Highlight:

Huchuy Qosqo, amazing mountain scenery, High Mountain passes, quieter trails, local villages, Sacred Valley

Begin from: Cusco

End in: Cusco

Duration: Full Day

Physical Rating: Moderate/Challenging

Activities: Hike, Cultural Tour

A fabulous Hike to explore the Rarely visited Inca ruins at Huchu Cusco: 

A fantastic trek combining an old Inca road, big views, local farming techniques and a chance to visit or even camp besides some rarely visited Inca Ruins. We start by driving high above Cusco and the outlying town of Corao. At 4200m the end of the road and Lake Qoricocha, we leave the vehicles behind and slowly contour around to 4,300m and some ancient Inca platforms on the col in the hillside. These are believed to mark the boundary and entrance to the Huchuy Cusco Inca Estate.

Detailed Itinerary

Pick up at your Hotel at 07:00; we start by driving high above Cusco and the outlying town of Corao. At 4000m we reach the end of the road above Lake Qoricocha. Here, we leave the vehicles behind and slowly contour around to 4200m and some ancient Inca platforms (“Apachetas”) at the pass. These are believed to mark the boundary and entrance to the Huchuy Cusco Inca Estate.

The rest of the day’s trek follows a well preserved ancient Inca trail and is flat or downhill, past herds of llamas and alpacas, the rustic village and church of Pucamarca, an Inca bridge through a narrow canyon and emerging high above the spectacular Sacred Valley of the Incas. This is a perfect view spot to enjoy our picnic lunch or snack-pack.

A contour on the high ride brings us to the entrance gates of Huchuy Cusco and the extensive ruins themselves. Little is known about this mysterious site, ‘little Cusco’ as it translates in Quechua may have been the country retreat of one of the first Incas. Its three-storey high storage houses, extensively trapezoid-niche walls, large main central square, three meters high terracing walls and its hidden location above the Sacred Valley make this gem a real pleasure to explore.

The descent to Lamay is on a steep donkey trail down a ridge in the large cliffs and finally at the river Urubamba we meet our vehicle for the drive back to Cusco. A slightly longer but less steep hike is also available to the town of Calca adding an extra hour to the total trekking time.