Huchuy Qosqo means little Cusco in Quechua. It is an Incan ruin perched on a hilltop overlooking the Sacred Valley of Incas. This was a royal estate of the eighth emperor of the Inca empire, Viracocha.
Unlike Salkantay Trek or Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, Huchuy Qosqo Peru Trek to Machu Picchu is not as popular. Huchuy Qosqo Trek to Machu Picchu offers an off the beaten track experience. This is the shortest trek to Machu Picchu.
Huchuy Qosqo means little Cusco in Quechua. It is an Incan ruin perched on a hilltop overlooking the Sacred Valley of Incas. This was a royal estate of the eighth emperor of the Inca empire, Viracocha.
The Incas did not impose a tax system, instead, they controlled the land and labor. This allowed the Incan emperors to obtain a large amount of wealth and power which was inherited by their descendants.
Later during Viracocha’s rule, he faced a revolt from the Chanca people. He took refuge in Huchuy Qosqo and handed over the throne of the Cusco region to his son, Pachacuti. Pachacuti in turn dethroned his father and took over his throne.
On his death, Viracocha’s mummified corpse was stored in Huchuy Qosqo. When the Spanish troops led by Gonzalo Pizarro looted the site, they burnt the mummy of Viracocha.
Huchuy Qosqo Peru Trek
Huchuy Qosqo Peru Trek is one of the most beautiful treks. On this three-day trek, you will be able to see the beauty of the Andean landscapes. You will also get an insight into the life and culture of the Andean community.
This is a high-altitude trek. It is highly recommended to spend at least 4 days in Cusco City before the trek to avoid altitude sickness. The highest point of the trek is at 4100 meters above sea level.
Huchuy Qosqo is a part of the Peruvian Andes. It is subject to two seasons, dry season and rainy season. Since most of the trek is through dirt roads, it could get slippery during the monsoon.
We offer this experience both as a private tour or as a small group tour.
Here’s a detailed introduction to Huchuy Qosqo Trek Peru.
At 0600 AM, we will be picking you up from your hotel in Cusco. Then in our private transport, we will be driving you to Tambomachay. It is 20 minutes away from Cusco City. Huchuy Qosqo Trek to Machu Picchu begins here.
We will begin the experience with a two hours uphill hike to our first pass at 13451 ft/4100 m. From the summit, you will get a panoramic view of the valley rimmed with the Urubamba mountain range. We will have free time to take photos and admire the views.
Once you have had your fill of this view, we will descend to the lunch camp. It normally takes three hours.
After relishing a local Andean meal, we will be hiking through some beautiful terrains to our campsite in Quencco (11811 ft/3600 m).
After breakfast, we will begin hiking up the hill for almost an hour and a half. We will then descend for two hours to our lunch camp. Our lunch camp is closer to the archaeological site of Huchuy Qosqo at 1811 ft/ 3600 metres.
From here, you will get a panoramic view of the Sacred Valley of the Incas and snow capped Andean peaks.
After lunch, we will be giving you a detailed tour of the Huchuy Qosqo Archaeological complex. We will be visiting some of the prominent sites. Our local expert will walk you through the ancient Inca buildings, sacred temples, storehouses, and Inca terraces for their agriculture and the Inca reservoir.
After the tour, we will descend for an hour and a half to the village of Lamay. Here we will be taking our private transport for a short drive to Ollantaytambo. Here you will be boarding the train to Aguas Calientes Machu Picchu.
Our local representative will meet you and transfer you to the hotel. You will have the rest of the day to explore the town of Aguas Calientes.
What to do in Aguas Calientes?
If you love history then the Machu Picchu Museum is a great place to visit. The museum highlights pre-Inca times with a collection of Inca artifacts. The Orchid Gardens is another location to visit which is about a 30 minute walk from Aguas Calientes.
The site has a rustic feel filled with a variety of beautiful orchids on display. Or enjoy the rest of the day relaxing in the thermal waters of the Hot Springs, in Aguas Calientes.
Highlight of your trip to Peru.
Early in the morning, we will be boarding the tourist bus for a thirty minutes ride up the hill to visit Machu Picchu.
The tour guide will be meeting you at the entrance of the citadel and will assist you in clearing the security control to enter the citadel. Please note that you will have to show your Entrance ticket and original passport that you have used at the time of booking.
We will then give you a detailed two hours guided tour. During the tour, we will take you to the most important temples and enclosures. After the tour, you will have free time for exploring Machu Picchu on your own.
We will then direct you to the trailhead of Huayna Picchu mountain.
After the full day trip of Machu Picchu, you will be taking a bus back to Aguas Calientes. Here you will board the train to Ollantaytambo train station. Here, our representative will be meeting you and will be driving you back to Cusco. We will arrive at Cusco City at around 7:00 p.m.
Departure & Return Location
Cusco Hotel Transfer
Departure Time
4:30 a.m.
Price Includes
Price Excludes
Packing list
Useful Info
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Do you have any questions? Contact us at +51 974 378 488
Find out what those who have trusted us to explore unique destinations and live extraordinary adventures have to say.
John CJanuary 10, 2025Verified Excellent, perfectly planned trip. The trip was perfectly planned from start to finish, the transport, the hike, the hotel, the food and the entrance to Machu Picchu. The lovely guide Edwin was incredibly knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the site, the hike, and it's history. It truly is an incredible and captivating place that is a must see if you have the opportunity. Gabriel CNovember 12, 2024Verified Rainbow Mountain Tour guide We had a great tour of Rainbow Mountain. Jose was extremely knowledgeable and was a lot of help. The tour included good breakfast and lunch. I highly recommended this tour Joshua SNovember 10, 2024Verified "Unforgettable Machu Picchu Journey with an Exceptional Guide!" John was the perfect guide for our journey from Cusco to Machu Picchu! From the start, he made everything smooth and enjoyable, picking us up from our hotel and ensuring we were comfortable and ready for the adventure ahead. Thanks to his planning, we arrived at Machu Picchu early, avoiding the crowds and enjoying the stunning morning views. The weather was fantastic, and John's deep knowledge of the history and culture made every moment even more memorable. His explanations brought the ancient Incan sites to life, and he guided us thoughtfully through the walk at Machu Picchu, pointing out details we would have missed on our own. Throughout the entire day, John was attentive, patient, and incredibly helpful. He truly went above and beyond to make our experience unforgettable. Highly recommend! Gabriel CNovember 10, 2024Verified Great tour Me and my brother went on a tour with John. He was very helpful. He was very knowledgeable and helpful. Not only did he give a great tour but he was able to give us good recommendations and was very accommodating Kim AOctober 24, 2024Verified An amazing experience! We are an American family from Evansville, Indiana. After doing much research we chose Machu Picchu Tours to make our dream come true of seeing Machu Picchu via the 4-day Inca Trail Trek.Planning this kind of trip is no small feat, but John Taqquere Villaneuva was there for us every step of the way! He always responded quickly to my MANY texts and provided excellent information to prepare us for the trek. Our amazing guide, Edwin, the Porters and Chef went way above and beyond to make sure we felt safe and that we were getting the best experience that was promised. I cannot emphasize how important hygiene and safe food is on a trip like this. We feel our Porters did an excellent job keeping the dining area clean and providing excellent, healthy and safe food. While it is common for foreigners to get sick when traveling to a new country, the crew kept us healthy, hydrated, and safe the entire trip. Our porters took care of every single detail from setting up our camp, refilling our water bottles, and feeding us delicious hot meals 3 times a day. The porters were always there to take care of us. Our bags were transported and waiting for us in our tents upon arrival. Hot drinks were ready for us upon arrival at each campsite, and hot soapy water and towels were provided to clean up after a long day’s hike. Their work ethic and attention to detail was impressive. The 4 day trek is strenuous. Our guide, Edwin, coached us along the way, helping us to set a pace that worked for us so that we would not burn out. He also handled all of our paperwork and entry tickets. There are checkpoints and everything must be in order and spelled correctly. Without these documents, there is no trek and there is no entry into Machu Picchu. Our guide always kept us informed of the daily itinerary and was always supportive and eager to help. His knowledge of the history of the Inca and the ruins was exceptional. We walked away feeling an immense appreciation and understanding of the Inca because of Edwin. If your dream of seeing Machu Picchu is through the Inca Trail, or want to arrange guided tours, then don’t let fear stand in your way. And if you are looking for an agency, we highly recommend John Taqquere Villaneuva with Machu Picchu Tours. These are good, honest, trustworthy and hard-working people that will help make your dream come true. We are so thankful to Machu Picchu Tours, our Guide, Edwin, and the amazing Porters and Chef for their hard work and efforts to help make our dream come true. HikeJunkieCarlosOctober 21, 2024Verified Very organized crew knowledgeable friendly and just plain awesome to have around every step of the way. Couldn’t have asked for a better crew chef porters tents and food for this 4 day Inca trail tripWas the best experience for all 8 of us in our friends group to enjoy every moment and have amazing time all the way through the trip in town and on the Inca trailVery organized crew knowledgeable friendly and just plain awesome to have around every step of the way. Highly recommend this company to solo and groups that plan to visit Peru SkyMiles KOctober 19, 2024Verified 1 of 2 top Bucket List items, Hike the INCA Trail to Machu Picchu Completed the INCA trail with our Hike Junkies family. The Machu Picchu tours were INCREDIBLE!!! A great big shout out to John Taqquere Villanueva & his team for providing us with their expertise & care before, during & after the 4-day backpacking hike. The porters had camp setup for Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner during our hiking adventure. Our chef, Carmelito "5-STARS," prepared meals that you should only find in a fine dining restaurant. We even had some Peruvian history lessons along the way. A few surprise discovery viewpoints along the trail. After completing 4-day Inca trail, we hiked the Humanatay Lake on 5th day & Rainbow Mtn on 6th day. We THANK YOU, John, Alberto, Berle, Aiwyn & drivers, porters for making this the adventure of the century!...so far Rebecca ROctober 19, 2024Verified 4 day Inca Trail with Hike Junkies We just completed the 4 day Inca Trail with Machu Picchu Tours. John Taqquere Villanueva went above and beyond to provide us with an amazing experience, with fun, knowledgeable guides to qn amazing chef and porters. Our tents were comfortable and kept us warm and dry from the elements. We were served four course meals, desert and happy hour on each day. Happy hour consisted of fresh hot popcorn, hot cocoa, coffee, cookies and bread. In addition to the 4 day Inca Trail we scored permits to hike Huayna Picchu ( Stairs of Death) which we conquered just having completed the last day of the Inca trail. Yes, our group is crazy! One member of our group was unable to hike the four day Inca trail due to severe health issues, John Taqquere and went above and beyond to give him an amazing Machu Picchu experience. Our trip consisted of City Walking Tour of Cusco, Alpaca Farm, Humantay Lake, Rainbow Mountain and other ruins. This was a humbling experience that will last a lifetime. Chalmers BOctober 9, 2024Verified Great experience! Our guide Edwin was excellent. The first day is very challenging but equally rewarding, and we were really glad that MPT arranged a pre-meeting the day before to go over logistics and make sure we were properly equipped -- renting poles is highly recommended, well worth the $10. Reaching the Sun Gate and getting the full vista of Machu Picchu felt like a life accomplishment. The second day is much less challenging, walking through the actual ruins of Machu Picchu, and we felt much less pressure because we'd gotten such great views and photos the day before.
Huchuy Qosqo was used as a royal estate by Viracocha. During the last days of his rule, he faced a revolt from Cancha People. Huchuy Qosqo Hike is an off-the-beaten-track experience that takes you to the lesser-known yet prominent Inca site, Huchuy Qosqo Peru.
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