Road of the Apu Ausangate – Machu Picchu
8 days / April - November
Pricing: Pricing is based on group size and seasonality, please check with us to secure the best pricing.
Highlights:
• Explore one the greatest ancient sites in the world – the stunning Machu Picchu – with a private guided tour.
• Have an intimate viewing and listening tour of ancient Incan and pre-Incan musical instruments.
• Get an up-close-and-personal view of some of the world’s most spectacular vistas with a trek across the
Andean countryside, including glaciated mountains, pristine lagoons, grazing llamas, and breathtaking panoramas.
Start Map
Day 1: LIMA
A private guide will meet you at the airport and bring you to your hotel. You will find dinner on your own.
Day 2: LIMA AND CUSCO
You’ll spend the morning in transit, from hotel to airport to Cusco and then to your hotel. After lunch, take a walking city tour of Cusco, which your guide will be happy to customize to your interests. In the evening, we’ll take you to Hebe Amonacid’s house. Hebe is a local Pre-Hispanic musical instruments collector, with a private museum with more than 4,000 pre-Inca and Inca instruments. He will introduce you to ancient sounds of war, love, and harvest, which will transport you back to a time when sounds represented an important part of ancient Peruvians’ cosmos. For dinner, indulge yourself with a spectacular meal that combines traditional Andean Cuisine with international gourmet cuisine.
Day 3: CUSCO AND SACRED VALLEY
After breakfast, we’ll head for the Sacred Valley of the Incas (9,184 ft). En route, we’ll visit Awanacancha or “The Palace of the Weaver,” a textile center that maintains the local traditional textile techniques. You’ll get a chance to meet four members of the camelid family – llamas, alpacas, vicunas, and guanacos – and learn how their wool is used to create lovely textiles. We’ll continue on to the Pisac ruins, which offer an excellent example into the Inca’s advanced masonry skills. We’ll also visit the market so you can purchase some unique and authentic souvenirs, things like sweaters, tapestries, blankets, rugs, ceramics, or musical instruments. We’ll follow our shopping trip with lunch and then a trip to Ollantaytambo, one of the last Inca cities remaining still intact. Enjoy a guided visit to the stunning ruins that crown the town and learn about their rich and colorful history before returning to your hotel for dinner.
Day 4: SACRED VALLEY, MACHU PICCHU AND CUSCO
After breakfast at the hotel, we’ll take the Vistadome train to the town of Machu Picchu. Upon arrival, you will take a 30-minute bus ride to the ruins of Machu Picchu where you’ll enjoy a guided tour of this majestic archaeological site. Eat lunch at Sanctuary Lodge restaurant, near the site of Machu Picchu before returning to Aguas Calientes train station in order to board their train back to Cusco. Have dinner at the hotel, during which you’ll get a briefing on our trekking adventure in the following days.
Day 5: CUSCO AND CHILLCA
We’ll start our trek early in the morning, hiking from Cusco along the fertile Vilcanota Valley to the town of Checacupe. After a visit to the colonial Temple of the Immaculate, we ascend the Pitumarca Valley along the spectacular Japura gorge that leads to Chillca. From there, it is a short and easy walk to the lodge, where there will be time to relax and enjoy the music provided by the locals of Chillca.
Day 6: CHILLCA AND MACHURACAY
Our hike begins in the wide valley of Upis, where glaciated mountains loom above your head. The trail narrows as we make our way towards the waterfalls descending from the Santa Catalina Mountain. This path is mostly used by the wandering llamas of the area and once we reach the small Paloma Lagoon we’ll see hundreds of them dotting the countryside, and along with their cousins, the alpacas. After hiking along a second lagoon and crossing a long series of moraines, we will reach the Machuracay Tambo, located right at the bottom of the Apu Ausangate.
Day 7: MACHURCAY AND ANANTAPATA AND CUSCO
After a demanding ascent to the Palomani (5,200 m /17,000 ft), we will descend to Ausangatecocha. Fantastic views of the glaciated south face of the “APU” will inspire us as we continue along the red sandstone formations to the community of Ausangate. By the time we get down the valley, our bus will be waiting for the return trip to Cusco. We will get to Cusco late in the afternoon and be able to relax briefly in your hotel before we pick you up for a spectacular farewell dinner.
Day 8: CUSCO AND LIMA AND DEPARTURE
Enjoy a nice breakfast before you catch a plane back to Lima and your return flight. Lunch and dinner on your own.
We contribute to the local economy in a significant way by purchasing handicrafts at the Pisac market, hiring local llamas to carry our luggage, and local musicians to entertain us. This means that money will stay in the community, which helps prevent the large-scale tourism that could endanger this fragile and beautiful ecosystem.
We help support local efforts to revive traditional textile crafts by visiting Awanacancha or “The Palace of the Weaver,” a center dedicated to this ancient and disappearing art.