Cusco, Machu Picchu and climbing Ausangate in 16 days

Urubamba Province – Peru

Elevation:

(20,944ft/6.384m)

Difficulty

Intermediate/Advanced

Duration

16 days

Itinerary

We will pick you up at the airport; even if you arrive early in the morning, we will rest the day in Cusco, because it is very high, your body needs to adapt slowly to the altitude (-/-/-)
After our breakfast we will drive for about 1.5 hours to Ollantaytambo, where we will take the train and drive for another 2.5 hours to Aguas Calientes. We will check into a hotel and relax before our day at the Ruins. We will hang around in this very interesting subtropical town, built some 600m lower than the Machu Picchu complex. We will have the chance to visit and swim in the small complex of Aguas Calientes hot springs in the upper part of town (B/-/-)
We will wake up very early in the morning in order to avoid crowds and drive up by bus to Machu Picchu, which takes us 40 minutes. Our group will get a tour of the archeological complex and then you will have time to explore in the afternoon at your own pleasure. In the afternoon or evening we will go by train to Ollantaytambo, 2.5 hours, and then by shuttle transport to our hotel in Cusco 1.5 hours (B/-/-)
After breakfast we will start at the Museum of the Koricancha in Cusco on Avenida del Sol. Then we take our transport up to the archeological sites above the city. We will see Puka Pukara, Tambomachay, Qenko and Sacsayhuaman, spending an hour or two at each site. On the way back down to the city we will stop at the “Cristo Blanco” statue that overlooks the city. The tour includes these places; however, there are other museums in the city we can visit, like: – Museo de Arte y Monasterio de Santa Catalina – Museo Municipal de Arte Contemporaneo – Museo Historico Regional – Museo de Arte Popular – Centro Qosqo de Arte Nativo (Danzas Folkloricas) – Monumento a Pachacuteq Today will be a full day city tour of 7-8 hours (B/-/-)
We will start early in the morning because today is going to be a longer day, 8-9 hours, and we take our private transport from Cusco to Pisac about 1 hour away. Here we will take a few hours to explore the citadel fortress of Pisac above the Urubamba River. Then we go to Urubamba for lunch. In the afternoon we will go to Ollantaytambo and explore the archeological complex for a few hours. On the way back, we will stop at Chincheros to see the old church and Inca terraces. If you want to buy some weavings/textiles, the locals here are known for their handicrafts. We will stay in a traditional indigenous house, where we have the chance to share a meal with the locals and experience a touch of indigenous daily life. Besides, we might have a chance to taste traditional food, like: roasted corn, chicha morada (typical sweet pink beverage made of corn), coca tea, and even guinea pig (B/-/-)
We will spend the morning in the Chincheros area, do some small walks in the area and in the afternoon we will be transferred to our hotel in Cusco in order to organize the last details for our climb, like: climbing equipment, food, etc. (B/-/-)
We leave Cusco in in the morning via private transportation and arrive at the small village of Tinqui (12,467ft/3.800m) by an asphalt road. This will take us around 3 hours. We will have lunch here and after continue driving for another hour until getting to the herding community of Pacchanta where we will camp at a local house close to geothermal baths. We will do a small, 2-3 hours hike around this area and by late afternoon enjoy the hot springs with amazing views of Ausangate. (B/-/D)
We will start our trek to base camp early in the morning. Our arriero will take care of the horses carrying our equipment. The trail (9km) passes by several beautiful green-blue lagoons at the foot of Nevado Ausangate. We will be able to see its enormous north face close up. Other mountains like Puka Punta, Caracol, Jampa, Mariposa are also visible from very close; we will arrive at base camp in Jampa (16,076ft/4.900m) after 5-6 hour of trekking. We will spend our night here in tents (B/-/D)
We will wake up very early in the morning and leave the tents an hour later, arriving at the summit within about 5-6 hours. We can enjoy the views for an hour or so, before returning to the Jampa pass where we will have a snack. The mountain is not very steep, the challenge might be the altitude, otherwise it is long hike on sandy and rocky sections at the beginning and then moderate glacier slopes the rest of the climb up to the summit. This is just the right mountain to get used to the altitude and prepare for the next bigger one (Ausangate). We will go down even lower to a different side of the mountain to Suyrucochapampa Camp (14,764ft/4.500m), which will take us 3-4 hours. Overnight in tents (B/-/D)
Today we will need to walk for only about 3 hours to the base camp of Ausangate; basically it will be a rest day for the next coming challenge. Overnight in tents (B/-/D)
After breakfast we will go up the 700m to Moraine Camp, The hike should take us only 4-5 hours, which gives us plenty of time to rest, hydrate and check our gear before the climb. The route today will be easy walking up the first section, then some rocky terrain where we might have to use our hands for support and depending on the season, we can even get some snow fields before the “Moraine Camp”, which means crampons would be needed. Overnight in tents (B/-/D)
We wake up at around midnight and leave the tents by 1am. After traversing crevasses we arrive at a 200m wall with 60-70 degrees. After the wall, a glacier hike in deeper snow for about 5 hours will bring us to the summit. We descend the same route and rappel the 200m wall. At Moraine Camp we rest, pack up and then go down to Base Camp to spend the night. This day is quite long, the climb to the summit takes about 9 hours, depending on conditions and the team speed. To get down will take another 5 hours to Moraine Camp and a further 3 hours to Base Camp. If it is necessary, we will stay one more night at the Moraine Camp (B/-/D)
We return to Pacchanta by walking 22km in about 7-8 hrs. We will eat lunch close to the Jampa pass. Here we will stay by the thermal baths camping at a local house (B/-/D)
We will use this day in case of bad weather or any other issues; otherwise we will spend our last day either in Cusco or Pacchanta community at the hot springs (B/-/D)
After breakfast we will drive in a private bus back to our hotel in Cusco, a 4 hour ride (B/-/-)
Transfer from the hotel to the airport (B/-/-)

Price: Please contact us

Private land transportation and transfers
Guides (cultural, trekking and mountain guide/s)
Horses, porters (Trekking and climbing)
Accommodations in hotels category tourist class, typical indigenous hose in Chincheros (double room), and tents for the trekking and climbing
American breakfast in the Hotels
All meals during the hikes and climbs (shown above with B: breakfast and D: dinner)
Entrance fees (National Parks, Machu Picchu, fees while the city tour and all other needed fees)
All the camping logistics, tents, kitchen utensils, etc.
International & national flight tickets
Meals in hotels (lunch, dinner)
Single supplement
Personal climbing equipment
Insurance of any kind
Tips
Other non-specified expenses

Ausangate - Peru