Trek 5 Days
CODE : IE - KIMA An excellent alternative to the Inca Trail Trek arranged on private basis.
This trek offer you : Archaeology, Cultural Interaction, Hiking/Trekking, National Parks, Train Trips.
Recommed season : April to October.
Group size : 2 to 16 person
Day 1 KILLARUMIYOQ TO CHILLIPAHUA :
Early morning we pick up at your Cuzco hotel and transfer by a Van or Bus across the Anta plain, following the route of the royal Inca Road which led from the capital toward the northern quarter of the empire. Our first stop will be at the sacred Inca shrine known as Killarumi (Moonstone in the Quechua language of the Incas), one of the finest of the carved rock huacas in the vicinity of Cuzco where we will learn about the significance on this magnificent Huaca . We continue to our trailhead by the Huaracondo River where it drains the western edge of the plain, and meet our porters, from the nearby communities. We commence trekking on a broad trail northward, above the west bank of the Huaracondo River. After an easy two-hour hike, we reach Huatta, a substantial pre-Inca fortress dominating the crest of a ridge at 3,850 m. Archeologists currently excavating the site are revealing burials and occupation levels from the Formative Period (2,500 years ago). The site shows dominating three-way views along intersecting valleys. After lunch we continue on our way and camp next to a rural school of Chillipahua at 3,750m. B,L
Day 2 CHANCACHUCO - CACHICATA QUARRY
We climb gradually through fields and glades of the indigenous Chachacomo tree, in a landscape of pastures and small fields.Along our trek we will find Andean families compound of adobe and straw who live from the crops and farming. We climb to a small glade at 4,400 m and have a stop to enjoy our lunch, then continue up to the col at the head of the valley. From our location atop Accoccasa Pass (4,625m ) we enjoy breathtaking views to the immense snow peaks: the Huaynay Mt. on the west side, the Urubamba range to the north. We enjoy an easy descent, to camp at 4,350 m in the broad valley of Chancachuco, facing the glaciers of the Huayanay Range. B.L,D
Day 3 : HUAYRAPUNKU / CACHICATA QUARRY :
After a hearthy breakfast we hike toward the western end of the high valley, we follow the contours of a now-abandoned Inca aqu educt which transported water from the Chancachuco valley north to supply the otherwise-arid north-facing slopes above Ollantaytambo. This aqueduct once transported water across a sheer cliff face high above the Silque River. Today, on the mountainside above us we can see traces of the original stonework.
We reach our final pass (3,940m) and visit a spectacular ridge-top Inca shrine called Huayrapunku (Gate of the Wind), with an astonishing view towards Nevado Veronica (5,682m) directly across the valley. The site offers unsurpassed views to the terraces and temple site of the royal town of Ollantaytambo, over 4,000 feet below us. Constructed in the 15th century by the Inca emperor Pachacutec, the town was an important administrative and religious center.
We descend, passing the Inca administrative site of Llaqtallaqtayoq, to our camp at 3,525m at the edge of the enormous Cachiqata quarry. In the afternoon we explore the intricate quarry workings. From this steep talus slope of Yanaorco, we can see the immense red granite building stones that were carved onsite and then skidded down to the valley floor, across the river, and then up to the Sun Temple site at Ollantaytambo. Orchids and other flowers are abundant in and around the quarry site, set high on the mountainside above the valley floor. B,L,D.
Day 4 OLLANTAYTAMBIO / MACHUPICCHU:
We descend on a wide Inca trail down through the lower side of the quarry , and stop at a key hilltop, from where the worked stones were skidded down the steep slope to the Vilcanota River below. On the far bank, between the river and the Sun Temple, we can see several of these “Tired Stones”, which were abandoned half-way between quarry and temple. We continue down, cross the river, and arrive finally at the famous Sun Temple in Ollantaytambo. We have time to explore with our tour guide the Sun temple and the adjacent village, before catching a late afternoon train to Aguas Calientes. We check into a confortable hostel for the night. B,L,D
Day 5 : MACHUPICCHU – CUSCO
Early morning 5:45 an we take the bus up to Machupicchu,we enter the site early in the morning for an in-depth guided tour of the ridge-top Inca site of Machu Picchu. We descend to Aguas Calientes for return to Ollantaytambo, continuing by private bus to Cusco in late af¬ternoon, arriving around aprox 8.00PM. Transfer to your hotel. B. |
