The Huchuy Qosqo Trek

The other Inca city, walked in solitude

Huchuy Qosqo — "Little Cusco" in Quechua — is a complete Inca site perched a thousand metres above the Sacred Valley, with palaces, terraces and a great hall still standing. It receives a fraction of the visitors that any village along the Inca Trail will see in an hour, and the route to it traces the original Inca road that connected Cusco to the empire's high estates. For three days you will walk Inca paths in something close to solitude. We recommend this trek to travellers who want the archaeology of the route to remain quiet.

Why the shorter trek is the right one for many

The Huchuy Qosqo route is gentler than Salkantay or the Classic Inca Trail, with the highest point at around 4,300 metres and most days under five hours of walking. We use it for travellers with limited days, for those acclimatising before a more demanding trek, and for families introducing teenagers to the experience of the high Andes. Machu Picchu finishes the journey, reached by train from Ollantaytambo on the third afternoon, but Huchuy Qosqo itself often becomes the more memorable site — precisely because so few people will ever stand there with you.

• Approximately 30 km over three days, finishing by train to Machu Picchu
• Maximum altitude approximately 4,300 m at Pucamarca Pass
• Walks an original Inca road to a complete and seldom-visited Inca site
• Gentler profile than Salkantay or the Inca Trail — suitable for first-time trekkers