**Day 1: SORAYPAMPA CAMP – HUMANTAY LAKE – SALKANTAY PASS – WAYRACPUNKO**

After picking everyone up from their respective places or hotels, we will depart from Cusco around 5:45 a.m. and begin our 2-hour journey to the town of Mollepata. Once in Mollepata, we will make a stop for a delicious breakfast and pay the 20 soles entrance fee to the local municipality (this is not included in the tour price).

Afterward, we will continue by car for another hour to Soraypampa where we will meet the muleteers and horses that will carry our equipment, food, and 7 kilos of personal belongings for each hiker during the trek. From there, we will start the uphill hike to Humantay Lake, reaching it after approximately 2 hours.

When you arrive at the lake, you will have a couple of hours to explore, take photos, and listen to our guide explain the significance of Humantay Lake.

Afterwards, we will hike downhill for 2 hours and have lunch at our exclusive campsite, Quiswarniyoc. After lunch, you will have free time to explore the beautiful area and for an optional hike to the Salkantay Viewpoint to enjoy panoramic views of the entire area. If you’re tired, you can simply rest in the Mountain Sky Huts or glass igloos, which come equipped with glass doors, pillows, a mattress, and starry sky lighting.

Quiswarniyoc is an exclusive private campsite located at 4,000 meters. It is a unique area that offers additional short hikes, fantastic mountain viewpoints, and waterfalls.

**Distance Hiked:** 18km

**Elevation Gain:** 850 meters

**Elevation Loss:** 850 meters

**Weather:** Cold, windy, rainy in the wet season

**Day 2: WAYRACMACHAY – CHAULLAY – CCOLLPAPAMPA LORETA (HOBBITS’ HOUSE)**

For this day, the support staff will wake you up early, bringing with them a hot drink to help you start the day off right.

Hopefully, upon opening your tent, you’ll see the sunrise over the peaks lifting the glacier clouds, where you’ll have time to pack up and enjoy a good breakfast prepared by your mountain chef.

Around 7 a.m., the day’s hike will begin, approximately for 4 hours downhill until reaching the lunch spot at Ccollpapampa (2,700 m.a.s.l.). On this hike, you’ll start to notice the changing micro-climate of the fauna and flora as we descend. You’ll transition from the cold views of the glacier to the warmer surroundings of the green jungle. You’ll see many different species of orchids as well as ferns, begonia flowers, and hummingbirds.

After lunch and a well-deserved rest, you’ll continue the hike to the next private camping site called Loreta, which is located at 2,400 m.a.s.l. This hike will be approximately 4 hours on variable terrain and downhill. Along the way, you’ll appreciate beautiful waterfalls, rivers, and once again different flora and fauna. Here, you’ll see another tropical forest microclimate, where local people engage in the cultivation of coffee, passion fruit, papayas, oranges, and avocados.

Upon arriving at the campsite, the support staff will give you a warm welcome, and then direct you to the accommodation area. After that, you’ll have time to enjoy a free hot shower, hot tub, and even swim in our pool.

There will also be time for you to walk through our ecological garden and see some of our coffee, avocados, chilies, tomatoes, pineapples, and part of the landscape. Dinner tonight will be at our property overlooking the Salkantay River, which you will have the pleasure of hearing as you fall asleep.

**Distance Hiked:** 18km

**Night Elevation:** 2,400 meters

**Elevation Loss:** 1,400 meters

**Climate:** Warm and hot

**Day 3: LORETA – SAHUAYAKU BEACH – LUCMABAMBA COFFEE FARM – LLACTAPATA (Campsite Facing Machu Picchu)**

After enjoying a delicious breakfast, the most exciting but shortest day of the trek will begin, as this day you will experience the most beautiful places along the route on this trek to Machu Picchu.

You will explore the tropical forest and have a visit to a local organic coffee farm. Here, you will have the opportunity to see some orange and avocado plantations and taste freshly processed coffee varieties.

There will be a brief introduction about the region’s coffee and its importance as the main agricultural product. Afterwards, you will be informed that coffee in this region was introduced after the Spanish conquest, and most of it is exported abroad (North America, Asia, and Europe).

After visiting the coffee farm, you will continue the hike to Llactapata, walking along a section of the Inca Trail for approximately 2.5 hours. On this stretch of the Llactapata Inca Trail, you will see incredible views of the Santa Teresa Valley, and once at Llactapata, you will have the first view of Machu Picchu, including the main archaeological attractions like Mach

u Picchu Mountain and Huayna Picchu Mountain.

You will also have the opportunity to explore the Inca site of Llactapata and take photographs. From here, it will take us an additional 15 minutes downhill to the lunch camping area, owned by a local family that only Alpaca Expeditions has permission to stay at.

You will find that Llactapata is a great place to enjoy the sunset and sunrise over Machu Picchu. After lunch, you will have free time to enjoy the views and relax.

Once again, we will have a moment to share with a hot beverage (coffee or tea), your chef will prepare a delicious dinner, and once the stars come out, you will be able to enjoy the Milky Way and the Inca constellations – just as the Inca astronomers did to predict the weather.

**Distance Hiked:** 12km

**Campsite Elevation:** 2,700 meters

**Elevation Gained:** 400 meters

**Climate:** Warm and humid during the day, cold at night

**Day 4: LLACTAPATA VIEWPOINT – WATERFALLS AT HYDROELECTRIC – MANDOR HIRAM BINGHAM FARM – AGUAS CALIENTES**

Our support staff will wake you up early again, bringing a hot drink to help you start the day. You will have time to prepare for today’s activities and also enjoy your last breakfast prepared by the trekking chef.

The day’s hike will start with a 2-hour descent with views of Machu Picchu, continuing to the Hydroelectric station. The most impressive part of this area is the natural 300-meter-high waterfall, which generates electricity for the Cusco region.

From the Hydroelectric station, you will continue to the famous Intiwatana (sun dial rock). According to history, this Inca stone used to work with the legendary sun dial rock at Machu Picchu during the winter solstice, which marked the beginning of a new planting season for the Incas.

Following the Intiwatana, you will continue along the train tracks for approximately 3 hours, which leads to the town of Aguas Calientes, located at the foot of the Machu Picchu valley. This part of the hike will be interesting as it was the trail used by the American professor, Hiram Bingham, when rediscovering Machu Picchu.

On his way to Machu Picchu, Hiram Bingham met local farmer Melchor Arteaga just beyond his farm. It was there where he told him he was looking for a place and wanted to climb up to the fabulous stone city, as he had been told, hidden among the huge green mountains surrounding his lands, so he managed to convince him to take him to Machu Picchu.

On this stretch, you will see many species of flora and fauna, the national bird called the Cock of the Rocks, toucans, oropendolas, parrots, and orchids. Upon arriving in Aguas Calientes, you will enjoy a delicious lunch.

Then you will go to your hotel to enjoy a hot shower and a visit to the famous hot springs (10 soles, not included), in Aguas Calientes. In the evening, you will enjoy your final dinner with the trekking chef, and bid farewell after several days of companionship.

**Distance:** 14km

**Aguas Calientes Elevation:** 2,000 meters

**Climate:** Hot

**Day 5: AGUAS CALIENTES – MACHU PICCHU – AGUAS CALIENTES – CUSCO**

Today will be the most important day of your excursion, you have to make the most of the day. That’s why it is recommended to have breakfast very early, to be able to get on one of the first buses that will take us to Machu Picchu (starting from 5:30 a.m.).

The hotel will keep your luggage while you are in Machu Picchu, and in this way, you will only be asked to carry a backpack with all the essentials. The bus ride from Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu will take approximately 30 minutes.

Once at Machu Picchu, your guide will take you to a strategic point where you can observe the Inca architecture of Machu Picchu, and then to a well-sought location from where you will observe the sunrise (depending on the weather). There you can take your postcard photo of Machu Picchu.

Then you will start the guided tour through the main sectors of the citadel, for a duration of 2.5 hours. Throughout this guided visit, you will learn more about the history and culture of the Inca Empire.

At the end of the tour, you will have some more free time to continue taking photographs and exploring what you have left to visit, or if you have decided to hike Huayna Picchu* (must be booked in advance, as they sell out and have a cost of $75 per person), your guide will show you where to start this hike, which will not take more than 2 hours round trip.

For your return from Machu Picchu, we recommend that you return to Aguas Calientes no later than 2 hours before your train departure. The return by train from Aguas Calientes to Ollantaytambo will take approximately 2 hours, and in Ollantaytambo, our Alpaca staff will be waiting for you right next to the station exit gate, ready to bring you back to C

usco in our private transportation. The journey to Cusco will take about 2 hours, and we will have you dropped off at the reception of your hotel in Cusco.

Machu Picchu Mountain is also another hike, instead of Huayna Picchu Mountain. This hike is more challenging and takes a minimum of three hours round trip (with an additional cost of USD $75 per person).