MULTISPORT IN THE ANDES, INCA TRAIL: 5D4N

DAY 1 – Hiking the Sacred valley Ollantaytambo and Pisac inca sites

We will pick you up in Cusco city and then we will drive north east for about one hour to visit an Alpaca and Llama farm and fiber producing and witness aspects of the weaving process in a small village of Chinchero. Later we will continue to see some Inca remains and hike and tour for two hours in the Inca Archaeological site of the fortress of Ollantaytambo.

During the Inca expansion in the 1400s, Ollantaytambo was a fortified city, a fortified fortress, and “Tambo” or administrative center. The stone was quarried across the river and the river itself was a means to carry all the material from across the valley to the site, where materials could then be carried by using rollers ramps and man power. Using mostly huge pink or red perfidious granite rock, weighing 20-80 tons, they carved with extraordinary precision. Here the Incas constructed temples dedicated to the sun and to Mother Earth or Pachamama. This site is aligned to the winter and summer Solstices and to the spring and autumn equinox. This was one of the last refuges for the Incas before they fled to the jungle to regroup, recover, and fight the Spanish forces again. Ollantaytambo was used for administrative purposes, also as a religious retreat and military station. It was a strategic location between three valleys connected to important sites by Inca roads. The Sacred Valley was important because during the expansion of the Inca towards the sacred valley it was the main source of sustenance for the nobility. An important agricultural location, it was used to acclimate crops and fruit trees from the high and the low jungles. Manco Inca also fought to protect territory from the Spanish forces that had several battle ships in the area. Construction never was finished likely because the Inca civil war interfered and then the Spanish forces conquered the Inca in 1536.

After we will be visiting the traditional Pisac market and have lunch in town. In the afternoon we will tour and hike and tour the outpost of the Incas called Pisac for 2 hours

Beginning in 1200, the quest for increased territory and natural resources brought the Inca Empire into the Sacred Valley and the jungles of Cusco and Madre de Dios, and that is where Pisac was built. Pisac served as an Inca out post with and administrative, military and astronomical. This was a strategic location to control and conquer other ethnic groups. From here expansion continued northward to where Ollantaytambo is now. Here on the mountain were some of the best corn and crops in the World. There are impressive stone structures remaining and the site is connected by Inca roads. When you visit, you can hike to the cemetery where skulls of puma and religious icons have been found. Hiking further to the religious area you will see a beautiful stone temple carve of fine masonry. The temples were dedicated to the sun, the moon, and the star deities. They are all aligned to the astronomical and solar events.

All these beautiful buildings were occupied by royalty, nobility and important people and their entourages. These were palaces, religious retreats, plazas, palaces, ceremonial places, astronomical observatories and they also served as military stations, store houses, granaries, and terraces for farming, all connected by Inca roads. Construction included existing rock, the small valley itself, and the mountain. Fine masonry and well carved, well-polished stonework, all assembled without mortar. The work was done by laborers from elsewhere who used ramps, rollers, and manpower.

There will be a good chance to see some of the flora and fauna of the Andean scrub bush vegetation. We will stay at Pisac village.

DAY 2 – River rafting

Today, after a good breakfast, we drive for about an hour and a half to the beginning or put-in point of our experience in white water rafting. The level is easy to-difficult and good for beginners(with phisical conditions) or those with little experience.

After reviewing the safety instructions briefing and getting all the equipment ready, we go into sections of the river with class III and easy class IV rapids flowing downstream for two to three hours(about 18kilometers) with the incredible view of the Vilcanota mountain range. After changing into clothes; we lunch and then return to the sacred valley and stay in the bed and breakfast inn in Ollantaytambo near the ruins. Optional visit to a pottery workshop and kiln. (, L)

DAY 3 – Inca trail

FIRST OPTION: Inca trail 104 km Inca trail. (Depending the space available).

FIRST OPTION: Inca trail 104 km Inca trail. (limited space available).
We board the morning train at the Ollantaytambo station and ride for about one hour until we approach the kilometer 104 km marker of the train line. Here begins the Inca trail at Chachabamba, 2100 meters. A two and a half hour hike brings us to the archaeological site of Wiñay Huayna, “forever young” in the native Quechua language, at 2920 meters. Here we partake of a well-earned lunch and snacks. Following a visit of this beautiful site, thought to be a palace and religious retreat because it was a resting place for the royal family while they were travelling from Cusco, the former capital of the Empire, to the city of Machu Picchu.We continue hiking for two hours more on the beautiful, paved trail to the Sun Gate, where we will have our first view of Machu Picchu. We devote some time to a small introductory briefing about this great Inca site. A little later we hike down to the lookout point where we will enjoy spectacular views of the site before taking the bus down to the town of Aguas Calientes. Once in Aguas Calientes, we can enjoy either a bath in the local hot springs or good shower at the hotel. We cover 8 miles today. night dinner. hotel included. (B, L,)

SECOND OPTION
Different trails around Machu Picchu Citadel: Intipunku, Machu Picchu Mountain, Huayna Picchu Mountain, Putucusi Mountain, Inca Bridge Trail, Huchuy Picchu Trail, Temple of the Moon Trail.
Today we board the train for about an hour and a half ride to Machu Picchu district area, at 2060 meters. The train ride takes us through different ecosystems and archaeological sites along the mythic Urubamba River, one of the main sources of the Amazon River. An arrival, we will check in at the hotel and then we go to the bus station. There, we will continue by bus for 25 minutes to the archeological site. Once we are there, we will have a spectacular tour of the archeological site with a private guide and a short break for lunch. Next is a beautiful hike of about 4 kilometers in 2 hours, round-trip, on the original Inca road with great views of Machu Picchu from a distance. This short hike on the Inca trail takes us to the Sun Gate or “Inti Punku” at 2750 meters. This remarkable place is a unique way to see the ancient trail that began in Cusco, many hundred years ago. It was a network system of trails built during Pachacutec Great Empire from about 1438 to 1472. On this trail we will see several species of orchid and a variety of birds. If we are lucky we will see some humming birds, a native wren called the Inca Wren, and several other species of exotic birds.
This is a good warm-up exercise for the second day of hiking through the different Inca stone paths that are original from the Incan imperial times in and around Machu Picchu, 2450 meters. We return to the hotel late in the afternoon, after sunset. Dinner out, Optional hot springs. (L)

DAY 4 – Machu Picchu

Following an early breakfast we take the bus up to the ancient city of Machu Picchu for a thoroughly grand tour.

Original discover by Agustin Lizarraga a Peruvian local from Cusco who inhabit a farm and explorer who discover Machu picchu in 1902.Nine years after Hiram Bingham rediscover Machu picchu in 1911.

Machu Picchu is situated at the beginning, or “eye brow”, of the cloud forest. This allowed access to different altitudes, each with unique ecological conditions. The crops found at Machu Picchu include different varieties of corn, chilies, quinoa, tomatoes, trees, potatoes, suggesting that this was a good place to acclimate and domesticate species from the high and low jungles that later would be successfully introduced into the hanging valleys and elsewhere.

This small valley was suitable for the building of temples and astronomical observatories.

By analysis of soil, seeds, wood, and bones, Carbon Dating situates Incas in the area during the mid-1400s to mid-1500s. Machu Picchu was built by the Inca number 9 who named it “Pachacutek” or “Cusi Yupanqui”. Throughout the site, there is fine masonry and beautiful stonework, all of which is done without mortar. Construction used outside sources for laborers and two large granite quarries nearby. It is believed that the site was occupied by royalty and dignitaries, and that it was visited by the Inca and his entourage or royal court. Even though it was never quite completed, local scholars and historians believe that within a mere 100 years Machu Picchu was built, inhabited, and abandoned.

Several roads connect to bring pilgrims and essential supplies to Machu Picchu, the site of temples and astronomical observatories dedicated to the sun, moon, stars, the universe, the mother earth temple “Pachamama” and the creator “Wiracocha”.

All these beautiful buildings were occupied by royalty, nobility and important people and their entourages. These were palaces, religious retreats, plazas, palaces, ceremonial places, astronomical observatories and they also served as military stations, store houses, granaries, and terraces for farming, all connected by Inca roads. Construction included existing rock, the small valley itself, and the mountain. Fine masonry and well carved, well-polished stonework, all assembled without mortar. The work was done by laborers from elsewhere who used ramps, rollers, and manpower.

Afterwards we have the choice either to relax or to hike one of the surrounding mountains such as Machu Picchu Mountain or Huayna Picchu, each is about a two-hour hike. We will have lunch and visit the market in Aguas Calientes before taking the train to the city of Cusco. ( L)

DAY 5 – Cusco Hiking Koricancha and Saqsayhuaman

Today we will tour Cusco and all the great archaeological sites in and near the city. We will visit the main temple of the Inca religion, the great Koricancha.

Koricancha was the main temple built in the 1200s and rebuilt in the 1400s by Pachacutec, the 9th Inca leader. Similar to the Greek Parthenon, this is where all deities were. Just as Mecca is sacred to Muslims, Koricancha was sacred to the Incas who all visited at least once in a lifetime. The extraordinary masonry is an impressive example of Inca engineering and architecture: stones were cut precisely, assembled with extremely narrow joints, and needing no mortar. It is thought that there were temples dedicated to the sun, moon, stars, and rainbows, that this is where solar priests and priestesses lived. This ceremonial site held Inca religious idols and idols of people that they had conquered. The stone for this building came from nearby quarries. The stone is varied and includes andesite, basal diorite and red perfidious granite, volcanic and metamorphic rock. The shape, the angles and the polishing were masterful. Here the Inca solar priest conducted rituals and high ceremonies dedicated to gods and sun worship. Religious artifacts have been found here. Much of the temples were cover with gold, silver, and precious stones positioned in ways relevant to solar and astronomical events. Only people with status, nobility or royalty were permitted to visit here. In 1540 Dominicans built a monastery and convent on the using the Inca ruins and imposed Christianity. Although the Inca were forced out, today you can see the marvelous and amazing work of the Incas.then we will hike trough part of the inca trail to the ceremonial sites at “Saqsayhuaman” where we will see amazing stone masonry. The tour lasts for half of the day.

Saqsayhuaman was built with limestone brought from nearby quarries using rollers, ropes, ramps, and manpower. The stone was carved very precisely and required no mortar. This is one of the best examples of Inca masonry. The stones vary in size and they weigh between 20 and 80 tons. Excavations here yielded human remains, mummies, religious paraphernalia, and statuettes of idols that symbolize deities, men, and women. This is where, on June 21st , the Winter Solstice captures the first rays of the sun and from here the rays continue all the way to the imperial city of Cusco, forming the sacred figure of the Solar Puma. Saqsayhuam was the head of the puma and considered to be a sacred animal. Saqsayhuaman has three angled walls that form a zig zag shape. Garcilazo de la Vega, a mixed race Inca writer from the 1600s, claimed there were three towers at the top of the slope with rectangular, square, and circular shapes (temple of the sun) that reached a height of 15 meters and had various uses. At Saqsayhuaman the Incas defended and fought Spanish forces for control of the Inca capital during the Conquest of Cusco. Under the leadership of Manco Inca, despite fighting with great fury and energy against the invading Spanish forces in 1534, this marked the beginning of the collapse of the Inca Empire. The battles continued to the Sacred Valley and Ollantaytambo before the Incas retreated to the rain forest in Vilcabamba where they remained for 36 years until the last Inca was captured in 1572.

All these beautiful buildings were occupied by royalty, nobility and important people and their entourages. These were palaces, religious retreats, plazas, palaces, ceremonial places, astronomical observatories and they also served as military stations, store houses, granaries, and terraces for farming, all connected by Inca roads. Construction included existing rock, the small valley itself, and the mountain. Fine masonry and well carved, well-polished stonework, all assembled without mortar. The work was done by laborers from elsewhere who used ramps, rollers, and manpower.

After enjoying a delicious lunch, you have time off to go and explore Cusco city and its rich architecture from Inca and colonial times.

DAY 6

We drive you to the airport to board the Cusco-Lima flight and your connections.