Compare Coffee Trails to Machu Picchu (4 days, 3 nights) by Keteka

Day 1: Sacred Valley-Huayro

Meals: Lunch and Dinner

You will depart in the morning for the jungle town of Huayro. The ride will begin with a climb to Abra Malaga (the Malaga Pass), where you will enjoy panoramic views of the Sacred Valley, then slowly descend to the warm, humid “eyebrow of the jungle.” Huayro is an agricultural town that is famous for its tea. You will spend the night there with a local family and learn about tropical fruits, tea, and other plants that grow on the family’s property.

Day 2: Huayro-Lucmabamba

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

After breakfast, you’ll say goodbye to your host family, then continue by van to a small coca farm near the town of Santa Maria. Coca is an economically and culturally important crop throughout the Andes and you will learn about the historical and current importance of coca, its cultivation, and more before continuing on to Santa Teresa for lunch and a soak in the Colcamayo hot springs. In the late afternoon, you will head to Lucmabamba, where you will spend the night on a host family’s coffee farm. Here, you will have a chance to roast and grind your own organic coffee and sample fried yucca and avocado grown on the farm, then relax for a bit before dinner. In the evening, you can enjoy a campfire, or hang out on the porch and look for fireflies.

Day 3: Lucmabamba-Aguas Calientes

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

If you are up for a physical challenge, rise early and hike to the Llactapata ruins for your first views of Machu Picchu.  If not, sleep in a bit and enjoy a later breakfast with your host family. In the late morning, you will depart for the hydroelectric station, to begin the hike into Aguas Calientes. Aguas Calientes is the small town located directly below Machu Picchu, and it will take about 3 hours to arrive there on foot. You will check into your hotel there mid-afternoon, then take the time before dinner to shower, rest up and visit the town`s hot springs (optional).

Day 4: Machu Picchu-Cusco

Meals: Breakfast and Lunch

After an early breakfast, you will take a short bus ride (20 min.) to the Machu Picchu archaeological complex. After an approximately 2.5 hour tour of the ruins with your guide, you will be free to explore on your own and/or climb Huayna Picchu. Other interesting and less visited sites at Machu Picchu include Inti Punku (the Sun Gate), the Inca Bridge, and Machu Picchu Mountain. (Note: Some of these sites, including Huyana Picchu, require additional entries entry fees). After a late lunch, you will board the return train for an evening arrival in Cusco.