How to Book the Huchuy Qosqo Trek Full Day
Booking is straightforward. Press BOOK NOW, choose your date and fill in the passenger details: full name, passport or ID number, nationality, date of birth, email, WhatsApp number, where you are staying in Cusco, and anything we should know about diet or mobility.
Once your reservation and payment reach us, we verify availability and send you the final pick-up time along with the rest of the tour information. Given the 5:00 a.m. start, that confirmation is worth reading the evening before rather than the morning of.
Terms & Conditions
Confirmation
Your reservation is confirmed once payment has been received and we have verified availability for your date.
Operating conditions
This excursion depends on weather, road conditions, local access and the operational situation on the day. Where safety requires it, we may make reasonable adjustments to the itinerary — the aim is always to keep the core of the experience intact.
Cancellations
Cancellation requests must be made in writing. What can be refunded depends on the cancellation conditions that apply and on any services already arranged that we cannot recover.
Travel insurance
Not included and strongly recommended. Check that your policy actually covers hiking at altitude, since many standard travel policies do not.
Fitness and acclimatization
This is a full day of walking at altitude. You should be reasonably fit and, more importantly, already acclimatized — ideally with a couple of days in Cusco behind you before the trek.
Huchuy Qosqo Trek Full Day — Frequently Asked Questions
How hard is it?
Moderate. You are walking at altitude over uneven ground, with climbs and descents throughout the day, so reasonable fitness helps. Nothing about it is technical — no scrambling, no exposure — but it is a full day on your feet.
Do I need trekking experience?
Not really. It helps, but any active traveler who is comfortable walking for several hours can do this. If you have never hiked at altitude before, this is a good place to start.
Should I acclimatize first?
Yes, and it matters more than fitness does. One or two days in Cusco or the Sacred Valley before the trek makes a real difference to how the day feels. Many travelers use this hike as their acclimatization day before Salkantay or the Inca Trail, which works well.
Will it be crowded?
No. Huchuy Qosqo sees a small fraction of the visitors that Cusco’s better-known sites receive, mainly because no road reaches it — you can only get there on foot. On most days you will have long stretches of trail to yourself.
Is lunch included?
Yes, lunch is included as part of the confirmed service.
Are trekking poles provided?
Yes, and at no extra cost. They make a noticeable difference on the uneven ground and on the long descent at the end of the day.
Can I book it privately?
Yes. Private departures can be arranged subject to availability and the number of travelers, and they let you set your own pace and spend as long as you like at the site.
Huchuy Qosqo Trek Full Day — A Short Travel Guide
Huchuy Qosqo is the Inca site most visitors to Cusco never hear about, and the reason is simple: no road reaches it. You arrive on foot or not at all, which is exactly why it stays quiet while Pisac and Ollantaytambo fill with buses.
What the site actually is
The name means “Little Cusco” in Quechua. It was built as a royal estate under the Inca Pachacutec’s father, Viracocha, in the early fifteenth century, and it worked as an administrative and agricultural centre — storehouses, an irrigation channel running some 800 metres, and terracing that is still legible in the hillside today. It sits at around 3,650 m, high above the town of Lamay on the floor of the Sacred Valley.
Why do it as a day trek
Three reasons, in the order most travelers care about.
You get a real Inca site without the crowds. You get a proper day of Andean walking — passes, farmland, working communities, stretches of old Inca path — rather than a bus tour with photo stops. And you get it within reach of Cusco, back in the city the same evening.
The best use of this trek: as your acclimatization day. Anyone heading for Salkantay or the Inca Trail needs two days at altitude in Cusco first. This turns one of them into something worth remembering instead of a day spent waiting.
How hard it is, honestly
Moderate, and the difficulty is almost entirely altitude. There is no scrambling and nothing exposed; what tires people is walking uphill in thin air and then descending a long way on uneven ground.
If you have spent a couple of days in Cusco beforehand and you are comfortable walking for several hours, you will be fine. If you flew in from sea level yesterday, you will not enjoy it, however fit you are.
When to go
The dry season, roughly April to October, gives the clearest views over the Sacred Valley and firmer ground underfoot. The wet months turn the descent muddy and can put cloud over the whole valley, though the landscape is greener and you will have it even more to yourself.
Whatever the month, mornings above 3,500 m are cold and midday sun at that altitude is fierce. Layers are not optional.
Practical notes
Pick-up is at 5:00 a.m., so arrange breakfast with your hotel the night before — most in Cusco will prepare something to take with you if you ask in advance.
Carry cash in soles for anything bought along the way. Bring sunscreen and a hat, because there is very little shade on the high sections. And wear footwear you have already tested going downhill; the descent at the end of the day is where boots either work or don’t.
Trekking poles come with the tour, so there is no need to bring your own.
