to the town of Aguas Calientes, where you will check into your hotel. Overnight at the charming Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel or similar. (total hiking time: 7 hours). [BLD]

DAY 8 :  MACHU PICCHU
Be among the first to arrive in Machu Picchu on one of the early shuttle buses up to the site. Your guide will accompany us on an orientation walk through the mysterious maze of streets and stone buildings of this magnificent site. Enjoy the rest of the morning to wander through and explore the most impressive archaeological monument in the Andes at your own pace. Visit the temples of Inca royalty and see the Intiwatana, the ancient stone sun dial. You can hike up the precipitous stone stairs of towering Huayna Picchu peak to get a breathtaking view of the setting. After lunch, return on the afternoon train to Cusco, where you are met and transferred to overnight at the Hotel Novotel or similar. [BL]

Observe giant river otters and other wildlife by catamaran on an oxbow lake.

DAY 9 :  LAKE TIPISHCA
Morning airport transfer for flight to Puerto Maldonado.  Meet our rainforest naturalist guide and depart on a 15 minute drive through lush tropical farmland to the mouth of the Las Piedras River. Board a comfortable motorized canoe for the 3-4 hour journey to Lake Tipishca.  Enroute watch for wildlife along the riverbank like capybara, caiman, turtles, brown capuchin and howler monkeys and birds along the shoreline. At Lake Tipishca Lodge we are greeted by a native Piro family who maintains the simple, clean and comfortable individual bungalows with private bath and hot water. If time permits canoe on Lake Tipishca which also has a family of giant otters and walk along lakeside trails looking for a troop of the elusive Emperor Tamarin primates.  This evening after dinner, join our naturalist for a nocturnal hike to view caiman and other denizens of the dark.  Overnight at Tipishca Lodge. [BLD]

DAY 10 :  LAKE TIPISHCA
After an early morning breakfast, enjoy a guided walk on the trails of the Lake Tipshca Reserve.  Your guide will assist in the spotting of a variety of wildlife including the ever friendly Brown-Capuchin Monkeys, the clamorous Red Howler Monkeys, and rambunctious Squirrel Monkeys.  Board the hand crafted catamaran to get a closer look at the myriad of birds native to the tranquil waters of Lake Tipishca.  Commonly seen species include Scarlet Macaws, Cuvier Toucans, Hoatzin, Agami Heron, Rufescent Tiger-heron, Green Ibis, and Sungrebe.  In the afternoon visit a local Piro community to learn traditional customs. After an evening nature observation walk, enjoy the hum of the rainforest creatures as you drift off to sleep in your private cabana. [BLD]

DAY 11 :  LAKE TIPISHCA
Early departure at dawn for a 20 minute motor-canoe trip up river to visit a macaw and parrot clay-lick. Up to hundreds of parrots and macaws congregate in flocks to eat the mineral-rich clay of the river bank which cleanses them of toxins from rain forest seeds they have eaten. Bird activity at the clay lick continues (unless it is raining) until the parrots have had their fill or otherwise sense danger from a raptor at which point they fly off in an explosion of sound and color.  After lunch, participate in a reforestation project initiated by the founders of the Tipishca Reserve.  In the evening following dinner, take a starlit catamaran paddle on Lake Soledad looking for the elusive Black Caiman.  [BLD]

DAY 12 :  LIMA
Rise at dawn to the roaring calls of Red-Howler Monkeys. Paddle along the shoreline of Lake Tipishca. Our stable catamaran is the perfect platform to observe and photograph the resident family of Giant River Otters. After breakfast, transfer by boat to Puerto Maldonado airport for a morning flight to Lima. Airport reception and transfer in to Hotel Casa Andina in Miraflores (or similar) to use as a day room until your evening flight or overnight and transfer out for next morning departure. [B]

Note: Note: Half-day tours in Lima of museums and the city are available upon prior request. Observe the blend of cultures in one of South America's oldest capital cities, founded in 1535, on a tour of the old colonial center of downtown Lima, including the church and catacombs of San Francisco and the cathedral of Lima. Lima's excellent museums that feature Peru's archaeological heritage are: the Museo de la Nacion, the Larco Herrera Museum, the Gold Museum, and the Museum of Anthropology and Archaeo.

Questions? Ask Our Program Directors.

. C o n t a c t Breanne Stovall 1(800)345-4453