Peru's Magic of Machu Picchu Inn-to-Inn Trail
2008 Itinerary
DAY 1 After arriving at the Cusco Airport, guests will be picked up and driven to your hotel. A briefing of the week’s ride will be given in the evening. Overnight at the hotel in Cusco.
DAY 2 The group is picked up from the hotel in Cusco at 7 am for a 10 minute drive to the nearby Inca ruins of Sacsayhuaman (11,000 feet) where you will meet the wrangler crew and horses. After a short familiarization and adjustment period, you will start the ride to the Inca-colonial town of Chinchero (12,000 feet) for about a 4 hour ride. At Chinchero there will be a minivan waiting to take riders to an hacienda called Huaran (30 minute drive), located in Urubamba - The Sacred Valley of the Incas (9,500 feet) where you spend the night at a cozy boutique lodge on the banks of the Urubamba River.
DAY 3 After an early breakfast, you are picked-up from the hotel at 7 am and driven across the Andes to the colonial town of Mollepata and to the Coronilla Ranch (9,300 feet, 3 hours drive). On the way, you will be able to see part of the Urubamba and Vilcabamba mountain ranges with peaks like Veronica (19,000 feet) and the massive Salkantay (20,600 feet). At the Coronilla Ranch you will start the ride to the Salkantay Lodge & Adventure Resort, located in Soraypampa (12,300 feet, 4 hours).
DAY 4 Today, after a nutritious breakfast, you start the horse ride to the surrounding areas of Soraypampa to visit the Humantay Lake (3 hours). After visiting the lake you will ride down to the lodge. After lunch, if weather permits and the group feels like exploring some more, you can go to the base of the Salkantay Peak (13,400 feet) and back. (3 hours). After an exhilarating day, you spend the night at the Salkantay Lodge & Adventure Resort.
DAY 5 After breakfast with stunning views of the Salkantay Peak you are picked up from the lodge at 8 am for a ride back to Mollepata and the Coronilla Ranch (4 hours). For lunch, you will be greeted at the Coronilla Ranch with a typical Peruvian meal called Pachamanca; this traditional meal is famous for its cooking method, which consists of an underground oven which is heated by previously warmed stones. After you are presented with the uncovering of the Pachamanca, you’ll enjoy a feast consisting of a variety of meats (chicken, lamb, beef, pork, guinea pig) and vegetables (potatoes, sweet potatoes, yucca). After this, you take an afternoon drive back towards Urubamba, but this time you’ll continue on to the Inca town of Ollantaytambo were you spend the night.
DAY 6 You rise in the morning for breakfast at the hotel and later take the morning train from Ollantaytambo to Machu Picchu Town, otherwise known as Aguas Calientes (6200 feet, train time 1:45 hours). At Aguas Calientes, you will enjoy lunch and in the afternoon take the bus up to the archeological site (30 minute drive) to visit the impressive and mystical Sanctuary of Machu Picchu on a privately guided tour. (Tour time 2-3 hours; there is a lot to do!). Having visited this “Wonder of the World”, you’ll return by bus (30 minute drive) to Aguas Calientes to rest and relax. You will spend the night in the amazing Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel, which also has wide variety of eco-activities that guests can enjoy.
DAY 7 You’ll rise very early for breakfast to take the morning train to Ollantaytambo (departure at 8:30 am). At Ollantaytambo the horses will be ready for a ride in the surroundings of the Inca Fortress of Ollantaytambo, an archeological site where you can see the magnificent stone work of the Incas (3 hour ride). Lunch is at Ollantaytambo and after lunch a minivan will be waiting to take you back to Cusco. Overnight at a Cusco hotel.
DAY 8 Breakfast and transfer to the Cusco airport.
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