The 5 Best Peru Hiking Adventures For Your Bucket List
The 5 Best Peru Hiking Adventures For Your Bucket List
With the ridge of the Andes Mountains slicing the length of Peru and 6,000m mountains that make the most adventurous drool, Peru is a trekker’s paradise. Some of the best Peru hiking options are easily accessed either from Cusco or by a bus journey from Lima.
So once you’re done with your Spanish classes in Cusco, strap on your hiking boots and get ready to hit the trail!
1. The Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, Cusco
Easily the most famous of all trekking in Peru, the Inca Trail that leads you directly to Machu Picchu is a classic hike, combining history and sublime landscapes with the chance to end your journey the exact same way the Inca would: at this former estate for Inca royalty.
There are several Inca trekking routes in Peru that go to Machu Picchu, however, the classic Inca Trail is a four-day 43km hike that
winds up into the mountains beyond the Sacred Valley, summiting three high-altitude passes before terminating at the Inca ruins
of Machu Picchu for sunrise on the final day.
The Inca Trail definitely ranks among the best hiking in Peru and the experience of travelling in the footsteps of this former
civilization is one you won’t forget in a hurry.
2. Alternative Inca Trail treks in Peru: the Salkantay and Lares, Cusco
If you fancy taking a Peruvian hiking trail still steeped in ancient history, but followed by far fewer other feet, consider two of the increasingly popular ways of reaching Machu Picchu: the Salkantay and Lares treks.
The Salkantay is a challenging five-day hike that reaches heights of 4,600m at the Salkantay Pass, passing pre-Columbian ruins en-route before dropping back down into cloud forest and finally reaching Aguas Calientes, the gateway to Machu Picchu.
The Lares trek offers similarly beautiful scenery – a mix of snow-capped peaks and deep, vegetated valleys – but allows for a closer interaction with local people, as the trail passes through traditional weaving villages such as Huacahuasi and Patacancha over the two or three days. It ends at Ollantaytambo in the Sacred Valley, from where the train takes you onwards to Aguas Calientes.
NOTE — Did you know you can combine your Spanish classes with a hiking adventure in Peru?
Check our special program Spanish and Salkantay!
3. The Rainbow Mountain Trek, Cusco
Another trail ranking among the best trekking in Peru is to Rainbow Mountain, or Vinicunca, a rainbow-coloured peak just a few
hour’s drive and a 10km hike from Cusco.
Although the true colours of the mountain are a little more muted than in the photoshopped images you see on the internet, the
spectacle remains truly astonishing. A consequence of the mixing of minerals in the earth with water, the colours look like they’ve been painted directly onto the earth.
5 Best Peru Hiking Adventures For Your Bucket List
NOTE – AMAUTA Spanish School offers weekly weekend trips to Rainbow Mountain!
4. The Santa Cruz Trail, Huaraz
Huaraz, a high-altitude city tucked into the Cordillera Blanca mountain range has some of the best Peru hiking trails.
Any sort of activity here is challenging due to the altitude – the town itself sits at 3,000m above sea level, so it’s worth acclimatising
before you attempt any treks.
One of the most popular Huaraz treks is the Santa Cruz trail, a 50km adventure that reaches up to 4,760m at its highest point –
and is certainly not for the fainthearted. You can expect to spend four days on the trail, with superb views of icy mountains, turquoise
lakes and a feeling of being far from civilization.
The whole region offers some of the best hiking close to Lima, and can be easily accessed with a seven-hour bus journey or one-hour
flight from the capital.
5 Best Peru Hiking Adventures For Your Bucket List
5. The Choquequirao Trek, Cusco
One of the least visited Peru hiking trails is to Inca fortress Choquequirao, a ruined city almost three times larger than Machu Picchu
and still almost completely buried in the jungle.
The difficult of the Choquequirao trek is one of the reasons why only around a dozen visitors a day attempt this 64km, four-day hike.
But the steep descents and ascents that characterise the trail are more than worth it: expect to explore the ruins practically all by
yourself in one of the final untouched corners of Inca territory.
What’s more, plans have long been in place to install a cable car to turn the journey to the ruins to a mere 15 minutes – so be sure
to plan your adventure to Choquequirao sooner rather than later.
Looking to study Spanish in Peru and want to combine it with trekking through the country’s dramatic landscapes?
Check out our trekking and Spanish language study options.
