The archaeological city of Choquequirao is located 3050 m.a.s.l.(10,000ft) and is considered to be “the last refuge of the Inca state”.
DAY 01: CUSCO – CACHORA – CAPULICHAYOQ – CHIKISCA.
At 5 a.m. we will pick you up from your hotel lobby in Cusco and travel in our private van which will take you to the city of “San Pedro de Cachora” (2800m), trip for approximately 3 hours, where we will have free time to have breakfast. Here we meet the rest of our travel team (cooks, horsemen and their horses). We begin our walk that will take us between 6 to 7 hours. On the way you can also see a great diversity of landscapes that belong to different climates, such as the snow peaks of Pedrayoc, during the walk your tour guide will give you a lot of information regarding the flora and fauna of this area. Finally we arrive at “El Mirador” Capulichayoc, from where we can observe the deepest canyon in the world that is known as the Apurimac and where the majestic river Apurimac flows. It is here where we will have our first lunch and from where it is possible to observe the first views of Choquequirao. After lunch we descend for an average of 3 hours to CHIKISKA (1800m), where our camp will be established, we will spend the night surrounded by a majestic landscape near the Apurimac canyon.
- Estimated time to walk: 6 to 7 hours.
- Total distance: 15 km
- Altitude of our camp: 1,800 meters above sea level.
DAY 02: CHIKISCA – ROSALINA BEACH – MARAMPATA – CHOQUEQUIRAO.
After a good breakfast we will start our walk, the first part will be downhill for an average of 45 minutes until the crossing of the bridge known as Rosalina Beach, then we will start with the most difficult of the walk all uphill, during 4 to 5 hours until our lunch point Marampata (2950 masl), from this place we will have a very beautiful view of the canyon and the Apurimac river, after lunch we will have a walk of 1 hour more until we reach the Inca citadel of Choquequirao “Cuna de Oro”, which is located at 3033 meters above sea level, it is here where we will have our campsite with beautiful views of the Inca citadel and the entire Apurimac canyon. In the afternoon we can visit a bit of the agricultural sector and then we will have tea time and a delicious dinner, then go to rest and prepare for the next day.
- Estimated time to walk: 7 to 8 hours.
- Total distance: 16 km
- Altitude of our camp: 3,030 meters above sea level.
DAY 03: GUIDED TOUR AND VISIT OF THE INKA CITADEL “CHOQUEQUIRAO”.
This day we will explore and know the Inka citadel of Choquequirao, Our tour guide will explain you about the history and importance of this archaeological site, which is also considered as a sister city of Machu Picchu, since there are several similarities. Choquequirao hangs 1500 meters above the Apurimac Canyon. Machu Picchu hangs over the Urubamba canyon. They are in the same latitude and is considered one of the main cities of the Inca age, Choquequirao with more than 8 hectares, where only a third has been discovered and where every day archaeologists find something more interesting. This day we will observe and know the three levels of the ruins found, where we can appreciate the urban sector, agricultural terraces and the religious sector of this Inca City. We will also have great options to appreciate the flight of the Condor, after the visit of Choquequirao we will return to our camp to have tea time and a delicious dinner.
- Estimated time to walk: All day between 6 to 7 hours.
- Altitude of our camp: 3,030 meters above sea level.
DAY 04: CHOQUEQUIRAO – CHIKISCA
At dawn, we can see the sunrise over the Inca ruins and our camp, after a good breakfast we will begin to descend in the same way we ascended, until we reach our camp in Chiquisca. We will have lunch halfway in Rosalina Beach, after lunch we will start to climb up to our camp in Chikisca, in the afternoon as every day, we will have tea time and our delicious dinner.
- Estimated time to walk: 6 to 7 hours
- Total distance: 16 km
- Altitude of our camp: 1,800 meters above sea level.
DAY 05: CHIKISCA – CAPULICHAYOQ – CACHORA – CUSCO
This day we will wake up very early at 6 am, we will have breakfast accompanied by the first rays of the sun that rises over the Apurímac canyon. After breakfast we will start our hike to Cachora, which will be between 5 and 7 hours, everything will depend on your physical condition, we will have lunch halfway in Capulichayoq. Upon arrival in Cachora we will take our private transportation that will take us back to Cusco. The tour ends with the transfer to their respective hotels.