Multi Sport Trip

Multi Sport Adventure to Machu Picchu

Days: 6 

Difficulty: Moderate

Highlights: Hike, mountain bike, trek, and whitewater raft your way to Machu Picchu, one of the 7 Wonders of the World.  People often comment to us that they wish they could find an opening on an Inca Trail trek, or that they wish the Inca Trail trek was a little less crowded and ‘touristy’. People also mention that they have a hard time taking much time off work.  Can you get off a Monday to a Friday ?  Well, then we have a life changing trip for you.

This 1 week Machu Picchu trip has a little of everything! See all the highlights we will spend a few days doing some active visits of some of Peru’s most interesting and remote Incan sites by hiking and biking, and then start at the base of an Andean glacier, plunging down on bike over 10,000 feet down to the edge of the Amazon jungle! We will also do South America’s highest canopy zip line, white water rafting, and then top it all off with a visit to Machu Picchu.

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Sunday, Day 1

After flying to Lima from your home the day before, today you will take a short and scenic flight from Lima, over the Andes mountains and into Cusco. After a coffee or coca tea and a short cruise around the city, we will make the 2 hour drive to Ollantaytambo, the living Inca village.  This drive is one of the most scenic we have ever taken and passes by several Incan archaeological sites as well as constant views of the 17,000+ foot glaciers of the Cordillera Urubamba.

We will arrive around 1pm to Ollantaytambo, where after a quick lunch we will throw some mountain bikes on top of our tour van and make a short drive up the valley to an Incan site known as Pumamarca.  After visiting this interesting and beautiful site we will bike downhill all the way back to town and our hotel right at the bottom of the road.

Monday, Day 2

Today we have a full day of activity – mostly mountain biking but also some hiking –  to two different parts of the Sacred Valley. Both of them have lots of beautiful and unique scenery, and we will also see several impressive Incan archaeological sites.

In the morning after breakfast we will get in the tour van and drive for one hour up KB’s personal favorite route to Abra Malaga, sitting at the base of the Veronica glacier at an altitude of well over 14,000 feet.  Here we will start biking back down to town – over 35 miles and all of it downhill, as we descend over 5,000 feet on a newly paved road with minimal traffic, a real joyride !

After going back to town for some lunch, we will set off on the afternoon’s excursion, which is a trip to the famous Salt Mines of Maras and also another Incan site at Moray.  There will be a fair amount of scrambling around on foot at these two sites, and we will also use the mountain bikes to cover the ground between the two, as well as the downhill back to the waiting van at the bottom of the Sacred  Valley.  An amazing day.

Tuesday, Day 3

Now that everyone has acclimatized a bit, its time for a bit more exertion – today we are going to go up to the Incan quarries and then on up to Inti Punku.  Inti Punku is one of the least visited yet most spectacular Incan miradors (look-out site) in all of Peru. It is a long and steep climb to get there, so we will have optional horses for the ascent for anyone who wants them. Either way, you will get a work out today and also see some amazing archaeological and glacial scenery.

Wednesday Day 4

Enough of the icy mountains – today we head to the jungle for fresh coffee and bananas !  To get there, we will return to Abra Malaga (Day 2) only this time we will drop down the other side – on mountain bikes of course. Another road ride, but this one is nearly 10,000 feet of descending !  The scenery and vegetation changes in such a short relative distance are some of the most dramatic in the world, although it is still a full 50 miles of downhill riding.  But that’s not all.

After lunch and some cold beverages, we will take a leisurely raft ride for a few hours down the great Urubamba River, the same one that passes right by Machu Picchu. (We will be rafting just downstream from this World Wonder). Watching the jungle scenery, with some white water rapids along the way, we will float downriver soaking it all in and then drive to our jungle eco-lodge for the night.

Thursday, Day 5

How does zooming above the jungle canopy on South America’s highest zipline sound ?  We’ll spend the morning doing their 6 separate lines zig-zagging above the jungle, before a tasty local lunch and then a peaceful three hour walk through the jungle along the train tracks coming from Machu Picchu and into Aguas Calientes.  A well deserved dinner and maybe even a Pisco Sour will feel awesome and then it will be time to get some sleep for the big day tomorrow.

Friday, Day 6

Machu Picchu:  need we say more ?  Take the bus up as early as you wanted (bus ticket included) and go visit one of the Seven Wonders of the World – on your own or with a guide if you prefer. (guide extra). Then take a late afternoon train to Cusco (train ticket included) and your hotel there for the night in the Imperial City (hotel included).

This will conclude the 6 day tour (though breakfast on Day 7 is included) and the next morning, Saturday, you are free to explore Cusco on your own before heading to the airport for a late evening flight back home in time to get back Sunday afternoon for a few hours of bragging about your trip, while still being able to go back to work the following morning, Monday, if necessary. (You’ll probably have a hard time focusing and getting anything done, though !)

The price for the Machu Picchu MultiSport trip is $1699 per person and includes nearly everything:  Roundtrip transportation from Cusco airport to Ollantaytambo and back; your hotel rooms for all 6 nights; breakfast every day Day 2 to Day 7;  Lunch everyday from Day 2 to Day 5; and Dinner on Day 4. Also included is your guide, all mountain biking and equipment; all rafting and equipment, all the hiking; roundtrip bus ticket to Machu Picchu, train ticket / shuttle from Aguas Calientes back to Cusco.  Not included:  airfare to Lima or Cusco, entrance ticket to Machu Picchu, zipline on Day 5, and any meals not mentioned above, (most dinners and a few lunches), tips, alcoholic beverages, souvenirs, etc.