Ausangate trek & Machu Picchu 8 days

Includes Ausangate trek & Machu Picchu 8 days

At Tunqui Expeditions we specify the included and non-included services for all the itineraries listed on our website. We take care of all the logistics, but please check the details to make sure you do not miss anything. Some items may be different for certain programmes, so please read carefully before booking with us.

WHAT IS INCLUIDED?

Permits & Tickets

• Entrance fee for the Ausangate Trek
• Entrance for to Rainbow Mountain
• Entrance to Pacchanta thermal baths
• Entrance ticket to the archaeological site of Machu Picchu

The Machu Picchu Circuit 2 ticket offers the most complete tour of the citadel and is the most popular. For this reason we recommend that you book well in advance to ensure your entry. (Circuit 1)

High Quality Service & Safety

• Pre-departure briefing

You’ll meet your guide and group at our office for a pre trek briefing. There you’ll receive your duffle bags, which will be carried by our horses. The meeting is at 17:00 the evening before the trek.

• Experienced guides

Our official guides speak English and Spanish and are professionally trained and certified. We choose them for their experience, responsibility, unbridled passion for exploration and pride in sharing our culture and history. On every experience they will keep you safe and comfortable, so you can enjoy your time worry-free!

• Private camping equipment

All equipment is carried by our team of porters.

• Tents: Spacious dining tents where you can enjoy your meals in comfort.
• Tables, chairs and cooking equipment.
• Portable toilet
• Sleeping pad
• A duffle bag

On the trek you can carry your personal belongings up to a maximum weight of 7kg / 15.4 lb (this weight includes your sleeping bag).

• Medical or First Aid Kit

All Tunqui Expeditions guides have received specialised first aid training. We hold mandatory training sessions with our guides every February. Your guide will always carry a first aid kit for basic emergencies (altitude sickness, traveller’s diarrhoea, cuts, abrasions, etc.) as well as oxygen. If necessary, we’ll evacuate you from the trail as quickly as possible and get you to a clinic for treatment.

• Extras included in our service

We believe that attention to detail is what sets us apart from other local companies. You’ll receive a cover to protect your rucksack on the road and a rain poncho.

• 24/7 customer service

We have a telephone service available 24 hours a day for easy communication with Tunqui Expeditions prior to your trek.

• Satellite phone

Your comfort is our first priority. Although our guides are prepared for emergencies in the mountains, calling a doctor, hospital or friend can make you feel more secure. For this reason, every Tunqui Expeditions guide carries a satellite phone to call anywhere in the world from anywhere on the mountain.

Accommodation 

• 6 nights in tents

Tunqui Expeditions use the best tents to ensure your safety and comfort (e.g. Eureka Timberline or Mountain Hard Ware tents).

• 1 night in Hotel at Aguas Calientes

You will spend the last night of the trek in a comfortable hotel in Aguas Calientes, including luggage storage, while you visit Machu Picchu.

*Accommodation is in double, twin and triple rooms.

Meals

• 8 Breakfasts, 7 Lunches and 7 Dinners

Our chef prepares the most amazing dishes in the middle of the mountain. Our passengers love our food! We respect all diets (vegetarian, vegan or special menus are available at no extra cost), so please let us know on your booking form if you have any special allergies or restrictions and remind your guide during the briefing. You’ll enjoy breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as hot drinks and snacks.

• Water on the trail

We’ll provide you with boiled, filtered and chilled water throughout the trek, from your first lunch to your last breakfast. You will need to bring a camel bag or an empty bottle (we recommend a capacity of 2 litres).

• Wake up tea

Every morning at the campsite you’ll be woken with a cup of hot coca tea. Our staff will bring the tea to your tent so that you are warm from the inside out before you start your day.

• Tea time or happy hour

Every afternoon before dinner, the cooks will provide you with popcorn, biscuits, coffee, hot chocolate, tea, hot water, etc. After a long day of trekking, you don’t have to wait until dinner to relax, warm up and enjoy a bite to eat!

• Daily snacks on the trek

Before you start your trek, your guide will provide you with a cloth bag containing local fruit, biscuits, chocolate, caramels, etc. We’ll refill it every morning so you can enjoy your snacks on the trail.

• One canvas snack bag per person

We’ll provide you with a cloth bag for your snacks – perfect for storing wrappers and keeping the environment clean. Feel free to use it throughout the walk!

Transportation

• Transport
  • Day 1:You will be picked up from your hotel in the morning and will travel by private transportation to Upis, the starting point of the trek.
  • Day 7: You will be picked up from Pacchanta to enjoy the Sacred Valley Tour: Chinchero, Maras Moray, and Salt Mines. Then, you’ll be transported to Ollantaytambo train station, where you’ll take the train to Aguas Calientes.
  • Day 8: Round-Trip Consettur Bus Ticket Aguas Calientes – Machu Picchu
  • Day 8: Private transport from Ollantaytambo train station to your hotel in Cusco.
• Train Tickets
  • Day 7: Train Ticket from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes (Expedition Service).
  • Day 8: From Aguas Calientes to Ollantaytambo (Vistadome Service).

The PeruRail Vistadome Train Service offers a unique and different way to travel to Machu Picchu. Each one of its cars features panoramic windows, enabling you to feel part of the surroundings. The Vistadome approaches you to the amazing landscapes and nature on-route, creating a real connection.

Cargo Mules

On days 1, 2, and 3, cargo mules will carry all the camping equipment and your baggage allowance (7 kg / 15.4 lb). Our muleteers will be responsible for your duffle bag and personal items, and they’ll hand them to you when you get to each camp.

Porters Team Tunqui (Inca Trail)

Our Porters Team will carry all camping equipment and supplies needed for the trek. Additionally, we’ll include the personal service of a porter responsible for carrying your duffle bag and personal items.

Extras

We believe that it is the attention to detail that sets us apart from other tour operators. As we wrote above, each walker receives

• A small pillow to sleep on.
• Sponge mattress to sleep on.
• Backpack cover to protect your rucksack from rain, dust and dirt.
• Rain poncho
• T-shirt Once you have completed the Ausangate Trek, you will receive our ultimate Ausangate Trek conexion Iconic Inca Trail T-shirt.
• We provide hot water canisters every day to help our clients get clean and comfortable at night.
• We have a happy hour every night to relax, unwind and talk about the day’s events.
• We work very hard to make your holiday the best it can be.

Taxes and Fees

All taxes and permit fees associated with this trek are included in our price. There are no hidden charges.

The Tunqui Difference

The following list is less tangible, but equally important and part of everything we do and include at Tunqui Expeditions.

• Ethical and responsible treatment of our porters: Most people would not be able to cope with the challenges of these treks without the porters who help with all the lifting, preparation and cheering. They are the backbone of our company and the reason why Silvio Tunqui founded Tunqui Expeditions.

He started in the industry as a porter and understands your needs better than anyone. We are committed and promise a better life for every member of Team Tunqui.

This includes better wages that they can live on so they don’t have to beg for tips to make ends meet. This is our job. We provide them with all the equipment they need, including warm down jackets, proper walking boots, rucksacks, hats, headlamps, sleeping bags and mats, and tents for them to sleep in.

We also help their families by supporting their village schools, bringing doctors and dentists to the families and planting trees in their valleys. We are committed to our social projects and the more than 300 porters on our team appreciate this.

• The porters’ trip: We love meeting all our customers, but our favourite trips are when our porters and their families become our customers.

While our porters trek to Machu Picchu dozens of times a year, they never enter our famous citadel. We make four trips a year to take our team inside and spend two days touring the important ruins, allowing them to touch and see the history of their ancestors.

• Equality matters: Another big difference is that we believe we are all equal and that each person brings something different and beautiful to our team. Since 2022, we have always had female guides, porters and cooks on our team.

Although the numbers are not yet equal, we look forward to the day when we have 50/50 men and women working in the mountains as part of the Tunqui Expeditions team.

• Sustainable and responsible operator: Tunqui Expeditions is way ahead of our competitors when it comes to being a sustainable tour operator. We respect our planet by ensuring that no trace is left behind on any of our treks. We even include an extra porter to help clean up the rubbish left behind by other groups.

We use local products that are biodegradable and organic wherever possible.

WHAT IS NOT INCLUDED?

• Sleeping Bag

You can hire one from us if you don’t have your own. Our sleeping bags are effective and durable, protecting you from temperatures as low as -18ºC (0ºF). They are mummy-shaped and include a sleeping liner. They are cleaned after each use and have a maximum use of 30 trips.

• • US$ 25.00 per person
• Walking Sticks

Walking sticks (with rubber tips) can be very useful on rough terrain and for ascending and descending. You can hire a set from us if you’d like.

• • US$ 25.00 per person
• Huayna Picchu Mountain

You can climb the famous mountain that you always see in photos behind the archaeological site of Machu Picchu. It’s a 45 minute climb and the descent can be scary if you’re afraid of heights. You can do this after your guided tour of Machu Picchu. Permission must be obtained at least two to three months in advance due to high demand. Bear in mind that there may be changes to protect your safety, especially due to weather conditions.

• • The ticket for the Huayna Picchu mountain has an additional cost of US$ 60.00 per person.
• Machu Picchu Mountain

Machu Picchu Mountain is another of the mountains surrounding the archaeological site of Machu Picchu. It offers less steep, wider and visually less frightening trails than Huayna Picchu, and it takes 1.5 hours to reach the top. This walk requires an entrance ticket, which we can arrange for you if we have time in advance.

• • The ticket for the Machu Picchu mountain has an additional cost of US$ 60.00 per person.
• Lunch in Aguas Calientes and dinner in Cusco (Day 8)
• Personal clothing and equipment
• Travel insurance
• Tips for our staff

Tipping is the norm on any trip to Machu Picchu. Although we pay our entire team well, a little extra is always welcome, especially considering the hard work they put in. Typically, group members collect their tips to share with the drivers and cooks.

• Extra costs or delays beyond our control

Landslides, bad weather, changes in itinerary due to safety concerns, illness, pandemics, changes in government policy, political instability, strikes, acts of God, etc.

Before you go Ausangate trek & Machu Picchu 8 days

We want to make your trip to Peru as memorable and worry free as possible. In this section you’ll find the answers to all your questions about travelling with Tunqui Expeditions in one place. Please read the following information carefully – it will help you with any questions you may have about our services.

Is it for me?

The Ausangate Trek to Machu Picchu is an excellent alternative to the Inca Trail trek and is better suited for more adventurous trekkers who can handle higher altitudes and longer distances. The climb to the famous Ausangate Pass (4,630 m / 15,190 ft) isn’t too strenuous or steep since it’s at the beginning of the trek. However, it requires stamina and some time in Cusco to acclimatize to the altitude before starting the trek.

Plastic-Free Ausangate Trek

Join us on this journey toward a plastic-free ultimate Ausangate Trek, where the beauty of the landscape is matched only by our commitment to environmental stewardship. Together we will pave the way for a more sustainable and responsible adventure through the heart of history.

How many days do I need to acclimatise in Cusco before the Ausangate trek?

It’s very important to be well acclimatised to the altitude before embarking on a trek. We recommend that you arrive in Cusco at least 2 or 3 days before the start of the trek to help you acclimatise and avoid any problems with altitude sickness during the trek.

You may have been in another area of Peru at high altitude before arriving in Cusco. If this is the case, we still recommend that you spend a full day in Cusco to rest, recover from the journey and enjoy the sights and sounds of Cusco before starting the trek.

Here are some suggestions for activities to do around Cusco before starting your adventure trek:

• City Tour Cusco
• Sacred Valley of the Incas
• Maras Moray Tour
• South Valley
• Qeswachaka Tour

Briefing or information meeting

All information meetings and briefings are held at our main office in Cusco (or your hotel) at 17:00 the night before the tour starts. These meetings last between 30 and 45 minutes. If you can’t make it, you will need to arrange another time by email, phone or in person at the Tunqui Expeditions office.

Trek balance payment (in Cusco)

If you have an outstanding balance, you must pay it 2 days before your trek. Otherwise your reservation will not be confirmed.

If possible, we would appreciate it if you could pay the balance for the trek/tour in cash, either in US dollars or local currency, at our office in Cusco. You can withdraw money from several ATM’s along the Avenida Sol, which offer both US Dollars and Peruvian Soles.

Alternatively, you can pay by credit/debit card or PAYPAL, either online or in person, but please note that a 5% service charge will be applied by our payment gateway (Niubiz) and PAYPAL. We regret to inform you that we are unable to accept bank drafts or traveller’s cheques as payment for the balance.

Duffle bag or canvas bag

You’ll be given a duffel bag or canvas bag during your briefing. Our team of porters will carry it with you throughout the trek and hand it to you at each camp. They measure 60 x 24 x 22 cm (23.6 x 9.45 x 8.66 in).

A maximum of 6 kg / 13.2 lb is allowed for each duffel, including the weight of your sleeping bag, sleeping mat, clothes and other personal items.

Can I store my luggage in your office?

Of course you can! During the trip your main luggage can be stored at our office (you can arrange this with us on the day of the briefing or by email) or at your hotel, both free of charge.

Any equipment you don’t need on the trek can be safely stored at your hotel. Almost all hotels offer this service. Don’t leave anything of value with your luggage; put it in the hotel safe and get a detailed receipt (in the unlikely event of theft, many insurance companies require a copy of the receipt detailing everything). It’s best to put items such as credit cards in a sealed, signed envelope for extra peace of mind.

Collecting guests

Please note:

• All pick-ups are within the city of Cusco, but we recommend that you book a hotel in the historic centre for its convenient location.
• Our guide or staff will confirm the pick up time the day before the tour.
• Due to traffic conditions the pick up time may vary between 30 and 45 minutes.
• Cusco is an old city with many narrow cobbled streets. Some hotels and Airbnbs are located on streets that are inaccessible by car or on long, steep slopes, making it difficult to transport luggage. For these reasons, we strongly recommend that you book accommodation with good access.

Returning to Cusco from Machu Picchu

Returning from Machu Picchu requires some logistics, but don’t worry. It is all included in your tour!

• In Machu Picchu, you’ll board a bus that will take you 25 minutes to the small town of Aguas Calientes. Buses are boarded in order of arrival.
• In Aguas Calientes you’ll take the train to Ollantaytambo. Your guide will give you the train tickets, which will show you the boarding time.
• Make sure you’re on the platform 30 minutes early. The train from Aguas Calientes to Ollantaytambo takes 1 hour 45 minutes.
• Once you arrive at the train station, our representative, wearing Tunqui Expeditions clothing, will be waiting to take you to Cusco or directly to your hotel. The journey from Ollantaytambo to Cusco takes 1:30 hours.
• Once in Cusco, depending on the location of your hotel, we’ll transfer you to a smaller company car (Hyundai H1) to get you to your hotel faster.

Note: Your tour includes a one way bus ticket Aguas Calientes – Machu Picchu, so you can choose to use it from Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu or from Machu Picchu to Aguas Calientes. If you want a return bus ticket, you’ll have to pay an additional US$ 12.00.

Group Tours

Group tours are made up of different types of people, therefore physical conditions and ages may vary. By agreeing to join a group tour, you accept that some people may be faster or slower than you. Therefore, everyone will be able to move at their own pace.

There may be occasions when a group wishes to make changes to the tour, but it is up to the guide to decide, in consultation with all participants, whether such changes are possible.

Strikes and demonstrations

Strikes and demonstrations are common in Peru and may interrupt some of our tours. Roads may be blocked and railway lines may be occupied. However, we will try to keep your trip as originally planned, even if this means leaving the night before the scheduled date.

Tours may be cancelled in these circumstances. In the event of a change or cancellation, our Operations Department will liaise with you. Your safety is our number one priority and our decisions will be made to protect it.

Lost items

Please be careful where you leave your belongings and remember to take everything with you when you leave your transport, accommodation or restaurant. You are responsible for your belongings while you’re on the tour.

Packing list Ausangate trek & Machu Picchu 8 days

BASICS

• Valid passport: A copy will not be accepted, the passport must be valid for at least 6 months. You must present the exact same document that you used to reserve your Inca Trail permits.
• Extra money (soles recommended): For souvenirs, drinks and tips.
  Personal medication.
• Water bottle or CamelBak: We recommend containers such as Camelbags, but at least 2-3 litres.
• Sunscreen: factor 70 or higher

CLOTHING

• Walking boots or shoes (preferably waterproof)
• Trekking pants
• Trekking socks
• A pair of thermal trousers
• A warm jacket
• Waterproof jacket
• Rain jacket or poncho
• Waterproof or wool gloves
• Sun hat to protect your neck and face
• Wool hat for the cold
• Neck gaiter or buff
• Sunglasses with UV protection

EQUIPMENT

The porters will carry up to 7kg of your personal belongings. This should include your sleeping bag and air mattress (if you are bring/renting one). In our case these two items weigh 3.5kg.

• Medium trekking rucksack (15 – 25 litres): You will be responsible for carrying water on the first day, as we will not have time to filter the water before your first lunch.
• Large plastic bags: to help organise and separate the clean from the dirty.
  Sleeping bag: we recommend bags for -10°C minimum.
• Towel: We provide a small one, you may like a slightly larger one.
• Small bottle of soap: we provide warm water every day for cleaning – it might make you feel fresh if you had some soap.

RECOMMENDED

• Camera and charger
• Extra battery or laptop to charge mobile phones

Price Ausangate trek & Machu Picchu 8 days

“Ausangate Trek & Machu Picchu 8 Days” is available any day of the week, from March to January. We do not operate this itinerary in February due to the rainy season and route maintenance. In addition, during this month, our Tunqui Expeditions team – guides, cooks, porters and muleteers – receive training and plan the year to ensure that you, our travelers, enjoy the trekking experience with us to the fullest.

Cost

Group Price: US$ 900 per person.

Required Pre-payment : US$ 300.00 per person.

Balance (Cusco): US$ 600.00 (Commonly paid in Cusco after briefing).

This small group tour is guaranteed to operate with just 2 people.

Please note that PayPal charges a 5% fee, which we ask the client to cover as it is due to the use of their service. This tax is only for online deposits so you will pay the rest in cash (on the day of the briefing in Cusco) without charge.

Extensions and Offers

There are several extensions that can be included in your Peru Adventure.

• Sacred Valley of the Incas
• Maras Moray Tour
• South Valley

Additional Equipment

There are additional items that you can include in this trip. Below is a quick list of prices.

• Sleeping bag: US$ 20.00
• Walking sticks (pair): US$ 20.00

Add-ons and Upgrades

Complementary services and upgrades that you can include in this trip:

• Huayna Picchu Mountain: US$ 60,00
• Machu Picchu Mountain: US$ 60.00
• Huchuy Picchu Mountain: US$ 45.00
• Extra night at Aguas Calientes: US$ 55.00

Price guarantee

Once your reservation is confirmed, we guarantee that the price will not increase, whatever the circumstances. So, before you book, please make sure you have read all our important information about the tour.

Student Discount

• US$20.00 discount

Student discounts apply to anyone 17 years of age or younger. To receive the discount, we require a copy or clear photo of your passport at the time of booking. It must be current and not expire within the dates of travel. Please send it to info@tunquiexpeditions.com.