Day 1: Arrive and taste Cusco's MTB trails
Our adventure begins early at the airport of Cusco, where your MTB guide is going to welcome you and help you put your bike and luggage in the car. Then we drive to the hotel where you can get comfortable while we build your bike up and get ready to start this great BIKEPACKING ADVENTURE. Once everyone is ready, we will go to a nice restaurant to enjoy a delicious welcome lunch and talk in depth about our MOUNTAIN BIKE TOUR. After lunch, we will go to the outskirts of the city to ride and taste some cool trails such as BROGGI DH, YUNCAYPATA and HUAYLLARCITO. These are some of the best trails where all riders from Cusco ride very often. These trails are very flowy and technical, have ramps, drops, thigh curves, forests and much more. On our way back to the city, we will ride a very cool urban section going through the streets of San Blas until we reach the main plaza of Cusco.
- Duration: 4 hours – shuttle time 1.5 hours – riding time 2.5 hrs
- Difficulty: intermediate
- Maximum altitude: 3775m – 12457 ft
- Minimum altitude: 3400 m – 11220 ft
- Up: 20 m (66 ft) – Down 375 m (1237 ft)
- Distance: 18 km – 11.25ml
Day 2: Apurimac Canyon ride
Today we will drive to the Apurimac region in order to ride the coolest MTB trails in this beautiful part of the Andes, getting to high mountains with amazing landscapes, passing by small communities, green farming lands, beautiful canyons as the APURIMAC CANYON 3700 m deep, and great MTB trails during the day.
After a hearty breakfast and once everything is ready, we drive to Limatambo where we ride our first flowy and funny MTB trail which finishes at a cool Incan site. We continue with our adventure and drive to Curahuasi or Curahouse, a hot area for MOUNTAIN BIKING. Here, we will ride the CAPITAN RUMI DH, the local favorite trail which begins at the amazing view point of the Apurimac canyon, the edge of the world¡ this is a very nice single track with ramps, drops, berms and much more for a good ride.
In the afternoon we will ride the epic UNUKASA and SAYWITE single tracks, these are longer and challenging MTB trails with lots of loose terrain, rock gardens, tight curves, thin lines and few steep sections, on our way down we will also ride through a dry river wich is not that usual in this part of the Andes. Finishing our day, we will drive to SORAYPAMPA where we will spend the night in such an cool location.
- Duration: 8 hours – shuttle time 4 hours – riding time 4 hrs.
- Difficulty: intermediate
- Maximum altitude: 3976m – 13121 ft
- Minimum altitude: 2519 m – 8313 ft
- Up: 30 m (99 ft) – Down 1457 m (4808 ft)
- Distance: 25 km – 15.6ml
Day 3: The Great Salkantay MTB ride
Today is the day we have to conquer the SALKANTAY PASS 4650 m, and ride the most incredible MTB trail that goes through different types of terrain and ecosystems, this ride takes more than 5 hours down in a very flowy trail that finish in a very cool hot spring.
We will wake up very early at Soraypampama 3850 m, where we start our adventure. Once we load the bikes on the horses and enjoy a hearty breakfast, we start with our 3 to 4 hour hike near the great SALKANTAY glacier 6271 m which has great views of the Andes. Upon arriving to the pass, we have time to relax and recover energies before we ride this endless single track on the other side of these huge mountains.
Time to shred on, the first section is very technical with lots of rocky areas and tight curves, then it turns into a very nice and flowy dirt trail which goes from the cold Puna highlands down to the warm and dense jungle of Chaullay to then ride and old road down until Santa Teresa, which has the coolest hot spring and of course we will go to soak and enjoy there.
- Duration: 8 hours – hiking time 3 hrs – riding time 5 hrs
- Difficulty: intermediate - difficult
- Maximum altitude: 4650 m – 15345 ft
- Minimum altitude: 1550 m – 5115 ft
- Up: 740 m (24425ft) – Down 3100 m (10230 ft)
- Distance: 43 km – 26,875ml
Day 4: Machupicchu
The most awaited day of our BIKEPACKING TRIP TO CUSCO! Today is one of those once-in-a-lifetime days because we will explore the sacred citadel of MACHUPICCHU. Early in the morning we head to Hidroelectrica train station to board the train that will take us through a magical place in the high jungle as the train passes through changing ecosystems and varied landscapes. After 30 minutes of travel we will reach Aguas Calientes town, where we will take the bus towards MACHUPICCHU, a journey of approximately 30 min. Once in MACHUPICHU we will have a guided tour by an expert and thus learn more about this ancient culture. We will explore the entire citadel for approximately 3 to 4 hours in which we can take a short hike that will take us to the Inca bridge along a spectacular path. We leave the Inca bridge and return to make a complete tour visiting sacred temples, royal houses, main squares and all the important places that sacred citadel has to offer. After an amazing tour from corner to corner it is time to say goodbye to this wonderful place and return to the town of Aguas Calientes to catch the train that will take us back to Ollantaytambo, where we will spend the night. This place is the most charming town in the sacred Valley of the Incas.
Day 5: Inca Avalanche - Cusco
Waking up in this part of the SACRED VALLEY is something unique and indescribable, especially since we will be MOUNTAIN BIKING on amazing and gnarly trails located around this great place. Today we will ride the renowned INCA AVALANCHE, which is the home of the most awaited DH race by hundreds of local and international riders who come together every year to be part of this epic MOUNTAIN BIKE festival. The INCA AVALANCHE begins above 4,400 m 14,520 ft, near the top of the Veronica snowcapped mountain and flows until it reaches the vicinity of MACHUPICCHU, riding down a MOUNTAIN BIKE trail that has small ramps, natural wallrides, passing around shepherd communities, Incan archeological sites, and especially a lot of adrenaline. We will ride this trail twice and then return to Ollantaytambo to enjoy a hearty lunch and some local drinks.
In the afternoon we will go to another point to ride another outstanding MTB trail that begins in the archaeological site of PUMA MARKA. This trail is a mix of green terrain with rocks and flows through an ancient Incan road that takes us through unique places passing slopes full of Incan platforms, small streams and some Andean communities until we reach OLLANTAYTAMBO riding through its beautiful and narrow streets with water channels running next to the walls all the way down to the plaza where we can enjoy a few beers watching a beautiful sunset, to then go back to Cusco.
At night we will gather to celebrate the incredible days we spent riding a bike in the Peruvian Andes.
- Duration: 7 hours – shuttle time 3 hours – riding time 4 hrs
- Difficulty: intermediate - advance
- Maximum altitude: 4316m – 15243 ft
- Minimum altitude: 2792 m – 9214 ft
- Up: 15 m (49.5 ft) – Down 1524 m (5029 ft)
- Distance: 36.4 km – 22.72 ml
Day 6: Departure Day
We know that travel is often more than just MOUNTAIN BIKIKNG ADVENTURES and that many travelers want to extend their trip within Peru. In order to know the cultural, historical and gastronomic wealth that we have to offer, we are happy to assist you in your future plans. Just let us know what works best for you.
However, if your plan is to go directly to the airport, don't worry we will take care of it.
Good vibes shredders.