Our favorite hike and the lonely planet’s best destination for 2017. The Choquequirao trek is the way to go.
The amazing Choquequirao trek is our best seller! Laying in a cloud forest, a dramatic 1150 metres (3772 feet) above the Apurimac River, and surrounded by a fascinating landscape created by the Vilcabamba mountain range, Choquekirao Peru has everything to offer a trekker. It is a challenging but amazing experience to hike down to the depths of the Apurimac Canyon and then up to the “craddle of gold”.
Trek Details:
- Hike Distance: 39 miles
- Difficulty: Hard
- Duration: 4 days / 3 nights
- Elevation Gain: 1500m/4920ft.
- Weather: See below
- Seasons: From March 1 until December.
- Hike Trail Map: See below
- Cusco Drive Time: 4.5 hours
- Town Nearest Hike: Cachora
- Highlights: Dry Andean valley, Views of: Apurimac Canyon, Vilcabamba mountain range, scenic trail, Cactus area, local villages Wildlife: prairie horses and dogs, Vizcachas and Andean Foxes, Spectacled Bear. Birds: Andean Condor, Mitred Parakeet, Bearded Mountain Bear, Black backed Grosbeak, Giant Hummingbird, Peregrin, Flacon.
- Activities: Hiking trail, archaeological site tours, nature and Andean community visits.
Includes
- Professional, bilingual Tour Guide.
- Assistant Guide (for groups of 9 or more people).
- Collection from hotel.
- Return transportation; to and from Cachora.
- Water (Not included for first 4 hours of trek, we will provide you with boiled water for drinking for the remainder of the tour).
- Entrance fees to Choquequirao Inca Site.
- 3 breakfasts, 3 lunches, 3 afternoon snacks, 3 dinners and various snacks to be eaten throughout the day. (Breakfast on day 1 & lunch on day 4 in Aguas Calientes are not included).
- Dining tent with tables and chairs.
- Cook.
- 2 person tent.
- Sleeping pads.
- Porters (to carry cooking and camping equipment).
- Bus trip from Machu Picchu down to Aguas Calientes.
- Oxygen bottle.
- First Aid kit.
- Vegetarian food on request at no extra cost!
Price Per Person: From $600USD
ITINERARY:
Start time
5:00 am
Travel
By bus on a 4 hour bus ride to the village of Cachora, Hiking afterwards.
Highlights of Day
On this day we meet our horseman and other staff members. We will begin our trek in Cachora 2950m/9678ft a town along the edge of the Apurimac canyon and follow the trail, enjoying the dramatic landscapes and a variety of plant and animal life until we reach our campsite at Santa Rosa 1650m/5413ft.
Difficulty level
Moderate.
Meals
Breakfast on way to Cachora (not included). Lunch during the hike and dinner at our campsite.
Accommodation
Camping in tents at a campsite at Santa Rosa. The temperature at night is usually around 15º degrees.
Other information
It is a challenging but amazing experience to hike down to the depths of the Apurimac Canyon and then up to the site in the cloud. The altitude change for the day from Cachora 2950m/9678ft – Santa Rosa 1650m/5413ft.
Start time
5:00 am.
Travel
Trekking all day.
Highlights of the Day
A steep and difficult ascent from our campsite to the highest point Maranpata 3150m/10334ft. Following this, we will hike through a thick cloud forest towards the Inca site of Choquekirao we then have some time to relax and enjoy the archaeological zone, plants, animals (hopefully condors), and views of nearby canyons and snow-capped mountains Choquetacarpo 5910m/19389ft. We will camp in Choquekiraw Inca site 3033m/9950ft.
Difficulty Level
Very difficult.
Meals
Breakfast at campsite, lunch on trek and dinner at campsite in evening.
Accommodation
Campsite at Choquequirao 3033m/9950ft. Temperature around 9ºC/48°F.
Other information
After we arrive at our destination in Choquequirao we will have lunch and a well deserved rest before we commence our first 2 hour visit of Choquequirao.
Start time
5:00 am
Travel
Trekking all day.
Highlights of the Day
Our day begins with a 3-hour guided tour around the Inca site of Choquekirao . After this, we descend to our last campsite, Chiquisca 1680m/5511ft.
Difficulty Level
Moderate
Meals
Breakfast at campsite, lunch on the trek and dinner at the campsite in the evening.
Accommodation
Campsite at chiquisca 1680m/5511ft.
Other information
The ‘lost city’ Choquekirao meaning ‘cradle of gold’ was discovered in the 18th century by a French explorer, it fascinated 19th century explorers and was also visited by Hiram Bingham III prior to his discovery of Machu Picchu.
Grandiose and mysterious, this abandoned city has lots of similarities to Machu Picchu and there are a variety of theories about its function. It is only relatively recently, however, that COPESCO (the official body responsible for tourism in Peru) has partially cleared the site and there remains a lot more to be discovered.
Start time
5.00 am
Travel
Trekking and bus ride to Cusco.
Highlights of the Day
We will walk up the hill toward Cachora and from there take a bus back to Cusco to arrive at about 8pm.
Difficulty Level
Moderate – Easy
Meals
Breakfast at the campsite lunch during the hike.
Accommodation
You will be back in Cusco in your own accommodation for this evening.
Start time
5.00 am
Travel
Trekking and bus ride to Cusco.
Highlights of the Day
We will walk up the hill toward Cachora and from there take a bus back to Cusco to arrive at about 8pm.
Difficulty Level
Moderate – Easy
Meals
Breakfast at the campsite lunch during the hike.
Accommodation
You will be back in Cusco in your own accommodation for this evening.
Prices:
Tour prices are based on the number of people in a group. Prices are valid from March 2022 through January 2023. All prices quoted are $USD
Price per person:
- 2-3 Trekkers: $850 per person
- 4 or more: $700 per person
IMPORTANT: One of the reasons that our price may be higher than that of other agencies is that we ALWAYS book the maximum number of porters possible (according to Inca Trail regulations) this ensures that our porters are not overloaded. Beware of this when booking they might be cheaper because of this!
- 2 people (minimum group size) should have a maximum of 5 porters and 16 people (max group size) should have 22 porters.
- Hire of sleeping bag (5 seasons) – $40
- Walking stick (single) – $10
- Inflatable mattress – $35
- Full porter (up to 14kg or 30lb can be shared between 2 people)*** – $180
- Half porter (up to 7kg or 15lb)*** – $100
- If you require an extra porter or a half porter, please advise us when filling in the booking form.
- Single tent supplement – $35
***NOTE: Total weight includes sleeping bag and pads (Sleeping bags and pads weight approx. 3kg)
- Original passport (and *International Student card (ISIC) if applicable)
- Travel Insurance is essential
- Sleeping bag (not included but can be hired from us)
- Walking boots
- Waterproof jacket/rain poncho
- Warm jacket
- Hat and gloves
- T-shirts
- Comfortable trousers
- Sun hat
- Sun protection cream (factor 35 recommended)
- Insect repellent
- Water (only until lunch time on day 1)
- Toiletries and hand sanitizer.
- Personal medication
- Camera and films
- Torch with spare batteries (headlamps are useful)
*To qualify as a student, it is necessary to have a valid ISIC card scanned and emailed to us.
- Shorts
- Walking stick (with rubber tip)
- Plasters and bandages
- Sandals
- Extra money
- Bathing suit (for hot springs in Conoc)
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