Private Hike to the Last Refuge of the Incas: Trekking to the Final Inca Fortress and Sanctuary
Are you planning a hike with your partner, friends, or family? This unforgettable adventure with Tunqui Expeditions takes you to a place as incredible as Machu Picchu – but far less visited by tourists. Our Private 5-Day Choquequirao Trek is perfect for friends or families. Join us on this epic private journey to one of the most astonishing Inca complexes in existence.
Choquequirao means “Cradle of Gold” in the Quechua language. This spectacular archaeological site sits atop the roaring Apurímac River and is surrounded by towering glacial peaks – where, if we are lucky, we may spot condors. Very few tourists visit or trek to Choquequirao because it is not as famous as Machu Picchu, but it is three times larger than Machu Picchu! It is said to have been one of the last refuges of the Incas who resisted the Spanish invasion. Later, Choquequirao was abandoned, allowing the forest to reclaim the site.
Private Choquequirao Trek: An Epic Adventure for Families, Couples, and Friends
The Private Choquequirao Trek is an incredible option for true adventurers, history lovers, and nature enthusiasts. Escape the crowded tourist paths and venture through breathtaking landscapes along a less-traveled route to a hidden archaeological gem. Join Tunqui Expeditions as part of a group or with your partner.
The Private Choquequirao Trek is an exciting alternative to the Inca Trail. The lesser-known Choquequirao site showcases architecture and design similar to the famous Wonder of Machu Picchu. However, the fact that it is only accessible on foot means far fewer people visit this incredible site.
On this adventurous trek, you will walk through an ancient world, following Inca trails across Andean landscapes, passing by majestic glaciers, and descending into deep canyons where condors soar – if we’re lucky, we might spot them. You’ll pass through cloud forests full of biological diversity. Native wildlife like Andean condors, smaller local birds, and native flora such as orchids await – and much more!
This unforgettable experience will leave you with lasting memories and stories to share when you return home. Looking to escape the crowds and visit a hidden site? The classic Private Choquequirao Trek is for you.
HIGHLIGHTS
ITINERARY OVERVIEW
DAY 1: CUSCO – CACHORA – CAPULIYOC – CHIQUISCA
Begin the trek with stunning Andean scenery and panoramic views of the Apurímac River and its valley, rich in flora and fauna. Spend the night at Chiquisca, under the stars.
DAY 2: CHIQUISCA – PLAYA ROSALINAS – SANTA ROSA – MARAMPATA
Start the day with coca tea and trek to Marampata, enjoying incredible panoramic views before reaching our camp. Relax in the afternoon and soak in the energy before resting for the night.
DAY 3: MARAMPATA – CHOQUEQUIRAO ARCHAEOLOGICAL COMPLEX – MARAMPATA
After a delicious breakfast to recharge, spend the entire day exploring Choquequirao, discovering every corner of this magnificent archaeological site with your private guide.
DAY 4: MARAMPATA – SANTA ROSA – PLAYA ROSALINAS – CHIQUISCA
Bid farewell to Choquequirao and head towards Santa Rosa for lunch. In the afternoon, trek to Chiquisca to spend time with local families and relax at camp.
DAY 5: CHIQUISCA – CAPULIYOC – SAYWITE MONOLITH – CONOC HOT SPRINGS – CUSCO
On the final day, hike to Capuliyoc and say goodbye to your trekking team. Visit the Saywite Monolith and then relax at Conoc Hot Springs before returning to Cusco in private transport.
Highlight of the Day: Enjoy the magnificent scenery surrounding you in the Andes.
A day full of stunning Andean landscapes and fresh, pure mountain air.
Your epic Private Choquequirao Trek journey will begin at 4:30 a.m. when we pick you up from your accommodation in Cusco. We will travel for 4 to 5 hours to Capuliyoc in our private Tunqui Expeditions transport. Along the way, you will enjoy and appreciate spectacular views of the Salkantay and Humantay glaciers.
Upon arrival in Cachora, we will visit the small village and walk through its picturesque streets, full of rich culture, traditions, and local life. We’ll have a nutritious and delicious breakfast to fuel us for the journey ahead. Afterward, we will continue by private transport to Capuliyoc (2,890 m / 9,482 ft), where we will meet the rest of our Trekking Team – including cooks, porters, and muleteers – who will carefully carry our belongings, food, and camping equipment along the entire trek.
After reviewing the final details, we will begin our hike through the Apurímac Canyon, trekking downhill for approximately 2 hours until we reach our lunch spot at Coca Manzana. After lunch and a short break, we will descend for another 2 hours in a zigzag pattern to reach Chiquisca (1,900 m / 6,234 ft), a charming hamlet filled with fruit fields.
Along the scenic route, you will take in the lush cloud forest landscape of the Apurímac Valley. Keep your eyes open for condors soaring overhead and enjoy breathtaking views of the two towering glacier mountains, Padreyoc and Qoriwayrachina. The warmth, abundant vegetation, and rhythmic sound of the rushing Apurímac River will energize you and motivate you to keep going, guided by the spirit of Mother Nature.
Later in the day, we will arrive at the tropical village of Chiquisca – a green and warm campsite in the middle of the arid mountain. Here, we will have dinner and spend the night.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner
Accommodation: Camping
Difficulty: Moderate
Walking Distance: 13 km / 8.08 miles
Highest Altitude: 2,890 m / 9,482 ft
Camp Altitude: 1,970 m / 6,463 ft
Highlight of the Day: Be amazed by the most spectacular views of the Andes.
Witness the stunning Andean sunset across panoramic landscapes.
We will wake you in your tent with coca tea and enjoy a delicious breakfast to recharge your energy. “Remember, each day, have faith in yourself to complete the journey.”
We’ll set out for the challenging ascent to Marampata (2,900 m / 9,514 ft), where incredible photos of the canyon and snow-capped peaks await.
The trek begins with a 1-hour and 15-minute descent to the deepest part of the valley – Playa Rosalinas (1,500 m / 4,921 ft). We will cross a pedestrian bridge to start the most challenging part of the day. A quick stop at Santa Rosa (1,970 m / 6,463 ft) for lunch will help replenish our energy before the final three-hour climb to Marampata Camp.
Upon arrival, you’ll be rewarded with breathtaking views and positive energy from being so close to Choquequirao. Stretch your muscles, exercise, or simply relax and take in the incredible sunset bathing the valleys and glaciers in orange light.
As night falls, the sky will fill with stars, and the campfire will be the perfect setting for dinner before resting for the night.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner
Accommodation: Camping
Difficulty: Challenging
Walking Distance: 11 km / 6.82 miles
Highest Altitude: 2,900 m / 9,514 ft
Camp Altitude: 2,900 m / 9,514 ft
Highlight of the Day: Discover the secrets of the magnificent Choquequirao Archaeological Complex.
Explore every corner of the ancient wonder of Choquequirao.
Start the day with a delicious breakfast to fuel your exploration. Today is dedicated to fully exploring the Choquequirao site (3,050 m / 10,007 ft), three times larger than Machu Picchu.
Your guide will share fascinating stories and insights into Inca history. You’ll visit plazas, temples, and terraces, reflecting on how the Incas managed to build such wonders high in the mountains.
Don’t miss the famous white stone llamas, carved into the terraces to honor the nearby Apu Qoriwayrachina. Experts believe that only 40% of the site has been uncovered.
We’ll return to our camp in Marampata at the end of the day for dinner and rest.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner
Accommodation: Camping
Difficulty: Easy
Walking Distance: 6 km / 3.73 miles
Highest Altitude: 3,050 m / 10,007 ft
Camp Altitude: 2,900 m / 9,514 ft
Highlight of the Day: Experience Andean community life and culture.
Enjoy nature’s beauty and relax at Chiquisca Camp.
Following breakfast, we’ll descend to Santa Rosa for lunch, before continuing to Playa Rosalinas for a refreshing dip in the river.
In the afternoon, ascend to Chiquisca Camp, where we will enjoy dinner and local hospitality.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner
Accommodation: Camping
Difficulty: Moderate
Walking Distance: 11 km / 6.82 miles
Highlight of the Day: Relax in the hot springs before heading back to Cusco.
Following breakfast, trek to Capuliyoc and bid farewell to your trekking team.
Visit the Saywite Monolith and unwind in the Conoc Hot Springs before returning to Cusco by private transport.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Difficulty: Challenging
Walking Distance: 8 km / 4.97 miles
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
High Quality Service & Safety
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 Ausangate trek.
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 will be carried by our horses.
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).
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.
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.
We have a telephone service available 24 hours a day for easy communication with Tunqui Expeditions prior to your trek.
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
Tunqui Expeditions uses the best equipment to ensure your safety and comfort. Every 2 people will share Eureka Timberline or Mountain Hard Wear tents with a capacity for 4 people.
Meals
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.
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).
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.
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!
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.
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
Cargo mules will carry all the camping equipment and your baggage allowance (7 kg / 15.4 lb). Muleteers will be responsible for your duffle bag and personal items.
Cargo mules will carry all the camping equipment and your baggage allowance (7 kg / 15.4 lb). Muleteers will be responsible for your duffle bag and personal items.
Muleteers and Porters (Tunquis)
During the Choquequirao Trek, our muleteers and porters (tunquis) will carry all our camping equipment, from personal tents, clothes and sleeping bags to extra tents for eating and cooking, food, water, tables, chairs and a gas stove. We will include the personal service of a porter to carry your duffel bag and personal belongings.
They will be responsible for transporting all camping equipment and food, setting up and taking down each camp, and assisting the cook with food preparation. By law they can only carry a maximum of 20 kg, a rule we take very seriously.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
We use local products that are biodegradable and organic wherever possible.
WHAT IS NOT INCLUDED?
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.
Landslides, bad weather, changes in itinerary due to safety concerns, illness, pandemics, changes in government policy, political instability, strikes, acts of God, etc.
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 Choquequirao 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.
Plastic-Free Choquequirao Trek
Join us on this journey toward a plastic-free ultimate Choquequirao 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 Choquequirao 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:
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:
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.
BASICS
CLOTHING
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.
RECOMMENDED
“Choquequirao Trek 5 Days Private” 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$ 900.00 per person.
Required Pre-payment : US$ 200.00 per person.
Balance (Cusco): US$ 700.00 (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.
Additional Equipment
There are additional items that you can include in this trip. Below is a quick list of prices.
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
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.
