from 3 reviews
1 Day
No Cancellation
10 people
English, Espanol, Português
1 Day Hike
This one day trek to Cachicata Inca Quarry is beautiful where visit some of the lesser-known places outside of busy Ollantaytambo – the last remaining “living Inca village”. This fabulous day hike offers a stunning view of the Urubamba mountain range and its Mt Veronica (5.860m/ 19,226ft), towering over the Sacred Valley. The Inca quarry hike is a great warm-up trek and perfect for training for the Inca Trail! The Cachicata hike to the Inca Quarries begins in Ollantaytambo crossing the Urubamba River on the Inca-bridge, and where we observe how ancient Incan foundations still serve to this day for a modern structure to be laid across.
The highlight of this day trek is the Gate of the Sun (3,900 m/ 12,795 ft) located on a hilltop, a unique place with a snowcapped mountain at the background and perfect to shoot amazing photos of the mountain through the gate. Ollantaytambo boasts some of the most amazing stonework in the whole Sacred Valley, and this trek takes you right to the source – the ancient Inca stone quarry! A place where the Incan stonecutters worked cutting, molding and shaping the rocks for the construction of the sun temple in Ollantaytambo, and some ancient burials with skeletons inside are still seen today. Many parts of Sacred Valley are only now becoming open to the public and Inca Quarry trail is one of them. Even the locals were unaware of this great trail until a couple of years ago, as such, the area is still very much unexplored by tourists. The Cachicata hike to the Inca Quarries is a steep, 2.5-3h uphill hike. It’s a pretty challenging day hike, but the views of this impressive Andean peak and the Inca history that is brought to life make the effort well worth it!
* This hike requires a bit of experience in mountain trekking since the trail surface is dirt, rocky, with very steep sections.
Tour Details
Hiking distance: 16 km / 9.96 miles
Hiking time: 6 – 7 hours (depending on your fitness levels)
Physical Grading: Moderate to demanding
Activities Type: Cultural Adventure, Hiking, Archaeology Adventures
Group Size: Tours are personalized in private service, you decide the number of travelers in your group.
Service Type: Private Personalized Tours
From/ pick up location: Hotels in Cusco or Sacred Valley (Ollantaytambo and Urubamba), or another place. just let us know
To/ drop-off location: Any hotel in Cusco or Sacred Valley (Ollantaytambo and Urubamba), Including Ollantaytambo train station or another place, just let us know.
This trek to cachicata Inca Quarry is definitely a picturesque 1-day hike in the proximity of the Sacred Valley and off the beaten path trail.
We’ll meet you at your hotel lobby in Cusco the night before the “ Cachicata Inca Quarry Trail 1 Day Hike” to go over the itinerary and you’ll able to take this opportunity to ask final questions and make any final preparations. The meeting will be at 5:00 pm the evening before the trek begins. In case you can´t at this time “please let us know” to coordinate another time.
A day to trek to the Inca Quarry and Sungate Reaching the Gate of the Sun in the highlands of the Sacred Valley
At 7:00 am, you Peru Summit Adventures private guide comes at your hotel to pick you up, next, you will drive to the trailhead, which is located just close by to Ollantaytambo town at an elevation of 2,750 m/ 9,022 ft.
Once there, the day adventure starts, you will get into the trail, which is going up the mountainside until reaching the gate of the sun, as the trail is getting higher and higher it becomes harder and harder and the views become more and more impressive. After 2-hour hiking you will reach the Inca quarry zone, where the remains of cut rocks or carved rocks are still visible in the middle of shrubs, and the ancient burials are located in this area as well, once there you will explore the area with your private guide.
After this site, you will still hike up the mountain for 1 more hour to reach the Sungate (3,650 m/ 11,972 ft). Sungate is nestled on a hilltop whose door overlooks to the Veronica mountain (Wakaywillka Mt). The area is not properly researched yet, although it believed that the site was built to worship the gods of the mountain especially the veronica mountain and the sun god. Today, it is still visible some remains of water canals, walls, and Inca Trails. The highlight of this hike is the view of Veronica mountain through the gate of the sun, a great opportunity to shoot a perfect Peru postcard.
About midday we will take our packed lunch at a scenic spot with awesome vistas around. After exploring the area properly, we will return by the same trail to the trailhead, from where will take our private transportation to your hotel or other location.
While we expect the tour will run as the itinerary describes to : Cachicata Inca Quarry Trail 1 Day Hike Participants should accept that there is the possibility of changes, being necessary liable to local conditions, strikes, natural disasters, these changes might be at the discretion of your travel company.
• Original passport
• Comfortable hiking pants
• Down jacket, or a warm jacket
• Trekking shoes with protector’s ankle, or similar
• Hiking long sleeve T-shirts
• Rain jacket/poncho
• Winter hat and gloves
• Rain pants
• Sunblock (factor 35+ recommended, the sun can be strong)
• Water for the trek (recommend at least 2L)
• Sunglasses and sun hat
• Camera and films with spare batteries (note: batteries run down faster at high altitudes)
• Trekking poles (recommended especially for the steep descents, can be rented from us)
• Toilet paper, and face tissue paper
• Extra money (American dollars and Peruvian soles in cash – little coins for toilet) and also for souvenirs, drinks and tips.
South Valley Tour, Cusco, PERU
Tour to Machu Picchu with a Expedition tourist train, Cusco, PERU
Hiram Bingham Luxury Train to Machu Picchu, Cusco, PERU
