Compare Inca Trail Express by Intrepid Travel vs Cusco Adventure by Conde Travel

Day 1 Cusco

Bienvenido! Welcome to Peru. If you arrive early, there is lots to see and do in this beautiful country! Your adventure begins in Cusco with a welcome meeting at 2 pm where you'll meet your trip leader and fellow travellers. After, get acquainted with this charming city and its intriguing blend of cultures on a leader-led walking tour. Check out some of Cusco's main attractions, as well as its lesser-known sights, such as the Qoricancha temple, San Pedro market, the main square, the 12 Angled Stone, Regocijo Square and San Blas Square. Tonight is free to explore at your own pace or find the perfect dinner spot with your group and try some local Peruvian favourites.

Day 2 Ollantaytambo

This morning, drive through the Sacred Valley. Known as Wilcamayo to the Incas, the valley has been a source of livelihood for the locals for hundreds of years. You’ll see maize crops covering the terraced walls and the sacred river beneath. Stop for lunch in a local community, where you'll also get the chance to learn about their traditional lifestyle and maybe wrap your tongue around a few words of the Quechua language. If it’s market day, you'll have time to browse the local handicrafts on offer, such as beads and ponchos. Then, visit the AMA Restaurant in Urubamba for afternoon tea – this café is dedicated to working with single mothers throughout the Sacred Valley, where there are few opportunities for childcare and employment. As all the ingredients used here are grown and purchased locally, the establishment also prides itself on its organic and locally focused practices. Enjoy a coffee, tea or juice with a slice of vegan beet cake or a homemade cookie and continue your journey to Ollantaytambo. Optional, Check out the town’s fascinating archaeological site – ancient remnants of an Inca city with soaring views over the present-day settlement.

Day 3 Inca Trail

Depending on the travel arrangements you made before the trip, during the next four days you’ll be either hiking the Inca Trail (Route 1), hiking the Quarry Trail (Route 2) or staying in Cusco for two days before taking the train to Aguas Calientes (Route 3). All routes visit Machu Picchu. While away from Cusco, the bulk of your luggage will be stored at your hotel. If you’re hiking the Inca Trail or the Quarry Trail, the evening before you leave you'll receive a small duffle bag to carry your clothes in for the next four days (5 kg maximum). Your team of porters will carry these bags for you, together with the food and equipment for the trail. You won't have access to these items until the end of each day, as the porters will always be ahead of the group. If you’re travelling to Aguas Calientes by train, you'll be able to leave most of your luggage at the hotel in Cusco and travel with only a small bag for the overnight stay in Aguas Calientes. Route 1 Inca Trail Today, travel by minivan to the 82 km marker and meet your crew of local porters, your cook and your guide. Your first day will include uphill trekking to the campsite, which sits at 3100 m above sea level. On the way, you’ll see the Inca sites of Ollantaytambo, Huillca Raccay and Llactapata, as well as incredible views of snow-capped Veronica Peak. In the evening, unwind at the campsite with a nourishing meal prepared by your cook. Route 2 Quarry Trail Make an early start today and drive to Choquequilla, a small ceremonial place where Incas worshipped the moon. From here, you’ll head to the small community near Qory Song’o (Golden Heart) hill, where you’ll climb to the top for the incredible views of the Soqma Perolniyoc, Pachar and Huarocondo valleys. There are also several sacred tombs in the area, protected by the locals, which you can explore with your leader and even see some of the original structures crafted from wood and leather. These remains have never been seen by travellers before, so you can be a part of this exclusive experience. Carry on to the Perolniyoc Cascade lookout, where you can stop for some snacks and photos. Arrive at the campsite, 3700 m above sea level, around lunchtime. After, set off to explore the Q'orimarca archaeological site, which once served as a checkpoint to the Incas. Route 3 Cusco: After spending the night in Ollantaytambo, take a short drive to the town of Pisac. Pisac is well known for its market. Here you’ll have the opportunity to shop for souvenirs and perhaps try some local empanadas. Arrive back at Cusco in the afternoon, where your leader will take you to San Pedro Market, where you have the option to buy some local favourites for a picnic tomorrow.

Day 4 Inca Trail

Route 1 Inca Trail This is the most challenging day of the trek, as you ascend a 5-hour long steep path to reach the highest point of the trail. Colloquially known as 'Dead Woman's Pass', Warmiwanusca sits at a height of 4200 m above sea level, providing amazing views of the valley below. The group will then descend to the campsite in the Pacaymayo Valley at 3650 m. Route 2 Quarry Trail This is the most challenging and rewarding day of the hike. A 3-hour walk takes you to the top of the first pass of Puccaqasa, about 4370 m high. After enjoying the picturesque views of the valley, it’s a short walk before stopping for lunch. After, make the 2-hour hike to Kuychicassa, the highest pass of the trek at 4450 m. From here, descend to the sacred site that the Incas called Intipunku. This is a sun gate, where the sun will stream through at particular times of the year and there are views of the Nevado Veronica mountain year-round. The Incas built several sun gates, the most notable overlooking Machu Picchu. Head to the campsite, only a stone’s throw away and at 3600 m. Route 3 Cusco Today, take a taxi to Tambomachay, an archaeological site just outside of Cusco. From here you’ll take a 2 to 3 hours walk back to Cusco. On the way, stop to admire some of the archaeological sites, including Puka Pukara, Quenqo and Saksaywaman. Arrive back in Cusco in the early afternoon and enjoy some free time. Maybe visit the Merida, Mendivil and Olave art galleries and workshops before finding a great spot to sit down and enjoy some dinner.

Day 5 Inca Trail

Route 1 Inca Trail Start the day with a climb through the Pacaymayo Valley to Runkuracay Pass at 3980 m. Enjoy views of the snow-capped mountain of Cordillera Vilcabamba before descending for around 2 to 3 hours to the ruins of Sayacmarca. Continue over the trail’s third pass to the ruins of Phuyupatamarca at 3850 m, also known as the 'Town Above the Clouds'. Start the 2-hour descent down the Inca steps to the final night's campsite by the Winay Wayna archaeological site. Route 2 Quarry Trail Today’s hike will all be downhill. The first stop is the incomplete Kachiqata quarry, where the Incas were intercepted by the Spanish. Explore the cobbled streets of Ollantaytambo when you finish your trek. This is where you’ll meet with the travellers in your group who didn't hike, before taking the short train journey to Aguas Calientes.Spend the night in a hotel before tomorrow’s visit to Machu Picchu. Route 3 Train to Aguas Calientes After a 1.5-hour drive to Ollantaytambo. This is where you’ll meet up with the travellers in your group who hiked the Quarry Trail. You’ll catch a 1.5-hour train through the winding Urubamba Valley to Aguas Calientes. The city is nestled in the cloud forest at the foot of Machu Picchu. Spend the night in a hotel before tomorrow’s visit to Machu Picchu.

Day 6 Cusco

Route 1 Inca Trail This is the final and most spectacular leg of the trek to Machu Picchu – one of the famed Wonders of the World. The day starts before dawn, with breakfast at 4 am. Say farewell to the porters as they descend to the train station and begin hiking. Once the final checkpoint opens at 5 am, you’ll begin the final 2.5 hour trek to Intipunku (the Sun Gate). Weather permitting, you’ll enjoy unforgettable views over the ‘Lost City of the Incas’ as you enter Machu Picchu through the Sun Gate. Route 2 and 3 Machu Picchu to Cusco Take an early bus up to Machu Picchu at 6.00 am. The city was built around 1440 AD as a country retreat for the Incan nobility, but there’s evidence that the land had been a sacred Incan site for much longer. Take a guided tour around the ruins of temples, palaces and living quarters. This is a day to remember! For all travellers, after taking advantage of the seemingly endless photo opportunities, it's time to catch the bus to Aguas Calientes, where you’ll stop for lunch together. From here, take a scenic train ride to Ollantaytambo, then drive back to Cusco, arriving in the evening.

Day 7 Cusco

Your trip comes to an end today, and there are no activities planned. If you’d like to stay longer, just speak to your booking agent. You may want to consider purchasing a Boleto Turistico (tourism ticket) It gains access to the many fascinating museums here, such as the Contemporary Art Museum, Regional History Museum and Qosqo Native Art Museum. Please speak with your tour leader about this for more details.

DAY 1 CITY TOUR

We pick you up from Cusco Airport and bring you to your hotel. Spend the morning at your leisure and get some rest to get acclimatised to the altitude. At 13.10 in the afternoon we will pick you up from your hotel to take the guided city tour of approximately 4 hours. First, we will visit the Cathedral of Cusco, located on the Plaza de Armas. Then our tour will continue to Qorikancha (The Temple of the Sun) and the Convent of Santo Domingo as well as to several of the city’s impressive archaeological ruins such as Sacsaywaman, Qenqo, Pukapukara, and Tambomachay. Afterwards we will return to the city to spend the night in Cusco 

DAY 2 SACRED VALLEY OF THE INCAS

After breakfast you will be picked up from the hotel at 8:30 a.m. to take the guide tour to the Sacred Valley of The Incas where we will see the little town of P’isaq and its typical handicraft market and the plaza. We will continue the journey to Urubamba where we will have an exquisite lunch buffet, then we continue with the tour to get the tourist centre of Ollantaytambo where we are going to see important archaeological remains. Coming back to Cusco by Chincheros, another tourist centre and colonial town. There we will visit the church and plaza. Then we return to Cusco for the night.

DAY 3 SALKANTAY TREK – MOLLEPATA – CRUZPATA – SORAYPAMPA

We pick you up from your hotel at 4:30 am and then we go by bus to Mollepata. As soon as we are at Mollepata, we’ll have breakfast then we start hiking the first 3 hours, a little bit uphill to get Cruzpata where we will have lunch with panoramic views of beautiful snow-capped mountains (Humantay; 4120m/13500ft and Salkantay; 6271m/20575ft) – and this is just the start! We will begin our trek towards Soraypampa. Where the tents will be ready for you as well as your dinner

DAY 4: SORAYPAMPA – CHAULLAY OR COLLPAPAMPA

We start walking after breakfast at about 5:30 am, Today, nature will change drastically from dry sceneries to snowy peaks and tropical areas, this day will be the longest day the first 4 hours is uphill to get highest point of the trail (4650m/15200ft) located halfway between 2 huge mountains; Salkantay on the right and Tucarhuay on the left. From the pass, the views of the 2 snow-capped mountains are incredible. We’ll have lunch and we hike again in the direction of the start of the jungle until we reach our second campsite, Chaullay or Colcapampa (3000m/9800ft) where we’ll have dinner.

Day 5: CHAULLAY – LUCMABAMBA – LLAQTAPATA

After having breakfast around 8 a.m., we will go by bus to Lucmabamba. From there we will walk up to the Llaqtapata ruins in about 2 hours and after a short break we descend for another half hour to the Llaqtapata lodge. We will have lunch at this amazing location with a breath taking view of Machu Picchu and Huayna Picchu and free time for the rest of the afternoon to relax, explore the area or go horse riding. Then we will have a traditional Peruvian dinner and have a good night’s rest to prepare for the following day.More info Llaqtapata click here

DAY 6: LLAQTAPATA – HIDROELECTRICA – AGUAS CALIENTES

The next morning, after a good breakfast we start the descent for about 1.5 hours to the river Ahobamba where the bus awaits us. Those who reserved in advance will do zip lining or go to the hot springs near Santa Teresa. The rest of the group will go to meeting point of Hidroelectrica where the entire group joins for the lunch after the activities. After some relaxing at this spot, we will continue walking along the train track that is leading through this great jungle that the Inca knew by heart to our final destination: Aguas Calientes. We walk for about 3 hours and you will encounter beautiful waterfalls, different Eco farms and possibly wildlife curious of your arrival in the region (arrival set for around 4:00pm). Here the group will spend the night in a hostel. At night we all will get together in a local restaurant to enjoy a great dinner and have a briefing about our next excursion to Machu Picchu. Then you are free to visit the city, which is wonderful after sunset.

DAY 7: MACHUPICCHU FULL DAY

We will enjoy a very early breakfast and start your 1 hour ascent to Machu Picchu on foot or by bus (optional). There you’ll meet your guide at the entrance of Machu Picchu, early enough to appreciate the breath taking sunrise. We will continue with a two hour guided tour of this magical place. After the guided tour there will be free time to explore the site in more detail. To climb the mountain of Machu Picchu you can choose one of the two groups at 07:00 am or 10:00 am. Huayna Picchu is an optional climb that you have to book at least 3 months in advance (please verify with us for availability). This hike will take us about an hour and it’s really worth it; the view is breath taking and the experience will be unforgettable. Enjoy and recharge your energy for a moment before descending. Note: this is an optional hike that has to be reserved at least 3 months in advance. In the afternoon we return to Aguas Calientes where we’ll have lunch. Afterwards we will take the train back to Cusco where you will spend the night in your hotel.

DAY 8 END OF TOUR

Today is the end of your tour. After breakfast in the hotel you will be transferred back to the airport.