The Wiñaypoco mountain is located on the Choquequirao route, at 2,680 meters above sea level.
The route to Wiñaypoco follows the Totora river, and then enters a tropical rain forest passing through another small town in Lluscamayo. After a gradual descent into the rain forest, the vegetation changes very rapidly. Upon reaching Collpapampa, our body will appreciate the beneficial natural hot springs and then we will continue to our camp in Wiñaypoco. Then the route continues on the left flank of the Santa Teresa River, where we will see plantations of bananas, granadillas, cocoa, coffee and others. Arriving at Wiñaypoco, a plain of natural pastures.
Choquequirao to Machu Picchu Trek combines the Choquequirao and Machu Picchu routes, with a spectacular and challenging path that crosses the Apúrimac River Canyon, which leads us through little-known archaeological centers and passes, as well as cloud forests located in high mountains. Finally, it connects us with the ancient Inca city of Machu Picchu.
Choquequirao was an Inca city similar in size to Machu Picchu divided into different areas. These parts of the complex seem to have had different uses and are linked to a main square by a series of trails.
This plaza has a ceremonial air and consists of two different levels, you can see the Sun and Earth temples, residences, dormitories for the Mitimaes (workers hired by the Incas) and farmers’ homes.
The most famous routes are: Choquequirao Trek 4 Days or the the Choquequirao Trek 5 Days.
We will pick you up from your accommodation at 6:00 in the morning and travel northwest to the Saywite archaeological center 3,500 masl (11,482 ft) that houses a rock monolith with zoomorphic, phytomorphic, geographical features and human constructions figures, we will have a brief visit and then we will continue in our transport to the town of Cachora 2,900 masl (9,514 ft), we will continue to Punta Carretera, our mobility will transport us here, from now on we will continue walking with our support staff and our mules, we will stop in Capuliyoc 2,885 masl (9,336 ft) to enjoy our lunch and then we will begin the descent to the Chiquisca camp 1,910 masl (6,266 ft), here we will spend the night.
We will start very early with the descent to Playa Rosalina 1,500 masl (4,921 ft) on the Apurimac river, from this point we will begin to ascend arriving at Santa Rosa, a beautiful place with the option of taking the famous “Cambray”, known as an artisanal drink made from from Caña de Azúcar and we will continue ascending to Marampata 2,870 masl (9,416 ft), where we will have our lunch. Later we continue the walk for about 2 hours until we reach the Choquequirao camp area 2,950 masl (9,688 ft), so this day we will camp near this fascinating archaeological site.
This day we visit this great Choquequirao Archaeological Center, which only 40% is free of vegetation and is made up of nine stone architectural groups and a system of 180 platforms, residential, administrative, artisanal houses, irrigation systems, among other buildings built on a stone base.
We will leave the camp early and start the ascent for around 3 hours until we reach the Pinchiunuyoc archaeological site, recently discovered in 1998. This archaeological site is very special because they suddenly appear outside the cloud forest, almost invisible due to the thick layer of mosses and other vegetation that covers them, in this place we will have our lunch, we will continue the descent towards the White River 1,900 masl (6,233 ft), then we start a long and steep climb to our camp in Maizal 3,000 masl (9,842 ft), in the upper part of the river – probably the most beautiful camp on the way, with beautiful views of the valley, trees and snow-capped peaks. Once in Maizal we will set our camp.
We leave our camp in Maizal and begin a long climb to the Victoria pass 4,200 masl (13,779 ft) first we walk through the cloud forest and then on high Andean grasslands, we will have lunch passing this pass, with views of the Choquetakarpo mountain, before we start the descent to Yanama, a small isolated town in the lower part of a very broad valley, surrounded by mountains. Here we set the camp for the night.
This will be the day with the highest demand, we will start with the ascent through the valley to the highest point of the trip, the Yanama pass 4,550 masl (14,927 ft). On the way we will have a good view of the snow-capped Sacsarayoc or Padreyoc and hopefully we will see some condors. As we walk on the pass we can walk in snow. For the descent the road becomes misty and muddy, until we reach the community of Totora 3,600 masl (11,811 ft), where we spend the night.
After a very early breakfast, we begin our seventh day of excursion, this day we will have a long descent until we reach the town of La Playa 2,400 masl (7,874 ft), descending more than 2,000m, this town is one of the largest on the way, here we can find small shops to buy some snacks. In this area we can see small coffee and banana plantations. Then we will continue our walk until we reach Lucmabamba 2,000 masl (6,561 ft), this will be the place of our camp, keep in mind that it will be our last night of camping.
We will start early with the walk, we will ascend to the Inca city of Llactapata 2,700 masl (8,858 ft), from this place we will be able to see the Inca city of Machu Picchu from a different angle, here we will have our lunch, we will continue with the walk descending to the town of Hydroelectric 1,809 masl (5,935 ft), here we will take the train that will take us to the town of Aguas Calientes 2040 masl (6,692 ft) where we will spend the night in a hostel.
We get up early (5:00 a.m.) after breakfast we take the first bus (5:30 a.m.) to Machu Picchu. Once in the Archaeological Park, we will have a guided tour for about 2 hours. Then they will have the rest of the day free to explore the rest of the city. You must be at the train station in Aguas Calientes about 30 minutes before the train departs.
