8-Days Ebiking in Peru – From Cusco to Machu Picchu by Ebike

Today’s ride introduces you to your Ebikes as well as the Inca heritage of Peru.

Riding at just over 3500m this will help you acclimatise gently and get used to Ebiking at altitude.

The itinerary is flexible to suit your group’s riding ability.

You start with a full briefing and safety instructions, before Ebiking from Cusco’s main square to the first and biggest Inca site of the day- Sacsayhuaman.

Sacsayhuaman’s zig-zag ramparts were built with 8.5 metre high stones, that weigh up to 360 tonnes each. The zig zags are thought to represent puma teeth or lightning, as well as serving defensive purposes.

Continue Ebiking to Puca Pucara, a former Inca ‘tambo’. These were resting houses, used to break up the journeys of the Inca messengers, who ran huge distances along the Inca trail system, which stretched south into Chile and north to Colombia.

Finally, you visit Tambomachay, thought to have been a temple of the water. The Incas acknowledged water as one of the principal elements of life and revered it accordingly.

Now for some Ebiking downhill
Your guide will choose the best route depending upon the group’s ability. All trails are mainly downhill with great views of Cusco from high above. Perhaps. you can spot the puma form in which Cusco was originally built.

You have a support vehicle on hand for most of the week, where access allows. You can put your spare clothes etc in this.

Lunch is taken along the way.

Night at Hotel Ananay Quinta San Blas (Deluxe Room)

Included: English-speaking guide , entrance fees , transport , Ebike, helmet, gloves , equipment , snacks & water , box lunch , entrance to Cusco ruins,room & breakfast next day

You take a short vehicle transfer to get past the worst of Cusco’s traffic, then head to Saylla on good tarmac road.

Here you turn off the main road and take a quiet road to the Inca site of Tipon. Carrying on down the valley, if time permits, you can visit the pre-Inca ruins of Pikillacta. Built by the Wari culture, this have a totally different style to the Inca sites you visit.

You will stop for lunch near here, overlooking Lake Huacarpay.

After lunch, you leave the Cusco valley and enter the start of the Sacred Valley. The ride is mainly flat, through fields of Quinoa and corn. It starts along tarmac before heading onto a dirt track to your hotel at Pisac.

Picnic lunch

Night at Hotel Royal Inka Pisac (STD room)

Included: English-speaking guide , transport , lunch, Ebike, helmet, gloves , equipment , room & breakfast next day

This versatile ride can be adapted to suit every level and ability. It  combines gentle trails through the fields of the Sacred Valley, with views of snow capped mountains above

First, you visit Pisac ruins. This can be done on Ebike or by car.

You Ebike downhill to the village of Pisac where you can visit the handicraft market if you wish.

You then cross the river, to the small village of Taray where the Sacred Valley cycle trail begins. This dirt road was once the main road through the valley and today connects a series of small communities, as it follows the river, past the haciendas that once controlled this area.

Traditional farming methods are still in use here, and depending on the time of year, you may see people ploughing with bulls, or harvesting by hand.  All against the backdrop of the glaciated mountains.

Your support driver will set up a picnic lunch along the way.

You continue past the villages of Qoya, Lamay, and Calca, with the option to ride all the way to Urubamba.

Night at Hotel Villa Urubamba (Standard Room)

Included: transport , lunch , Ebike, helmet, gloves, equipment , room & breakfast next day

You take a short transfer to Chinchero famous for its weavings. If time permits you can visit one of the weaving cooperatives or the Inca site and colonial church.

You Ebike across the Chinchero plains on an undulating trail to your lunch spot on the shores of Lake Huaypo.

After lunch, you continue on a dirt road to the town of Maras and visit the Maras salt pans. Mined by hand since Inca times, these pools of salt glisten white in the sun.

Back on your Ebike again, you head to Moray, the site of circular Inca terracing sunk into the ground. It is thought to have been an agricultural testing center or a UFO landing site, depending on who you ask.

Finally, you descend a little-used dirt road into the Sacred Valley, by Pachar and its craft brewery. If time and batteries permit, you can continue riding past the Inca terraces and fields of corn all the way to the Inca town of Ollantaytambo and your hotel.

Night at Hotel Pakaritampu (Standard Room)

Included: transport , English-speaking guide , lunch , entrance fees , Ebike, helmet, gloves , equipment , room & breakfast next day

It is not possible to Ebike to Machu Picchu, so today you complete the last part of your journey on foot.

You start early with a short train journey. At km104 you alight, pass through the control and start your walk past the small Inca site of Chachabamba.

You ascend on ancient Inca trail, through the cloud forest, climbing high above the Urubamba River.

While the ascent is steep, it is worth it to reach Wiñay Wayna, a large set of curved Inca terraces, where many orchids can be found.

After lunch, you join what is generally considered to be the most spectacular part of the Inca Trail. The path contours through the cloud forest to Inti Puncu, the Sun Gate. Step through for your first glimpse of Machu Picchu.

The path carries on one kilometre more into the main site of Machu Picchu. Your guide will show you around the site, and explain its history.

At the end of the day, you take the bus down toMachu Picchu town and catch a train back to Ollantaytambo where you stay the night.

Night at Hotel Pakaritampu (Standard Room)

Included: porter support , English-speaking guide , train ticket , km 104 permit , entrance fees , bus ticket , lunch , snacks & water , room & breakfast next day

Today is what Ebiking in Peru is all about. An adventure, only made possible in one day because your bike has a battery to help you up the hills.

First, you ride in the car, to get to a 4000 metres pass high above Ollantaytambo. You will pass the villages of Huilloc and Patacancha, famous for the finely woven red ponchos still made and worn here today.

You start today’s Ebiking with a descent through the hills to the village of Huaca Huasi, set amongst the Lares hills. You continue on dirt road to the Lares hot springs. While you take a dip in the warm waters, your driver will set up lunch for you.

Since 2007, we have worked closely with several local communities in the Lares valley since 2007, in a native reforestation project. Together, we have planted over 1 million trees.

Battery and energy level depending, there is an epic zig zag climb up to the 4300m Abra Lares. Or if you prefer, you can take the car. From the top, you enjoy a 1300m vertical descent of a lifetime to Calca, down in the Sacred Valley.

There are two ways to descend- a good tarmac road, or our favourite, an Inca trail that runs through the Totora Canyon. As you pass through the canyon look out for the tombs in the cliff where the Incas buried their dead.

Your driver will be waiting at Calca to take you back to Cusco. And so ends an amazing week of Ebiking in Peru.

Night at Hotel Ananay Quinta San Blas (Deluxe Room)

Included: English-speaking guide , entrance fees , transport , Ebike, helmet, gloves , equipment , lunch , room & breakfast next day

Today we transfer you to Cusco airport in time for your flight.

For those with later flights, you can enjoy a morning relaxing in the cafes around the main square, do some last-minute souvenir shopping, or simply wander the streets of Cusco, one last time.

Included: breakfast, transport

In order to fully enjoy your Ebiking in Peru, it is very important that you choose the right trip for you and fully understand what it involves.

There are risks inherent in travelling in Peru, as indeed there are in most of the activities that we provide. Many of the activities we offer also involve a significant level of effort on your part.  After all, it is called Adventure Travel for a reason.

It is really important that you read both the trip notes above and the Risk and Safety Section on our website, to enable you to choose the best trip for you. Once you have read them both, please make sure you ask if there is anything you do not understand. We classify this trip, “Ebiking from Cusco to Machu Picchu” as:

• Mountain Bike ‘Intro’… These trips are as much about experiencing Mountain Biking as they are about the time spent not on the bike – the scenery, the culture, the environment.

• The only pre-requirement is that you can ride a bike. Clearly it would be good if you’ve ridden in the last 20 years. Our experienced guides will help you with gaining experience and confidence on your bike – there may be times where you (but maybe not others) are asked to walk a section of trail… Please follow the advice of the guide, they really do know what they are doing.

If you are looking for a more technical mountain biking trip in Peru, try our Singletrack Heaven trip.