Ancascocha Trek 7 days and Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, this spectacular trek is recognized worldwide and we are the only company in the Cusco area that offers this combination of Ancascocha trek and Inca Trail trek. The Ancashcocha Trail in the Peruvian Andes is a spectacular trail that remains off the beaten track. It is listed as one of National Geographic’s 20 Dream Hikes on their list of the World’s Best Hikes. The hike passes through traditional towns such as Chillipahua and its namesake Ancashcocha (3,900 m / 12,795 ft). Along the way, you encounter great passes, including the highest point at Paso Huayanay (4,650 m/15,252 ft), and take in views of the towering (6,266 m / 20.551 ft) Apu Salkantay.
On day 4 of the trek, we join the Classic Inca Trail. The Classic Inca Trail is the most famous trek in South America, perhaps in the world. It is a must-do and one of the highlights of your trip to Peru. It offers amazing hikes along original paved Inca trails and a variety of spectacular Inca ruins along the way.
The stunning scenery is impressive. The trail stretches through altitudes in the valley from 2,680 m (8,792 ft) to mountain passes of 4,215 m (13,825 ft). Finally, crossing the cloud forest to reach the majestic Inca Citadel of Machu Picchu.
The day arrives when we are going to tour Ancascocha trek 7 days & Inca Trail to Machu Picchu.
We leave Cusco early in the morning and drive 1 hour and 45 minutes to Soqma (3,205 m / 10,512 ft). This is the starting point of our walk and where we meet the cyclists who will accompany us during the walk. In addition, our chef will be waiting for us here with a delicious and energizing breakfast.
We start the trek with a 1.5-hour walk to the viewpoint of the Perolniyoc waterfall. This is a perfect photo opportunity and snack. The waterfall that you will see in this place is impressive! Then we will walk another 35 minutes until we visit the Inca site of the same name, where we will take a short tour. This will be our lunch site.
After lunch, we will ascend 45 minutes to our camp at Rayan (3,700 meters / 9,350 feet). At this point we will have a delicious dinner and rest to continue tomorrow our Ancascocha trek 7 days & Inca trail to Machu Picchu.
Our second day begins with a delicious breakfast prepared and served by our chef. We leave the camp, we walk gently for 3 hours, reaching the highest point at the Puka Kasa pass (4,450 m / 14,596 ft).
For most people, this is the most difficult section due to the altitude. However, it is also the most spectacular part of the tour, you will enjoy the snow-capped mountains, as well as a view of the lower landscape of the Sacred Valley.
Reaching the top of the mountain, you will have the feeling of surviving one of the highest mountain ranges. After enjoying all the wonderful and picturesque views, you will continue the trek to Chancachuco, walking for an hour and a half until lunch time.
As we continue our trek, you will appreciate several spectacular snow-capped peaks and one that you will appreciate throughout this trek is the “Verónica” mountain (5,822 m / 19,100 ft),
until you reach the Ancascocha Valley trek. Here you can see small traditional plantations of the inhabitants of the area. After crossing a stream and walking uphill for another 2 hours, you will finally arrive at our camp, on Lake Ancascocha (4,090 m / 13.418).
After a healthy breakfast, we continue our journey during the morning (4 hours approx.) to reach the highest elevation Paso Huayanay (4,650 m / 15,298 ft) enjoying impressive views along the way.
It is suffocating how the Incas managed the difficult terrain to make their constructions. After enjoying the magnificent views and local history, we will hike for 45 minutes to the Inkarakay Valley. where we will have lunch. If we are lucky, we will see condors flying around the Canyon.
After lunch, we will continue walking downhill for 3 hours until we reach the Qesqa community. On the descent, you will observe a variety of views of the “Huayanay” peak. The Qesqa community is located at the tree line.
From Muyu Muyu (3,850 m / 12,628 pies), it is an additional 2-hour descent to our camp next to the beautiful Inca remains of Paucarcancha (3,133 m / 10,276 ft). This camp restores a unique Inca settlement recently attributed as “Tambo”. A Tambo was an Inca structure built for administrative and military purposes.
Today we get up early with coca tea to wake up like every day and then a nutritious breakfast.
The day also arrives when we will say goodbye to our riders and horses, and we will meet our porters to continue our adventure Ancascocha trek 7 days & Inca trail to Machu Picchu.
From Paucarcancha we will walk 25 minutes downhill to the last town of the Classic Inca Trail, Huayllabamba (2866 m / 9400 ft).
At this point, we will have our lunch and we will also meet our porters to cover the rest of the Ancascoha trek, continuing along the famous Inca trail.
This will be followed by a 4-hour uphill hike to Llulluchapampa (3,700 m / 12,136 ft). Along the way, we will walk through many ecosystems, including the cloud forest. Llulluchapampa is our camp for the night. It is very close to the Paso de la Mujer Muerta.
Your porters will wake you up early with a hot cup of coca tea to set you up for the day. Today is the longest day of the Inca trail part and we will start early. We will walk for approximately 2 hours to the highest pass of the Inca trail, the Pass of the Dead Woman (4,215 m / 13,829 ft). Arriving at the pass, we will stop for a short rest to enjoy the views before setting off again to descend into the next valley (Valle de Pacaymayu – Río Oculto).
It’s another hour and a half up the valley side to our lunch spot and a chance to fill up our water bottles. After lunch, we begin to ascend again to the second pass of the trek. There are 2 hours left for the pass and on the way, we will stop at a small Inca site (Runcu Raccay) and we will see two huge waterfalls cascading on the opposite side of the valley. After the second pass, it is another hour’s downhill hike to reach the magnificent Inca site, Sayacmarca (an inaccessible town).
We will stop here to rest and take a tour of the site and then watch the sunset over the Vilcabamba mountain range. Then it’s just another 20 minutes until we stop for the night at our campsite Chaquicocha (Dry Lake, 3,600 m / 11,808 ft). After dinner, we will be able to observe the stars and your guide will point out the fascinating Inca constellations. In the magnificent sky of the Southern Hemisphere, away from all artificial lighting, this sky is something to behold!
After another fantastic breakfast, we will hike for two hours until we reach Phuyupatamarca (3,680 m / 12,073 ft). From this location, we will have amazing views of Aguas Calientes, the Machu Picchu mountain and the Huayna Picchu mountain. We will also have a guided tour of the Inca site of Phuyupatamarca.
Now it’s time to head to the rainforest! We will walk downhill for 2 and a half hours until we reach our camp. During this stretch of the trail, we will visit Inti Pata. Many people feel that the most beautiful photos of the entire Inca Trail can be taken from this location! After Inti Pata, it is another 30 minutes to our camp at Wiñay Wayna (2,680 m / 8,792 ft). When we arrive at the camp we will have lunch.
After relaxing for a short time, we will visit the archaeological site that bears the same name as the camp.
Wiñay Wayna is the largest and most beautiful archaeological site on the Inca trail and means forever young in Quechua. We are one of the few companies that offer a guided tour of Wiñay Wayna.
After dinner, we are going to say goodbye to our cooks and porters who have helped us these days in the adventure of Ancascoha trek 7 days & Inca trail to Machu Picchu.
These 7 days are the only reason you came to Peru. You will have to start well with an energetic breakfast, where we will walk for about an hour through the high jungle until we reach the “Inti Punku” (Puerta del Sol), from here you will get an impressive panoramic view of the Lost City of the Incas Macchu Picchu. Then we will descend to reach your final destination Machu Picchu, where you will have a two-hour guided tour. You will then have the opportunity to explore Machu Picchu on your own.
From Inti Punku it is a 40-minute walk downhill to the citadel of Machu Picchu. We will go to the classic “photo” spot and take photos once we arrive. Then there will be a short rest before starting our tour of Machu Picchu. The tour will last two hours. If you choose to climb Huayna Picchu Mountain (your tickets must be reserved in advance), your hike will begin after the tour, at approximately 10:00 am.
When you finish exploring the extraordinary city of Machu Picchu, you will travel to Aguas Calientes by bus. Then you will take the train from Aguas Calientes to Poroy/Ollantaytambo, where our private van will be waiting to transport you back to your hotel in Cusco. The arrival time in Cusco depends on the time of your train ticket. You will take a unique experience of the 7-day Ancascocha trek & Inca Trail to Machu Picchu.
I did a seven day Ancascocha trek plus Inca Trail to Machu Picchu with 9 friends.
Our tour guides, Efren and Alex, were very knowledgeable about the trail and the ruins we saw along the way. They made the hike so much fun and a great experience!
Also a shout out to the porters and chefs. Our campsites were always ready when we arrived and the food was amazing!
I went on the Ancascocha trail to Inca trail trek with a group of 5 people and we had an amazing time! The team that helped us along the way were incredibly friendly and hard working. The PERU TREK team were very knowledgeable about all the Inca sites. They worked very hard to make sure we were always comfortable at our site. The chefs were amazing providing us with 3 course meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
I traveled to Peru with a friend and we both did the Ancascocha towards the Inca Trail and Machu Picchu with the PERU TREK company. We cannot recommend this highly enough. Alex our tour guide was incredibly knowledgeable about Inca history and even gave us some tips for Cusco afterwards. The trip was difficult, but rewarding and the service we received from Peru Trek was stellar. Despite walking through the mountains and jungle, we had delicious food at every meal. I would not hesitate to recommend this company to anyone interested in doing the Inca Trail.
