“What’s the altitude of this hike?” I asked breathlessly as I walked along the mountain road, seemingly far away from the top of the mountain.
“12,0000 feet,” our guide Efrain said happily along with the others. amazon explorer The office glides along the path. “But it will flatten out soon!” he added, as a bit of encouragement.
I’m very skeptical.
When I first contacted Amazon My Machu Picchu HikeI asked them to choose a less traveled route that could be completed in one day. After all, the Sacred Valley has lots and lots to offer. The Incas built more than 40,000 kilometers of roads throughout their empire, many of which have become hiking trails.
The full-day hike we chose is smaller than the others and will take us to an archaeological site called Huchuy Qosqo (“Little Cusco” in Quechua). Starting in the small village of Taoka, an hour outside of Cusco, it climbs over several mountain ranges, passes through abandoned villages and delightful canyons full of Inca ruins, winds over mountain ridges, and then reaches our final destination: Huchuy Qosqo.
Starting from the village, we walked straight to the first waypoint. We were at the highest altitude I had ever reached in my life (higher than Machu Picchu), and despite having been in the area for a week, I felt like I needed frequent breaks as I huffed and puffed my way up the mountain. Thankfully, the sky was overcast, blocking out the sun, and the breeze was gentle, keeping me cool.
But frequent stops only make it easier for me to appreciate the scenery around me. The higher we went, the better we could see the land below and the surrounding mountains. Not much vegetation grows at this altitude, and the barren, arid landscape reminds me of the plains of Wyoming and Hiking in Tongariro, New Zealand. Rugged mountains stretch as far as the eye can see, with villages and farms at their feet.
“The lake in front of the town is part of a hydroelectric dam,” Everlein said. “Most people here are farmers, mainly for the local market and potatoes. The larger farms that export food purchased in the United States are located elsewhere in the valley.”
After the first trail marker (which was really just a telephone pole marking our first stop), the trail leveled off a bit and I had an in-depth conversation about food with Patrice, one of the Amazon employees. She had lived in the US so we discussed the quality of food in the US Peru Compared to the United States. (She finds Peruvian food better because it’s less processed. It’s hard to disagree.)
“Everything you call a superfood and spend a lot of money on, we call it food. We’ve been eating it since the Inca days.”
As we passed through this arid land, the mountains became more rugged, although the trails looked like the remnants of a canyon. The road begins to slope down gently, and trees and flowers begin to appear, along with ancient Inca walls and the foundations of long-gone buildings. Soon we came across an almost abandoned village consisting of crumbling mud structures and collapsed straw roofs.
Villages like this are common in the area, where people live a self-sufficient lifestyle. But as young people move to cities, they die off and most buildings are in a state of disrepair. Efrain said there are only a few families left in the community. The only people we saw the whole time were two women in traditional clothes herding some goats.
At the end of the village we came across what Efrain said was an ancient Inca guardhouse, where we stopped for lunch near a small waterfall and watched the female goats graze in front of us while we all enjoyed our separate meals.
After our meal we had a lively discussion about Westerners coming to Peru for Ayahuasca ceremonies and how they don’t always engage with the spiritual essence but just want to get high. We continued through the ancient Inca gates leading to the last part of our hike to Huchuy Cusco.
“This could have been a military guardhouse,” Efrain explained as we walked through it and down a set of steps into the canyon. “Structures like this were used to protect the people within the canyon and to keep track of their numbers to ensure they had enough food for everyone. The Incas were great counters and conducted detailed censuses to ensure food supplies.”
I couldn’t help but be ecstatic as we drove along the trail and the creek that originates from the waterfall at our lunch spot. This was the best day of my entire trip to Peru. While Machu Picchu and the hike there are very special, this one felt even more special. The scenery was spectacular, I got to see village life and traditional clothing, and the fact that we were the only ones on the trail made this hike feel extra special.
Efraín pointed out ancient Inca stone terraces as we made our way down the path, which eventually widened and allowed us to see the start of the Sacred Valley – which surprised me, as I hadn’t noticed the sudden steep drop off of the “canyon” we were walking through. Although I thought we were slowly descending to the base of the mountain, we were still thousands of feet above the valley floor!
After looking out over the valley, we continue through the Inca terraces lining the mountain walls towards Huchuy Qosqo. I’m always amazed at how they transformed this place, adding underground watering paths, an irrigation system and stairs to move between patios. The food grown here feeds the surrounding region as well as Huchuy Cusco.
We entered the ruined city through an ancient gate. Little is known about Huchuy Qosqo, but according to the records we have, it was the home of the Inca ruler Viracocha, who was exiled here after his youngest son, Pachacuti, defeated the people who rebelled against his father.
After the battle, Pachacuti proclaimed himself king, and his father spent his final days at Huchuy Qosqo, one of the last settlements built with stone walls covered in earth (Pachacuti decided to start building the famous stone-walled Inca buildings we are familiar with today). After the collapse of the Inca Empire, it was eventually raided and used by the Spanish, who destroyed most of the buildings in 1534.
Like everyone else on this trail, we were the only ones on site besides the guards. We didn’t stay long as the place wasn’t as impressive as the trip there and I was tired and ready to return to Cusco.
We gathered the other hikers and began our descent, which took me to my knees through a series of steep switchbacks to climb to the bottom of the canyon, where the driver met us.
“What an incredible hike!” I exclaimed on the way back.
A huge smile appeared on my face as I stared out the window at the passing villages. This hike was my favorite experience Peru And, with only two days left in the country, I was happy to leave and felt like I got to do something so special.
How to hike to Huchuy Qosqo
You can go with a guide or go on your own, but I wouldn’t recommend the latter. While you can easily take a taxi from Cusco to the starting point and take a bus back at the end, the trail is difficult to find (sometimes, especially at the beginning, it disappears) and there are no signs anywhere. Even at Huchuy Qosqo, there are no signs describing what you are seeing, the landscape, or the history of the site. If you need any background information, you’ll need a guide. Like Machu Picchu, I went amazon explorer.
notes: Be sure to wear sunscreen! I came back to the hotel burned all over. The lobster wasn’t even as red as mine. Due to the rainy weather I forgot to put on sunscreen and couldn’t feel the sun, but at this altitude the UV rays are very strong and I paid the price. Don’t be like me!
Booking a trip to Peru: Logistical tips and tricks
Book a flight
use Skyscanner Find cheap flights. They are my favorite search engine because they search websites and airlines all over the world so you always know no stone is left unturned.
Book accommodation
You can book a hostel via hostel world Because they have the largest inventory and the best prices. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hotel, use Booking.com Because they always provide guesthouses and budget hotels at the cheapest prices.
If you are looking for hotels in Cusco, This is my favorite list.
Don’t forget travel insurance
Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft and cancellation. It provides complete protection in case any issues arise. I never travel without it as I have used it many times in the past. My favorite companies that provide the best service and value are:
Looking for the best company to save you money?
look at mine Resource page Providing you with the best companies to use when traveling. I’ve listed all the ways I use to save money while traveling. They also save you money when you travel.
Want to learn more about Peru?
Be sure to visit my A Powerful Destination Guide to Peru Learn more planning tips!