12-Day Multi-Sport Adventure to Machu Picchu

Ultimate Apurimac – Day 2:  

Great Peru rafting today. Depending on water levels there may be an odd portage between the fun rapids. There are also stretches to just sit and float down the river and enjoy being in this fantastic location.

Keep an eye out as you go for Andean Foxes, Torrent Ducks, otters, and even Condors.

At night we pick another vast deserted sandy beach and set up camp to enjoy great food, a few drinks, and great camaraderie around the campfire.

Included:  breakfast, snacks & water, lunch, dinner, all white-water & safety equipment, wetsuit, helmet, boots, buoyancy aid, splash jacket

Ultimate Apurimac – Day 3:

Today you’ll enter the Granite Canyon of the Apurimac, passing under the Huallpachaca bridge. You’ll start with grade II and III rapids, excellent training for the more exciting rapids coming up. Stopping to scout and portage 1 or maybe 2 rapids that are commercially unrunnable, you will still have plenty of great rafting all day. Rapids like Space Odyssey, the Gates of Purgatory and Tres Maria will push you to your limits.

As the sun sets behind the canyon walls, you pull up at a remote beach to camp for the night.

Included: breakfast, snacks & water, lunch, dinner, all white-water & safety equipment, wetsuit, helmet, boots, buoyancy aid, splash jacket

Ultimate Apurimac – Day 4:

Today the fun really picks up. After a delicious breakfast on the beach, you pack everything away and load it into your boats once more. You work together with your guide and other rafters to steer a safe course through the huge boulders that line this river.

Rapids such as Trident and Batman’s cave will really test your teamwork. There are even a few portages when the only way down is to get out and walk around a particularly fierce rapid. The Apurimac was a sacred river to the Incas and thought to be a source of great wisdom. 500 years later it is still a river to be treated with the utmost respect.

By now you will be experts and rapids such as Babalua and Last Laugh that would once have seemed daunting are now just pure adrenaline pulsing fun. Finally, you reach a break in the canyon walls and from here you take the beautiful drive past the Salkantay mountain range back to your hotel for the night.

Included: breakfast, snacks & water, lunch, all white-water & safety equipment, wetsuit, boots, buoyancy aid, splash jacket, transport, cold beers, cook, room & breakfast next day, Boleto turistico

“You Choose” Adventure or Independent Exploration:

After an exciting rafting adventure through the Apurimac Canyon, your group can make a decision based on energy levels. Choose between:

1. SUP-ing a high Andean Lake, followed by a visit to the Inca agricultural laboratory of Moray & pre-Inca salt mine of Maras.
2. Explore the ruins and traditional weaving of Chincheros before hiking a forgotten section of the Inca Trail, only used by locals today, to the indigenous community of Huayllabamba.
3. Hike another section of the Inca Trail, through a fertile canyon to the Inca palace of Huchuy Qosqo.

After you will be privately transferred to Lake Huaypo to enjoy a traditional Pachamanca. A Pachamanca is a traditional high Andean cookout where stones, heated in a wood fire, are moved to a hole dug in the earth, followed by meat, native produce, potatoes, and herbs. Everything is left to cook in the earth and then dug up again to eat.

Included:  English-speaking guide, transport, lunch, cold beers, snacks & water, breakfast, breakfast next day, all white-water & safety equipment, Maras salt-pans entrance fee, lakeside base facilities – changing-room, showers, toilets, Stand-up paddleboard or sit-on-top kayak, paddle, wetsuit, boots, buoyancy aid, splash jacket, church entrance fee, entrance fee’s

E-bike Ollantaytambo to Calca via Lares Hot-springs:

A total adventure into off the beaten track adventuring in Peru, this trip takes you past Ollantaytambo, up the valley of Huilloc and Patacancha, from where many of the colorfully dressed porters come from.

Using a brand-new road, that gets about one truck a day, we climb up to over 4000m before setting off on our E-bikes into the beautiful and remote Lares valley. Passing the village of Huaca Huasi, we descend on a good dirt road to the hot spring town of Lares where we can enjoy a quick dip in these medicinal springs whilst enjoying lunch.

Lares is famous for its weaving and local traditions and is also where we work closely with several local communities in a native reforestation project that since 2007 has allowed us to help plant over 800,000 trees.

Battery and energy level depending, there is an epic zig-zag climb up to the 4300m Lares Pass. The reward is a 1300m vertical descent downhill of a lifetime. Those new to biking can choose to follow a good tarmac road with very little traffic. Or for the adventurous, follow where the Incas once walked and descend off-road through a spectacular valley to the village of Totora before joining the main road down to the Sacred Valley.

When we finally reach the main square at Calca, we will have completed an epic day of adventure cycling through stunning scenery and beautiful villages, untouched by mass tourism.

Included:  English-speaking guide, Hai Ebike, hot-spring entrance fee, transport, equipment hire, bike, helmet, gloves, lunch, room & breakfast next day

Royal Inca Trail (km104) to Machu Picchu 1D : 

We start early in the morning and transfer to the train station for the beautiful journey towards Machu Picchu. At km104 we alight, pass through the control and start our walk at seldom seen Inca ruins of Chachabamba. Following the ancient Inca trail, we ascend through the tropical cloud forest and climb high above the roaring Urubamba River. Whilst walking all you need to carry is a daypack.

An initially challenging ascent is replaced by satisfaction as we reach Wiñay Wayna, a beautiful Inca ruin full of swallows and orchids. We enjoy a picnic lunch and, time-permitting, visit these impressive ruins before joining what is generally considered to be the most spectacular part of the Inca Trail. The contour path through the fascinating cloud forest leads to Inti Puncu, ‘the gateway of the Sun’ and our first glimpse of Machu Picchu.

After savoring the moment, your guide will give you an extensive walking tour of Machu Picchu and explain the fascinating history of the Incas. If time permits you may wish to explore further to the Inca Bridge, whilst some may prefer to just relax and take in the stunning location.

We catch an afternoon bus to Machu Picchu town and transfer to the train station, where you can catch a late train back to Ollantaytambo and onwards to your hotel.

Inca Rail First-Class Train Return

This exclusive service offers maximum comfort and space onboard. With only 30 passengers per car, this service has spacious and comfortable seats, which have been carefully designed to ensure complete comfort of our passengers, who are greeted with a delicious welcome drink and a fine hand towel scented with natural essences to freshen up before starting the trip. Dinner features one of our favorite mobile culinary experiences, offering a 3-course menu that features fresh-Peruvian flavors.

Included: , breakfast, trekking porter, English-speaking guide, transport, Train ticket down, guide’s train ticket down, Train ticket return, km104 Inca trail permit, bus ticket, snacks & water, box lunch, room & breakfast next day

“You Choose” Adventure or Independent Exploration:

After an action-packed few today, today you will have a guide and driver at your disposal for relaxed independent exploration or to do one of the activities listed below, that was offered on Day-5.

1. SUP-ing a high Andean Lake, followed by a visit to the Inca agricultural laboratory of Moray & pre-Inca salt mine of Maras.
2. Explore the ruins and traditional weaving of Chincheros before hiking a forgotten section of the Inca Trail, only used by locals today, to the indigenous community of Huayllabamba.
3. Hike another section of the Inca Trail, through a fertile canyon to the Inca palace of Huchuy Qosqo.

Included: English-speaking guide, breakfast, driver, private vehicle, entrance fees, & breakfast next day. Included Meals depend on the activity.

1D Palccoyo Rainbow Mountain, Camp Lake Pomacanchis:

We depart Cusco for a 2.5-hour drive to the small village of Checacupe where we can stretch our legs with a visit to their colonial bride and church. We then take a dirt road high up into the Andes, well over 4,500m to, the start of our Rainbow mountain trek.

The Palccoyo Rainbow Mountain day trip is a spectacular experience deep in the heart of the Vilcanota Mountain range. This option is an ideal way to enjoy the magical colored mountains, on a relatively short trail with minimal incline and without the crowds.

On a clear day, you can see the snow-capped peaks of Ausangate, Mariposa, Nevado del Inca, and the diversity of this mountainous region. At the highest point of the trail, explore the Bosque de Rocas (Rock Forest) with its unique formations.

Note you should have been at altitude for a minimum of 2 – 3 days before attempting this trek to be correctly acclimatized.

We enjoy our packed lunch with amazing views of the Andes and then descend to our vehicle for the drive to our base camp for the night on the shore of the stunning lake Pomacanchis. Here we set up camp and enjoy a spectacular sunset, 3-course dinner, and stars like no other.

Hike details: Distance 4km, approx. 2-3 hours including time to explore. Ascent 150m, Descent 150m, maximum altitude 4970m

Included: Cook, breakfast, Palccoyo entrance fee, transport, English-speaking guide, camp assistants, camping equipment (except sleeping bag), cold beers, snacks & water, lunch, all white-water & safety equipment, lakeside base facilities – changing-room, showers, dinner, toilets, Stand-up paddleboard or sit-on-top kayak, paddle, wetsuit, boots, buoyancy aid, splash jacket

Morning Kayak & Hike to Waqrapucara:

After a hearty breakfast, you will receive full instructions in the art of kayaking, before heading off across the crystalline waters of Lake Pomacanchis lake in search of adventure.

Sit on top kayaking is easy to learn and soon you’ll be paddling like an expert as you zoom through the water, spotting birds and with the occasional startled look of a local. The views on the lake are stunning, the experience of paddling your own kayak, high in the Andes, truly inspiring.

We meet our transport again,  get changed, and head off for our next adventure. To trek to Waqrapukara. This is a short but breath-taking drive, higher into the Andes above the small village of Pitumarca. We will have a late lunch at the road head, before starting the trek.

Here you meet your muleteers and load up your trekking gear to start the hike to Waqrapukara, following an ancient Inca trail and passing small lakes with big views back to the Ausangate mountains and even the mountains above the Sacred Valley.

A mainly flat trail brings you to your camp for the night, high above the Apurimac Canyon, next to Waqrapukara itself. The name means “Horned Fortress”, though it is thought to have been a ceremonial center.

Whilst camp is being set up, you can explore this impressive site. While part of the site is Inca, its origins go back to the Chanca culture, famous for their bloodiness in battle. Captured enemies were sometimes hung up and skinned alive, and their skulls made into drinking vessels.

After a hearty dinner, you camp under the stars. There is virtually no light pollution here, making it ideal for seeing the Andean Milky Way.

Drive time 3 hrs.

Hiking distance 11km

Hiking time 4 hrs.

Included: cook, camping equipment (except sleeping bag), transport, English-speaking guide, camp assistants, emergency horse, mule support, camping fees, breakfast, lunch, dinner, all white-water & safety equipment, lakeside base facilities – changing-room, showers, toilets, Stand-up paddleboard or sit-on-top kayak, paddle, wetsuit, boots, buoyancy aid, splash jacket

Waqrapukara to Ccampi and return to Cusco:

This morning you hike, a mainly flat and downhill trail, to the small village of Huayqui. Your path passes beneath huge rock walls with panoramic views across the Andean mountain range.

You arrive at Ccampi to meet your vehicle in time for lunch. Then you can relax for the drive back to Cusco.

Drive time 3 hrs.

Hiking distance 7km

Hiking time 3 hrs.

Included: cook, camping equipment (except sleeping bag), emergency horse, mule support, English-speaking guide, camp assistants, breakfast, lunch, cold beers, transport