Choquequirao Peru

Arrival in Lima, where you’ll be greeted and transferred to your hotel.

Enjoy breakfast at the hotel before your transfer the airport for your flight to Cusco. Upon arrival you’ll be met and transferred to your hotel in Cusco.

Morning bus excursion to the Urubamba Valley, the Sacred Valley of the Incas. Visit to the picturesque Indian Pisac Marketheld on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, the shopping paradise of the Andes where barter is still practiced. Enjoy the unique atmosphere during a typical lunch. In the afternoon, passing through the Towns of Calca and Urubamba, we visit the Inca Fortress and Citadel of Ollantaytambo, built to guard the entrance to this part of the Valley, and protect it from possible invasion from the tribes in the Lower jungle. You can walk through the quaint streets of the nearby Town, and get a good idea of what this Strategic Military, Religious, and Agricultural Centre was like during the era of the Inca Empire. On our way back to Cusco we stop of at the picturesque Andean village of Chinchero to visit the ruins of the Royal Hacienda of Tupac Inca Yupanqui.

We will admire a well-preserved Inca Wall in the Main Square, and visit the beautiful Colonial temple built on Inca foundations, with interesting frescoes in the portico. A Late afternoon return to your selected Hotel for overnight. The evening is free. We suggest strolling around the Main Square and enjoy the night atmosphere trying a delicious Pisco Sour in some of the many pubs around the Square.

Meals Included: Breakfast at hotel.

Travelers are picked up at their hotel at 7:00 am on a private bus. First stop being Saywite Archaeological Park. This mysterious monolith and the nearby archaeological remains including the “ushnu” and the “pacchas” must remain in our memory to contrast their correspondence with the ceremonial architecture of Choquequirao. After a healthy box-lunch, we continue down the remote Huanipaca Valley, a place in the Peruvian highlands reserved for travelers. Villa Los Loros Lodge awaits at the bottom of the gorge. The rooms ready and after a necessary rest, a short meeting is held to dispel the anxiety a trip like this brings up in every traveler.

Dinner and overnight.

We leave at 5:30 am right after breakfast, walking down a footpath that leads to the Hacienda San Ignacio and then tumbles downhill towards the raging Apurimac River (Playa San Ignacio). Across the hanging bridge is where the serious hiking starts; ascending from water level (4757 feet) to Choquequirao campsite (9415 feet) is nothing less than overwhelming. On the one hand, the beauty of the landscape, rivers, waterfalls, flowers, all is movement … On the other; the wild environment; the steep slope and your heartbeat combine in an intimate connection with the environment. At the campsite and after lunch, a quick visit to the Phaqchayoc Sector (a terraced agricultural system where corn is still grown) and The House of Waterfalls (according to archaeologists, the home of the Inca of Choquequirao.) Back at the campsite, tired and proud, a warm meal is enjoyed before a good night’s sleep. (Bathrooms and cold showers available)

Beautiful day. We are stricken to observe how the vast majority of visitors take 4 days trekking but only a few hours or even minutes (!) to enjoy exploring the different sectors of Choquequirao. Bearing in mind that Choquequirao is scattered on both sides of the spur of Apu Corihuayrachina we know a fair amount of time is needed to understand the integrity of its context. Travelers will enjoy lunch near the ruins and hopefully view condors’ flight over the deep canyon. Back at the campsite, dinner and overnight. (Bathrooms and cold showers available).

We head back to our lodge early after breakfast. The known route makes returning easier. The ever changing landscape is fully appreciated with our now recovered muscles. The voice of the river as background and the imposing Apurimac Canyon seems to swallow the traveler. Finally, Playa San Ignacio. “Black Whip”, “Machuco”, “Cayguash” or some others are waiting for us. Our return on horseback is the perfect chance for a last look at the landscape we are now part of. Riding allows a great way to photograph friends who are traveling with us and the new friends this journey has given us; our fellow horsemen and their way of life will remain deep in the traveler’s heart. We will continue on horses until we reach “Villa Los Loros” lodge. After a shower and lunch we’ll take a ride on the bus back to Cusco, arriving in approximately 5 hours, at 9:00 pm.

At proper time transfer to the airport to take your flight to Lima.