The Inca Quarry Trail

A hiking to the Inca quarries of Cachicata and MachuPicchu (4D/3N)

DAY 1: TO RAPHCCA / CORIMARCA

The bus drive from Cusco to Sacred Valley of the Incas until Pachar and follow the Huarocondo gorge a short way upstream to our trailhead at the village of Raphcca, 2900msnm. Today your hike follows an old Inca water channel, leading you to the golden Ccorimarca valley. This is the most demanding part of your trek, but the views are extraordinary – miles of extraordinary in every direction! In the distance, Mount Veronica reigns supreme over the skyline. You'll have lunch along Lake Maracocha and rest for a moment while trying to spot exotic birds and other wildlife who have joined you along the shoreline. Tonight you'll sleep soundly in the valley.

Day 2: TO CHANCACHUCU PASS / Q’EUÑACANCHA

Today our journey offers dramatic panoramas of every major snowpeak in the region. We gaze east across the distant town of Chinchero toward mighty snowcapped Ausangate and the Qoyllur Rit’i range, while the jagged peaks of the Cordillera Urubamba rear across the Sacred Valley to the north.

We will continue across a rolling, sparsely inhabited plateau with views of the tip of Salcantay and the Huayanays. We pass mountain lakes where we may see wetland birds such as Andean gouse, crested ducks and puna ibis, afther we descend to our second camp site at Q’euñacancha.

DAY 3: TO PUNKUYOC / CACHICATA

The alternative, easier route for this day climbs gently from our second camp across rolling grassland to the south flank of Yana Orco, a rocky crag high above the Sacred Valley and the Inca quarries. Viewpoints allow us to look straight down on Ollantaytambo and its valleys 1,400m/4600ft below us, as if from an airplane. We wind our way along the rim of the valley, reaching a pass where we descend a steep draw through native Q’euna woodland, leveling off as we approach the Inca site of Intipunku.

We lunch facing a breathtaking mountain and valley panorama, near the well-preserved Inca complex of Choquetacarpo. This site was most likely the residence of architects, masons and visiting dignitaries who managed the Inca quarries and performed ceremonies at Intipunku.

After lunch we wend our way downward, exploring different sectors of the Inca quarries, a natural rockfall, where massive carved blocks of pink rhyolite lie scattered in disarray. The quarried stones, testimony to a great building project that was never finished, were destined for the Inca temple at Ollantaytambo, (6km/4 miles) away on the north bank of the Urubamba river.

We descend to our third and last camp, located on Inca terraces topped by small burial towers known as chullpas, near the village of Cachicata. Here we enjoy toilets, hot showers and a warmer climate, as we relax in preparation for our train ride and visit to Machu Picchu next morning.

DAY 4: TO OLLANTAYTAMBO / MACHUPICCHU / CUSCO

After and early breakfast, we will return to Cusco or take the high recommended extension to the famous ruins of Machu Picchu, spending most of the day at this bewitching place, with both a guided experience of the highlights and then time to explore the ruins on our own. In the afternoon we complete our journey, traveling by train to Cusco.

Include:

• English speaking guide, who will give you to explain before departure of the trek

• Camping Equipment: tents, dinning tent, toilet ten, tables and chairs, oxygen bottle and cooking equipment

• Chef for all meals with fresh and local ingredients

• Horses for equipment and bags packs

• Transportation from Cusco to trail and back to Cusco

• Train-tickes back paker services- Ollanta/Aguas Clientes (Machu Picchu)/Cusco

• Entrance fees to Machu Picchu

• Roundtrip bus transportation from Aguas Calientes to Machupicchu

• Guided service

NOT INCLUDED

• Bring sleeping bags

Payment Facilities: Booking Conditions | Credit Cards | Money Transfer