The Moonstone Trek

Set amidst hills in the altiplano, the Imperial City of the Incas, Cuzco
(3,400) was the geographic, cultural and political centre of a vast empire
which, at its peak, stretched from present-day Quito in Ecuador to Santiago
in Chile. After the Spanish conquistadores invaded the city they started
building on top of the Incan structures, resulting in unique architecture, a
fusion of the Incan and Spanish colonial styles.

The group flight usually arrives around midday, giving time for a short
orientation tour around the city or free time to wander the cobbled streets
admiring the old houses, visiting its interesting museums, churches and
pre-Columbian buildings, or to sit in a café and sample a coca-tea.

It is recommended to take it easy upon arrival into Cuzco and to drink plenty
of water to allow your body time to acclimatise to the altitude (3400m).

There will be a welcome briefing in the hotel lobby this afternoon/evening.

Today has been left free for exploring Cuzco, one of South America's most
beautiful cities. The Plaza de Armas is a fantastic spot for people-watching,
and Qorikancha – the Sun Temple, located in the Santo Domingo Church and
monastery, are worth a visit. The Mercado San Pedro is the place to try some
local produce and there are many handicraft markets to shop for souvenirs
such as alpaca jumpers and scarves.

Outside the town are more Inca ruins, notably the fortress of Sacsayhuaman
where the Inca armies made their last stand against the Conquistadores. Cuzco
is also the gateway to the Sacred Valley of the Incas and should you wish to
visit the sites, your leader can help organise an excursion, including Pisac
Market (optional).

If you fancy something more active then there are an array of other optional
activities available from Cuzco including paddle-boarding on a lake, mountain
biking, or a combination of via ferrata and zip-lining in the Sacred Valley.

An early start as it's a very busy first day! We take a private minibus to
the trailhead, stopping first to explore the nearby ruins from which the trek
takes its name. This is a large site with several distinct Inca remnants,
clearly of religious importance. As with the rest of the trek, we are most
likely to have the site completely to ourselves. The Moonstone itself is a
large carving on an enormous boulder, and its significance is not yet
understood.

The trailhead is in a quiet, dusty valley and we soon climb high enough from
the floor to enjoy some great views. At around lunchtime we stop to explore
the imposing pre‐Inca fortress of Wata that straddles the trail. The ruin
has not yet been accurately dated and pottery can often still be found lying
on the ground. The path then traverses along a green side valley as we make
our way above a few tiny villages before entering the village of Chillipawa,
where we camp.

*Walk Profile: approx. 10.5km / 6‐7hrs walking*

*Full‐service Camping*

A long, steady climb with plenty of rest stops to aid acclimatisation takes
us above the villages and into the high pampas ‐ rugged meadows of long
grass. We normally stop for lunch shortly before the crest of the Accoccosa
Pass (and the very rare Andean Flicker is sometimes seen (although often
heard!). The last leg of the pass is on loose red scree, but the view from
the top makes it all worthwhile: a broad, hidden valley surrounded by snowy
peaks ‐ the Huayanay Range on the left, the Urubamba Range straight ahead
and beautiful, triangular Mt Veronica (5800m) to the right. We have time to
explore this plateau and experience walking in the high altiplano before
returning to our camp for a well‐deserved hot dinner. The camp's isolation,
well away from any settlements, results in spectacular night skies when
clear.

*Walk Profile: approx. 8.8km / 4‐5hrs walking*

*Full‐service Camping*

We start after breakfast by following the stream from down this hidden valley
into a narrow canyon. Rare polylepis trees grow here and we pass through a
small grove as we leave the canyon. Our path then turns North and traverses
very high above a deep and steep valley separating us from the Huayanay
Mountains. This is probably the most spectacular section of the trek and we
roughly follow a (now defunct) Inca aqueduct spectacularly carved out of the
cliffs to take water from the hidden valley of our campsite to the Sacred
Valley several miles away. At the end of the traverse we have a short but
steep climb up to our lunch spot, a flat, ridge‐top meadow facing straight
across the Sacred Valley to the snowy Urubamba Range.

After lunch we walk down to Huayrapunku. Meaning "Gate of the Wind", this is
a ridge‐top Inca shrine oriented to Mt Veronica, of which it has a simply
incredible view. A short walk brings us to our final campsite in amongst the
granite stones of the Canchiqata Quarry. It was here that huge blocks were
cut from the rose‐coloured granite before being dragged down the
mountainside and across the river to the Sun Temple at Ollantaytambo.

*Walk Profile: approx. 11.8km / 5‐6hrs walking *

*Full‐service Camping
*

Photographers are advised to wake up before dawn this morning, to watch the
sun rise over the Sacred Valley from our campsite high above it. The sun's
first rays catching the glaciers of Mt Veronica certainly makes the effort
more than worthwhile. This is our last day on the trek and we descend from
the pampas down into the lush valley floor along the enormous stone ramps on
which the Incas dragged the stones. We cross the river and explore the huge
Sun Temple complex to see where the stones ended and what use they were put
to. 

*Walk Profile: approx. 8km / 2‐3hrs walking *

Today we have a day walk along a section of the Inca Trail, starting early
with a train from Ollantaytambo.  After showing our passports at the check
point, we will pass by the archaeological site of Chachabamba and start our
trek. The trail has impressive views of the valley and the Urubamba river,
with orchids and begonias along the way and the sight of magnificent
mountains all around. The trail passes the ruins of Wiñay Wayna where we
will stop to explore and have our packed lunch. After visiting the attractive
ruins of Wiñay Wayna, we have an undulating walk through cloud forest high
above the river to Inti Punku, the Sun Gate. From here we get our first full
sight of Machu Picchu itself, with Huayna Picchu rising behind.

*Walk Profile: approx. 11km / 6-7hrs walking*

In order to beat the day-trippers arriving from Cuzco and reach the ruins as
early as possible, a very early start is required to queue for Machu Picchu;
only government-registered buses can make the 30-minute drive up the winding
road to the site entrance, and during high season (May-October) queues can be
hours long. 

Machu Picchu is one of the architectural and engineering marvels of the
ancient world and what makes it all the more dramatic is its mountain
backdrop of staggering immensity. The Spaniards never found it; the Incas
left no records of it, and so Machu Picchu remained a great enigma, a city
lost for centuries in the jungle until it was rediscovered in 1911 by the
American historian Hiram Bingham. 

New regulations for visiting Machu Picchu are now fully enforced; of the
three possible visiting slots, we will purchase the morning slot from 06:00
until 12:00 (unless unavailable), you will be limited to a maximum of four
hours within the site and must be accompanied by a guide. There will also be
three set routes to follow around Machu Picchu; we select the most
comprehensive route. 

We catch an afternoon train back to Ollantaytambo (1hr 30 mins) and continue
by private bus to Cuzco (2hrs 30 mins).
*

For land only travellers, the trip ends in Cuzco after breakfast today. Those
who are travelling on the group flights will be taken to Cuzco airport to
catch the overnight flight back to London.