Inca Jungle Trek to Machu Picchu

Inca Jungle Trek to Machu Picchu

The Inca Jungle Trek to Machu Picchu (Inca Jungle Trail) is the best option for those who prefer a more adventurous and adrenaline pumping way to hike to Machu Picchu. The trail belongs to the Alternative Treks to Machu Picchu and it combines trekking with mountain biking, an opportunity to enjoy rafting and ZIP line too. In addition a part of the trail leads through the latest discovered Inca path called Qapaq Ñan. You can admire beautiful mountains on the way as well as subtropical areas of a cloud forest. One of the highlights of the trek is a visit of the amazin, lovely and hot thermal baths where you can refresh yourself in its healing water that benefits your body.

Itinerary

Day 1: Cusco - Abra Malaga - Santa Maria

Stop At: Sacred Valley of the Incas, 0051 Peru
Early morning, we pick you up from your hotel in Cusco to transfer by private vehicle passing Sacred Valley of the Incas to a starting point of the trek at Abra Malaga (4,350 m.a.s.l.) which is the highest place of the trek. There we sit on a bicycle and start biking down for about 4 hours to the small town of Santa Maria. On the route, you can appreciate an Incan site, cloud forest´s birds, medicinal plants, butterflies, snakes and tropical fruits. We also can visit local families to find about their daily routine. When in Santa Maria, we accommodate ourselves in a familial basic hostel where we can have a shower. After dinner, we spend the night there.

Optional tour: Rafting in the afternoon in Santa Maria, 3-5 class of rapids. The price of the rafting is extra USD 45.
Duration: 4 hours

Meals included:
• Lunch
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Basic Hostel: Santa Maria

Day 2: Santa Maria - Santa Teresa

Stop At: Banos Termales de Cocalmayo, 4 Km from Santa Teresa, Santa Teresa Peru
We continue our trip early morning after breakfast getting progressively steeper until we get to a restaurant where we have lunch. Then we can relax in hammocks admiring surrouning coca plantations. Later on, we continue trekking to later reach an authentical Inca path - "Qhapaq Ñan"!! The path winds around steep hillsides and sheer gorges for approximately half a mile.

Please note that this part of the trek is not for people suffering from vertigo!!

Later, we descend to the famous hot springs of Cocalmayo and refresh ourselves in its healing water!! After that, we trek to Santa Teresa, a town located at Santa Teresa River. There, we accommodate ourselves in another familial simply hostel.
Duration: 3 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Family Accomodation: Santa Teresa

Day 3: Santa Teresa - Hidroelectrica - Aguas Calientes

Stop At: Hot Springs (Aguas Calientes), Signposted from main square, Aguas Calientes, Machu Picchu Peru
We have early breakfast before taking a private transport to Llucmabamba Town. There we observe a stunning sunrise above a lovely landscape with Machu Picchu in its centre!! Later, we descend to bamboo groves and a cloud forest with increasingly thick vegetation and tall trees offering us some excellent birdwatching opportunities! Later in the afternoon, we get to Hidroelectrica (a hydroelectric plant) Railway Station and there we start following trails leading us to the Aguas Calientes Town. We spend the last night in a more comfortable hostel there with private rooms and bathrooms offering us a hot shower.

Optional tour: ZIP Line in the morning in Santa Teresa. The price of the ZIP Line is extra USD 40.
Duration: 10 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Comfortable Hotel 3 stars in Aguas Calientes Town

Day 4: Machu Picchu - Cusco

Stop At: Machu Picchu, 08680, Peru
After an early morning breakfast, we hike for 1 hours 20 min up to the mysterious city of Machu Picchu that we enter for the early morning best photos opportunities! Then our Tour Guide shows us around the Incan city and explains us about its history and purposes. After the guided tour, we have an opportunity to climb up for about 45 minutes to Huayna Picchu, a peak above Machu Picchu that serves to take some panoramic pictures of the Incan city. Then, we are given time off to spend and explore Machu Picchu on our own.

In the afternoon, we return by train to Ollantaytambo (alternatively to Poroy), from where we are taken by van back to Cusco.

Machu Picchu is both, the best and the least known site of the Incas as it is not mentioned in any Spanish conquistador´s chronicle so that contemporary archaeologists can not do anything more than just speculate on its functions. Local Quechuan farmers had known about Machu Picchu for centuries before an 11-year-old boy showed the American historian Hiram Bingham (who was in a search of Vilcabamba) this site on the 24th of July 1911. At that time, all the rest of the world became aware of its existence. However, the site was covered with thick vegetation so Hiram Bingham along with his team returned and within the years of 1912 and 1915 cleared its surface. Over the years, plenty of work has been done on excavating and studying the site. Despite these efforts, many unanswered questions remain.
Duration: 4 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
No accommodation included on this day.