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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Huchuy Qosqo Hike is an off-the-beaten-track experience that takes you to the lesser-known yet prominent Inca site, Huchuy Qosqo Peru.
Huchuy Qosqo Peru
Nestled at 3650 metres above sea level high up in the Vilcabamba Mountain range, overlooking the Sacred Valley’s village of Lamay. Huchuy Qosqo in Quechua means Little Cusco. The archaeological complex was built by the Inca emperor Viracocha.
During the Inca civilization, they did not practise the regular tax system. Instead, they controlled the land and labour. This allowed them to acquire more land and pass it down in the line of succession.
Huchuy Qosqo was used as a royal estate by Viracocha. During the last days of his rule, he faced a revolt from Cancha People. Fearing his life, he handed over the throne of Cusco to his son, Pachacutec and took asylum in Huchuy Qosqo.
Pachacutec in turn deposed the conflict and took over the role of the new Inca Sapa (Inca Emperor). On Viracocha’s death, his mummified corpse was stored in Huchuy Qosqo. When the Spanish invaded South America. They found Huchuy Cusco, they removed the mummified corpse and burnt it.
The archaeological site saw a massive expansion under Pachacutec’s rule. He built many farming terraces and built a storage place called Qolqas. The farmers stored the dried meat and other grains like Quinoa and beans here.
Huchuy Qosqo Hike is a high-altitude experience. It involves hikes through high mountain passes. We highly recommend you spend 3-4 days in Cusco before the trek to avoid altitude sickness.
The Andean weather condition is quite unpredictable. We highly recommend hiking the trek during the dry season – between March and November.
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Huchuy Qosqo Trek
Huchuy Qosqo Trek to Machu Picchu is also a popular alternative trek to the classic Inca Trail. On this three-day tour, instead of returning to Cusco, you will be taking a train to Aguas Calientes from Ollantaytambo.
Here’s a detailed introduction to Huchuy Qosqo Trek Peru.
Reasons to hike Huchuy Qosqo Trek with us
We are a fully locally owned tour operating company in the Cusco region. All our guides are locals with a passion for history and are fluent in English. They are also trained in first aid and providing assistance in case of altitude sickness.
At 06:00 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 30 minutes away from the city of Cusco. This is the starting point of the trek.
We will begin the experience with two hours uphill hike to our first pass at 13451 ft/4100 m. From the summit of the Cauca ravine, you will get a panoramic view of the valley rimmed by the Urubamba mountain range.
You will have plenty of time to soak in the serenity and enchanting views of the highland Qoriccohca Lake.
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). We will be camping near the village so you will get an insight into their traditions and customs as well.
After breakfast and a hot cup of coca tea, we will begin with a full-day hike. We will be hiking up the hill to the highest point of the trek, Apacheta Pass at 4200m/13779ft. for almost an hour and a half.
From the summit, you will get staggering views of the valley and Qoricocha Lake. We will have a brief stop here to soak in the view and have some snacks.
Once you have had your fill of the views, we will gradually start descending on the original Inca Trail, Qhapaq ñan. The route is dotted with canyons and some lesser-known Inca sites like Pucamarca.
Our tour guide will be giving you an insight into this historic trail and the prominence of the Inca ruins that we will be hiking through along the way.
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 meters.
From here, you will get a panoramic view of the Sacred Valley of the Incas, the town of Lamay tucked amidst the snow-capped Andean peaks.
After lunch, we will be giving you a guided tour of the Huchuy Qosqo ruins. We will be visiting some of the prominent sites. Our local tour guide will walk you through the ancient Inca buildings, sacred temples, storehouses, and Inca terraces for their agriculture and the Inca reservoir.
After the full day trip, we will descend for an hour and 45 minutes to the village of Lamay. Here we will be having lunch. After lunch, we will be taking the transport back to Cusco.
Departure & Return Location
Cusco Hotel Transfer
Departure Time
6:00 a.m.
Price Includes
Price Excludes
Packing list
It is a two-day hike along lesser-known Inca paths to the archaeological site of Huchuy Qosqo, ending on day two back in Cusco.
Many routes ascend to around 4,100 meters at mountain passes like Sicllaccasa. Some versions cite maximum altitudes near 4,200 m.
The trek is classified as moderate difficulty, appropriate for travelers with trekking experience and good fitness, considering steep sections and altitude.
Yes. It is recommended to spend 3 to 4 days in Cusco before the trek to adjust to the altitude.
Essentials include:
Original passport
Layered clothing (thermal base, warm mid-layers)
Waterproof jacket / poncho
Sturdy, waterproof hiking boots
Hat, gloves, buff
Sunscreen and sunglasses
Headlamp and extra batteries
Sleeping bag (if not provided)
Reusable water bottle and snacks
Chargers, power bank
From:
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Posted on Ashley PJanuary 21, 2026Verified John is Amazing. Jonathan is amazing. He took care of everything for us making our trip both adventurous, enjoyable, and most importantly stress free.Posted on kelen Fernanda CJanuary 17, 2026Verified Exceeded all my expectations The experience exceeded my expectations. Quick, effective and personalized care. My script was intelligently assembled so I could enjoy without being exhausted. All the punctual transfers, in excellent cars, wonderful guides. Care, concern, follow-up, always peasant. Deliver further!! Note 1,000. An unforgettable trip and the agency made all the difference.Posted on Jovelti MJanuary 4, 2026Verified Achieve an A dream Machu Picchu is an indescribable experience. My guide was excellent, made it even more valuable. It is better to be in warm waters to start the walk early.Posted on Henny MJanuary 1, 2026Verified The BEST guides for MP by far I can’t begin to say how happy I am with the service that Macchu Picchu provided. We were impacted by the train crash and our itinerary had to change. They took care of all the changes, ticket updates, standing in line for information and then getting us on the first train out the next day. The train was still delayed for 4 hours and the station was as chaos. John ran around all morning keeping on top of everything. A stressful situation, but having John taking care of everything was so lucky. We relaxed and left it in his hands. When our family wit teenagers finally made it, The Macchu Picchu tour was conducted by Charly. He was a wonderful guide. Very knowledgeable and passionate about MP. He had so much pride in what the Inca built and he immersed us in the stories. He didn’t rush us and we really got to experience the wonder of Macchu Picchu. I will recommend them to anyone that asks. 1000/10Posted on GénesisDecember 11, 2025Verified Sacred Valley - Machu Pichu Experience Excellent experience with our magnificent guide Luis Alberto. We appreciate your shared knowledge, the patience you had to keep up with us and your constant concern that we are okay. We highly recommend it. ñPosted on Francisca RDecember 3, 2025Verified Organization and KnowHow of the fabric handle in the most touristic exceptional part The day departed very early, we passed Edson before 5 am to get to Ollantaytambo to the train leaving at 6.40 am, the super comfortable scare, we went to sleep 😄, on the way we went to get our lunch (super good!) and Edson left us on the train. We had to get off at km 104, so we warned and everything was super coordinated. We arrived at the stop and met our guide, Luis. We set out on the journey, it was demanding, the one we took was an alternative one because the "normal" one was closed by the rains and could be dangerous (in December it is rainy season). The view always very beautiful, we learned a lot of the Quechua and Inca culture, the plants used for cooking, medicinal, and those we were seeing along the way. We made a stop in Wiñay Waina, a 100% place, Luis was explaining everything about the Inca and its culture while we were walking, and at that stop we could even stay something like 40 min to explore the place. We kept walking and arrived at about 17.00, we had almost sunset, super nice, we took some world photos from the sun gate of Machu Picchu. The day Sgt we went up just to visit the city and Luis there knew all the schedules and tips to bump into fewer people 😄 he told us about the life of the Inca and the life in cities and drums like we went to. Very nice, and super well organized. Lunch 10 out of 10!Posted on Anette VNovember 25, 2025Verified Fantastic, loving and memorable experience Our trip was fantastic from the start to very last minute and even beyond. I started to organize the trip with John already a long time ago and the whole time communication was excellent. I traveled to Machu Picchu with my blind dad. We had the best tour guide on our 4 day trip, Edwin, who was amazingly patient, loving and caring. My father, who can't see a thing, felt safe the whole time and taken care of. We were crazy to do this trip but I am so glad we picked this company. Everything was so well organized- Our cook Alejandro, was very very good and all the staff with us; thank you Marion, Emiliano, Prudencio, Juan, Willy, Alejandro and Rodolfo. Thank you the whole team!!Posted on Nyvia POctober 25, 2025Verified Wonderful I loved the experience with this Enterprise, Elaine is super attentive, careful and very responsible, the team as a whole works very professionally inall tours, ensuring that everything happens safely! I was very happy and recommend to everyone! ❤️❤️❤️Posted on Marinho AOctober 25, 2025Verified Wonderful Elaine and her team were fantastic!! Attention, affection and a lot of responsibility, everything went very well. Thank you for everything!Posted on Sherpa762685October 8, 2025Verified Visit was great but travel coordination not so much The visit to Machu Picchu itself was great! We had a wonderful guide and because another group canceled we had him all to ourselves! The coordination of travel was not great however, on our return to Cuzco we were not met by our guide to return us to our hotel. After waiting 15 minutes we ended up walking about 1.5 miles to our hotel.
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