Join SUP YO for a life changing journey to Cusco, the Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu, and more with their unique retreat offering featuring a shamanic ceremony, on-trail yoga sessions, guided hiking to the sacred sites of this magical land, camping on trail, and so much more.
This retreat is for the outdoor enthusiast, adventure seeker, avid hiker, and explorer. If you love the outdoors, being active, active adventure and traveling, this retreat is for you!
SUP YO include a personal porter, who is responsible for carrying your duffel bag. There is no additional fee for this. You will not have access to your duffel bag until your arrival at your evening campsite each day.
As soon as you walk outside of the airport in Cusco, you will see one of SUP YO Retreats representatives (wearing green) holding a SUP YO Adventures sign waiting to greet you to the city of Cusco and transfer you to your hotel.
At 1 pm, SUP Yo will come back to your hotel to pick you up and begin your tour of the city. During this tour, you will visit the key sights in the city center and Inca archaeological sites within the surrounding area including Cusco Cathedral, the Q’oricancha Museum, Sacsayhuaman, Q’enqo, Puca Pucara and Tambomachay.
To begin, you will head to Cusco’s Plaza de Armas (main square), to visit the famous Cusco Cathedral. Designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the cathedral will awe you with its impressive architecture, extensive collection of original art work and gold-leafing decorated altars.
Continuing on, you will journey on foot through an ancient Inca-built street from the Plaza de Armas to the Q’oricanca or the Temple of the Sun. At the Q’oricancha, you will be able to compare and contrast the building methods of the Incan culture and the Spanish conquerors. This was the key spiritual center of the Incas, leading to all four quarters of the Inca Empire.
From Q’oricancha, you will walk down Avenida El Sol, where you will take a bus for the 25-minute car drive outside the city to visit the most important archaeological sites around Cusco. You will be taken to the majestic Inca site of Sacsayhuaman, with its enigmatic 200-ton monoliths. Here, you will have a guided tour of the site and then free time to explore on your own.
From Sacsayhuaman, you will take a bus ride to the Q’enqo Inca site to see its fascinating Incan altars. Following, you will drive to Puca Pucara, a small Inca site.
The final stop on the tour is Tambomachay, a water temple with impressive water fountains thought to be used by the Inca for bathing. You'll then drive back down to Cusco and end at your hotel.
Your guide will pick you up from your hotel lobby at 8 am and you will begin this morning with a shamanic ceremony welcoming you to Cusco. A shamanic ceremony is also referred to as a “Despacho Ceremony” in Spanish, and is performed to bring in the local Nature Being energies to support you in your time here in Peru.
It is typically performed by an indigenous Andean Shaman / Priest – descendants of the Inca – using coca leaves, flowers, and other items to weave together a beautiful mandala which is then gifted to Pachamama (Mother Earth) and the Apus (Mountain Spirits).
This shamanic ceremony will help to immerse you into into the local traditions and energies of this ancient Peruvian land. Prior to the ceremony, a native English translator who is well versed in the local cultural anthropology will share with you the symbology that is commonly used, but not always understood by Westerners.
You will see these symbols throughout your time here, and understanding a bit of the Andean cosmology will give much deeper meaning and understanding to all that you are seeing in the stonework and art of the Inka Empire.
After the ceremony, you will drive towards the ruins of Pisac. Here, you will witness and learn about Inca culture. You will see amazing works of stone art and impressive agricultural terraces.
After exploring, you will drive back to the lower town of Pisac to stop at a bustling handicraft market. After you spend some time walking around the market bargain hunting, you will meet for lunch at a local Andean restaurant. After lunch, you will drive along the Urubamba River towards the town of Ollantaytambo.
In Ollantaytambo, you will visit the ruins, an important area of Incan construction, built during the Inca’s heydays. This is an extraordinary Inca site because you can find rock formations representing the Inca god, Wiracocha.
Upon your return to Cusco, you will gather for a trekking briefing with everyone and enjoy a good night sleep – you will need all the sleep you can get on this evening.
Alpaca Expeditions will pick you up from your hotel very early at 4:30 am. You will then drive to km 82, arriving at about 7:00 am. After a delicious breakfast prepared by your cook, you'll go through the first Inca Trail checkpoint to begin the trek (please make sure you have your original passport with you to enter the Inca Trail).
The first 2 hours of the trek are relatively easy as you make your way to your first Inca site, Patallacta which is an ancient Inca checkpoint for the approach to Machu Picchu. From Patallacta, you trek for another 2 hours to your lunch stop. After lunch, you will hike for another 2 plus hours until you reach the first night’s campsite at Ayapata (10,826′).
On this last stretch, you pass through 2 small communities. If you want to buy any energy drinks or snacks you can do so here, you can also buy any essential items such as batteries or toiletries that you may have forgotten. You'll arrive to your campsite by 5:00 pm where you can settle in, relax, enjoy a yoga stretch, and have a hot drink and snack with your team of porters, chef, and guide.
At 7:30 pm, you will sit down for dinner. Following dinner, you will get some well-deserved rest for another big day on the horizon tomorrow.
Your porters will wake you up early with a hot cup of coca tea to get you ready for the day. Today is your longest day and you will start early! You'll hike for roughly 4 hours to the highest pass of the trek, Dead Woman’s Pass (13,829 feet). On reaching the pass, you'll stop for a short break to enjoy the views before setting off again to descend to the next valley (Pacaymayu Valley – Hidden River).
It’s another hour and a half down the side of the valley to your lunch spot and a chance to refill your water bottles. After lunch, you begin ascending again to the second pass of the trek. It's 2 hours to the pass and along the way, you'll stop at a small Inca site (Runcu Raccay) and see two huge waterfalls cascading down the opposite side of the valley.
After the second pass, it’s another hour downhill hike to reach the magnificent Inca site, Sayacmarca (an otherwise inaccessible village).You'll stop here for a rest and have a quick tour of the site and then watch the sunset over the Vilcabamba mountain range. It’s then just another 20 minutes until you stop for the night at the second campsite Chaquicocha (Dry Lake, 3600 meters).
After dinner, if you’re not too exhausted, you can do some star gazing and SUP YO will point out the fascinating Inca constellations. In the magnificent Southern Hemisphere sky, away from all the artificial lighting, this sky is something to behold!
Completing day 2 and beginning day 3 certainly deserves a pat on the back! You begin early again, waking up at 6:30 am to begin what is commonly felt to be the most beautiful day of the whole Inca Trail. You hike for 2 hours along what is called “Inca flat” (gradual inclines) and begin to enter the jungle, known as the Cloud Forest.
As you walk, you will have the opportunity to see the majesty of Salkantay, the second highest snow-capped mountain in the Sacred Valley, and a fantastic panoramic view of the Vilcabamba mountain range. Towards the end of the Inca flats, you begin to make your way up to the last peak at Phuyupatamarka (3600 meters) from where you'll have great views overlooking the Urubamba River.
Down the valley, you get your first views of Machu Picchu Mountain but the site itself is still hidden from view. From Phuyupatamarka, it's a 3-hour walk down a flight of steps to your last campsite, close to Wiñay Wayna (Forever Young).
Wiñay Wayna is the most spectacular Inca site on the trail after Machu Picchu and the most popular campsite because of its proximity to Machu Picchu. During the descent, you visit 2 Inca ruins, Phuyupatamarka (Town in the Clouds) and Intipata (Terraces of the Sun). You arrive at your campsite around 1:00 pm to have lunch and then relax for the entire afternoon so that you’re relaxed and ready for your final day at Machu Picchu.
At around 4:30 pm, your guide will give you a short orientation and you will visit the Inca ruins of Wiñay Wayna, spending about an hour and a half there. They will explain the significance of the site and combine all the information given during the trek so you’re fully prepared for your visit to Machu Picchu the following day.
SUP YO like to spoil their guests as you enjoy your last feast with the porters and chefs. It’s an Inca Trail tradition to organize a ceremony in the evening to introduce the team to the tourists once again and to thank them for the great job done (if you wish to provide tips for them then you can do so at this time).
It is advisable to go to bed at a reasonable time in order to get up in the early hours of the morning to arrive to Machu Picchu at the crack of dawn in the hopes that the weather will give you a beautiful sunrise over the ruins at Machu Picchu.
Wake up time is at 3:30 am. You'll eat breakfast at 4:00 am and wait at the checkpoint to be one of the first to start trekking when they open the gates at 5:30 am. You'll wave goodbye to your team of porters and chef and then it’s “Forward On” to the Sun Gate (Inti Punku). From here, you have spectacular views of the mountains and Machu Picchu in all its glory. You reach the Sun Gate by 6:30 am and then it’s just an hour trek downstairs to reach the Lost City of the Incas.
As you approach Machu Picchu, the views of the city just get better and better! At about 7:40 am, you'll reach the final checkpoint and enter Machu Picchu to begin your 2 hour private guided tour. After the tour, you’ll be given your bus tickets to make your way down to Aguas Calientes and you’ll have plenty of free time to explore on your own or climb one of the neighboring mountain – Huaynapicchu (must be pre booked at time of retreat reservation).
Your guide will offer to meet you down in the village of Aguas Calientes to enjoy your last lunch in a local restaurant. Your vistadome train will depart around 3:20 arriving to Poroy train station. From the train station to bring you back to your hotel in Cusco, where you will arrive around 7:30 pm to sleep in a real bed.
Today you have the option of having a free day to enjoy Cusco, an amazing city with lots of markets and interesting neighborhoods. Or, if you are up for more hiking, join SUP YO for the hike to the beautiful and unique Rainbow Mountain. Pickup will be about 5 am for the 3.5 hour drive to the trail head. It is a 3.5 hour hike to the mysteriously colorful striped mountain and and back and then you will head back to Cusco for the night.
Say your goodbyes to new friends and depart for the airport in your private transfer back home.
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Highlights:-
The Alpaca Expeditions chefs cook delicious meals on trail that previous trekkers rave about, as will you! SUP YO honor all food restrictions. Be sure to remind your tour guide of any food restrictions at the beginning of your trek.
Food is typically served family-style. You will enjoy breakfast, lunch, and dinner each day of the trek, along with a happy hour of tea and snacks. You will also be provided a snack each morning for you to enjoy along the hike. Your last meal with your chef will be after breakfast on day four. Lunch the last day is not included and you may purchase lunch in the town of Auguas Calientes.
Beginning from your first lunch until your last breakfast, Alpaca Expeditions will supply all the water needed. This water will be boiled, filtered, and then cooled, before distributing. You must supply your own water bottles or Camelbak bladder. SUP YO recommends carrying about 3 liters worth. SUP YO will refill your waters at each meal.
Enjoy breakfast each day during your hotel stay. On trail, breakfast is prepared every morning with fresh local ingredients. Enjoy eating at base camp before you begin your active adventure. All in all, there will be 7 breakfasts, 3 lunches, and 5 dinners included in the package.
The following meals are included:
