Inca Trail Jungle Trek

A more varied alternative to the classical Inca Trail, the new Inca Trail Jungle trek is the most original and exclusive, following paths only recently discovered. It is suitable for anyone with a sense of adventure, curiosity, a little spare energy and no visible signs of vertigo! The Tropical Inca Trail is a new route offered exclusively by PIE which involves biking, walking and just being. Our multiple-terrain trip includes authentic, recently discovered Inca paths visited only by our clients, archaeological ruins, and an 80km downhill bike-ride through the mountains from Abra Malaga (Malaga Pass) to the green valleys below and the jungle base of Santa Maria. It ends with a dawn view of the valleys below from Machu Picchu

Trip Duration: 4 days and 3 night
Grade Adventure Touring: Moderate
Activities Biking, Trekking, Day Tour
Accomodation Homestays, Hostel

Itinerary

Day 1 Bike from Malaga Pass to Santa Maria, stopping at Huamanmarca archeological complex.
Day 2 Trek original Inca trails through the cloudforest to the Santa Teresa Hot Springs
Day 3 Hike exclusive Inca trail Llactapata's peak for an overhead view of Machu Picchu, train to Aguas Calientes
Day 4 Tour of the Lost Citadel of Machu Picchu, return to Cusco

DAY 01: Cusco to Santa Maria

Adventurers will be picked up early morning and driven through the stunning cradle of Incan civilization, the Sacred Valley, before being dropped off at the Abra Malaga (Malaga Pass, 4,316m high). Here, bikers will receive a 20 minute briefing by our experienced tour guide before donning gloves and helmets (provided by us). Then the fun commences…freewheeling down quiet but challenging roads, past changing landscapes and ice-capped mountains; you won't want to catch your breath until the first pit stop in Alfamayo three hours later. We'll enjoy our box lunches while taking in the endless panoramas. After a quick change and a dab of insect repellant, it is onwards and downwards towards the recently-discovered alcheological site of Huamanmarca (falcon place), whose attributes include an usnu, or ritual platform, and a precinct with four double jamb doorways facing the four cardinal points. We'll continue the descent to 1500 meters, where jungle´s edge rears up and the small but charming town of Santa Maria looms on the horizon. There'll be time to browse the Internet, buy provisions or just rest your legs and enjoy a cold beer before dinner- traditional Peruvian food, served hot. You can have a hot shower at a family-run hostel and sleep in either single, double or triple bed rooms.

DAY 02: Santa Maria to Santa Teresa-Inca Trail

Rise at 5.30am, shake off your weary limbs and enjoy the finest indigenous coffee prepared by your host for our 6am breakfast. Under dawn skies you we will begin our walk, which gets progressively steeper, until arriving at a welcoming family restaurant in Santa Rosa, where you can relax in hammocks, admiring the coca plantations and take on refreshments while being entertained by the family monkey. After a short while you will reach the authentic Inca Trail, which winds around precipitous slopes and sheer drops for approximately half a mile. (Be warned this is not for people who suffer from vertigo!) The descent continues for just over two hours until our stop at the tiny village of Qellomayo for lunch within the cloudforest. Make sure you have saved enough energy for the final stretch, a riverside walk beside the Rio Vilcanota until reaching the delicious Colcamayo hot springs. Rejuvenate in the heavenly hot waters and forget your weary wake in these natural settings. Fully replenished, you will find the final stretch to Santa Teresa a cinch. You'll sleep well in the family homestead after dinner.

DAY 03: Santa Teresa to Aguas Calientes- Inca Trail

Wake at 7am, have breakfast before taking private transport to Lucmabamba town, the entrance to another Inca Trail discovered just a few years ago. We are the only tour company to walk this part of the Inca Trail, so for three and a half hours you will feel like Adam and Eve walking amidst parrots in this tranquil Garden of Eden. You will be rewarded for your efforts with a view of Machu Picchu from the top of Llactapata, flanked by the grotesque peak of Salkantay. Your picnic here is unlikely to be forgotten, gazing down on all those tourists who took the traditional Inca route because they did not know! It is only about a two hour walk down to the hydro-electric train station where the train departs for Aguas Calientes, the base town for Machu Picchu. Included is dinner at a local restaurant before retiring to your hostel with hot water and private bathrooms.

DAY 04: Machu Picchu to Cusco

An early rise today, as you will take the first bus to Machu Picchu at 5.30am, reaching Machu Picchu at 6am, which with luck will coincide with a beautiful sunrise! Your guide will leave no stones unturned but feel free to challenge their knowledge of Incan history. Afterwards you have free time to dally with the llamas and show off your photography skills. Those who still have the will can tackle Huaynapicchu (young peak), ascending an extra 360 m to the top, which was once the residence for the High Priest and Virgins and looks down on Machu Picchu. A frequent bus service takes visitors back to Aguas Calientes, where you will catch the train to Hidroelectrica or Ollantaytambo and then the bus to Cusco.
 

INCLUDED:

• Transport from Cusco to Abra Malaga
• Professional, bilingual guide
• Mountain bike with front suspension, gloves and helmet
• Meals- from lunch on the first day through breakfast on the last day
• Accommodation (includes homestays with hot water)
• Transport Santa Teresa - Lucmabamba
• Hostal in Aguas Calientes, last night
• First Aid kit
• Bus service from Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu
• Entrance to Machu Picchu
• Train back to aguas calientes or Ollantaytambo and then bus to Cusco.

NOT INCLUDED:

• Final lunch in Aguas Calientes
• Hot springs in Santa Teresa
• Bus down from Machu Picchu to Aguas Calientes US$7.00
• Train from Hidroelectrica to Aguas Calientes

WHAT YOU NEED TO BRING ON THE INKA JUNGLE TREK:

• Original passport and copies (and Student Card [ISIC]/green card if you are student, as you will be required to show it at the Machu Picchu control point)
• Travel Insurance card is essential
• Sleeping bag (this can be rented from us)
• Hiking water proof boots (with ankle protectors )
• Waterproof jacket or rain poncho
• Warm jacket
• Sun hat and gloves
• T-shirts/ shirts
• Comfortable hiking zip-off trousers
• Rain pants
• Bathing suit (for hot springs in Santa Teresa and Aguas Calientes)
• Sun protection cream (35 spf recommended )
• Insect Repellent (for mosquitos), 15% deet at least
• Water bottle
• Water purifying tablets (Micropur recommended)
• Toilet paper and wet wipes
• Personal medication
• Camera and films
• Flashlight with spare batteries (we recommend headlights)
• Emergency money (preferably in soles)
• Extra contribution money for tipping horseman, cook or guide
• Tips: Please note that agency staff is well-paid so tipping is strictly optional.

OPTIONAL ITEMS:

• Shorts, plaster and bandages
• Walking poles with rubber tips (these can be rented from us)

NOTE: Walking poles are not allowed into Machu Picchu City.

AVAILABLE (BOOK HERE)

 PRICE PER PERSON

LOOK  AT THE MAP OF THE INKA JUNGLE ROUTE