Depart UK on an overnight flight. On arrival in Cusco, we transfer you to your hotel and start acclimatising to the rarefied air of this beautiful city. In the afternoon, we take a short walking tour of the centre of Cusco to familiarise you with the main sights, restaurants and a chance to stretch your legs and experience hiking at 3300m. At a convenient time you guide will arrange a full briefing for the days ahead.

After an early departure from Cusco, we drive on good tarmac road until turning off to the beautiful village of Cachora high above the River Apurimac canyon. Near the roadhead, we meet our trekking team, have an early lunch and start our 1600m descent into the Apurimac canyon. A short climb follows an extended descent with spectacular views of snow-capped mountains in the distance and the mighty River Apurimac deep in the canyon below. We stop by the small settlement of Chikiska and set up camp for the night.

We continue our descent into the Apurimac canyon, cross the roaring river and climb steeply up, passing the small settlement of Santa Rosa and Maranpata. This is a long tough day requiring an early start but the scenery more than makes up for the hardships endured. We set up base camp just short of the Choquequirao ruins.

We arrive early at the amazing ruins of Choquequirao with time to explore and marvel at this dramatic location nearly 1700m above the roaring Apurimac River. The vast size of these extensive ruins covers an area far bigger than Machu Picchu. There is an enormous curving bank of fine terracing, a chain of ritual baths and a central plaza surrounded by fine ceremonial and high status residential architecture. Large areas still remain covered in the thick cloud forest, giving an insight into how the first explorer’s felt arriving at this deserted city. Its purpose is also still largely unclear; despite being the largest of the outlying sites, it is unmentioned in the chronicles and remained uncharted until the 18th century.

After plenty of time to explore, we return to base camp below to ponder our own theories for the evening.

Leaving at the crack of dawn, we bid farewell to Choquequirao, visiting en route another interesting ruin called Picha Unuyoc – the “water shrine”. A short sharp climb is followed by a descent of 1400m into the Rio Blanco canyon, famous for its nasty biting sand-flies called pumahuacachi by the locals (literally “makes the puma cry”). This is followed by another tough climb of 1,200m up to the small campsite of Maizal at an altitude of 3000m. This is probably the toughest day of the trip but allowing all day and using the support horses where necessary, it is manageable by fit trekkers

Starting early again we climb to the Abra San Juan pass which, at 4000m, affords spectacular views of the Cordillera Vilcabamba mountain range (when not in cloud). We then follow the trail past Corihuayrachina and the interesting old silver mines of Mina Victoria, thought to have been worked for over a thousand years. We camp at the charming Andean village of Yanama.

Today we say goodbye to our team of “arrieros” and enjoy a spectacular drive on a brand new road over the Totora pass and down to the small hamlet and Inca terraces at Lucmabamba. Our final day of hiking takes us through the lush vegetation of coffee and tropical fruit plantations, into pristine cloud forest. We follow an ancient Inca Trail to Llactapata, an Inca site that has only recently been excavated. We will also have a truly amazing view of Machu Picchu that few tourists get to see from the back. We descend sharply to the Urubamba valley and the hydroelectric plant train station. From here we have the option to either wait for the short but spectacular train journey, or hike the two-three hours up the railway to the bustling tourist town now known as Machu Picchu Pueblo. Here we check into our hotel and enjoy a shower before heading out to sample one of the many restaurants and bars.

Returning first thing in the morning we have Machu Picchu virtually to ourselves for a full guided tour, with time to climb Huayna Picchu (due to permit restrictions, please let us know when booking if you want to climb Huayna Picchu or Machu Picchu mountain)  or else just wander through the ruins, soaking up the amazing atmosphere. In the afternoon, we board the train for an exhilarating ride along the Sacred Valley of the Incas. Here our waiting bus whisks us back to Cusco and our hotel. Then if we have the energy we can explore Cusco’s excellent nightlife.

Spend the morning exploring Cusco. Whether your interest is exploring Inca ruins, visiting Colonial churches, bargain hunting in artisan markets or just relaxing over a cappuccino on a terrace overlooking the Plaza de Armas, Cusco has it all. In the afternoon, transfer to Cusco airport in time for your overnight flight home.

 Arrive home.