Inca Trail Atacama and Patagonia Holiday » Itinerary

Fly overnight to Latin America. Please note: international flights are quoted separately for this holiday.

Travel to the north of Chile and the Atacama Desert. Stay in a boutique hotel in the small, characterful oasis town of San Pedro de Atacama.

Set off from the hotel for a gently paced bike ride across the salt flats to a lagoon, home to a family of flamingos. In the late afternoon walk through a narrow gorge in the salt mountains.

Ride up to 20km, 3hrs, flat. Walk 7km, 2hrs, down 100m.

Start today’s walk in small village at 4,000m. Walk along a wide green valley then down an Inca road surrounded by giant cacti and agricultural terraces to an oasis.

Walk 18km, 5hrs, down 1,000m

Today’s walk takes you as high as many of us will ever stand. Walk slowly but steadily to the summit at 5,620m – only a couple of hundred metres lower than Kilimanjaro.

Walk 6km, 3hrs, up 420m, down 420m.

Visit the world’s highest geothermal field – the Tatio geysers as they come to life at sunrise. Afterwards, soak in hot springs. Fly to Santiago this evening.

Today is yours to explore Santiago. Your hotel is in the centre of this bustling city so you can explore on foot quite comfortably.

Fly south along the spectacular spine of the Andes, over the massive Patagonian ice fields. On arrival you are driven across the open plains to Puerto Natales where you spend the night.

Catch a morning boat along the Ultima Esperanza Sound as far as the Balmaceda glacier where you pick up a river boat which takes you along the Rio Serrano into the Torres del Paine National Park.

Travel into Torres del Paine National Park. Enjoy an afternoon boat trip out to the face of Glacier Grey. Sleep in the mountain hut (refugio) near the face of the glacier.

Start walking east across Torres del Paine as you leave the glaciers behind you to walk between lakes and mountains towards the dry grasslands.

Walk under the mountain of Paine Grande then a steady uphill and a steep downhill towards the shores of Lake Nordenskjold.

Continue your walk along a good path in the shadow of the mountains throughout today. You should see lots of condors as you pass beneath the high peaks.

Early start to hike up to the small lake at the base of the towers – the culmination of your Torres del Paine walk. Return to sleep in a comfortable hotel.

Travel up from the far south to the capital, Santiago. Today is a long travel day although the views are always a treat. Dress comfortably, relax and enjoy.

Travel to Peru today and stay overnight in Lima.

Fly to Cusco this morning. Meet your guide who will be with you throughout your time here. Acclimatise gently to the altitude (3,300m) with a walking tour.

Spend today with your Pura guide exploring the Inca sites both in and around Cusco and the Sacred Valley nearby.

Explore the Inca ruins at Ollantaytambo. Start your four day hike with a walk alongside the Urubamba River.

Walk 5km, 2hrs, up 50m.

We also offer the one-day ‘Royal’ Inca Trail walk or the train trip to Machu Picchu for anyone less active.

At Pura Aventura we only operate our own dedicated Inca Trail walks and we take longer to do it. By doing this we can be sure that you will get the most from your walk to Machu Picchu and avoid the crowds.

Permit system
Each day the Peruvian Government allows 500 people onto the trail. This includes all guides and porters so actually equates to about 200 hikers each day. If this sounds like a lot, frankly it is, but there are ways to avoid the crowds.

Their way
The vast majority of those 200 walkers do the three day trail which aims to arrive at Machu Picchu at sunrise. Once they arrive, they visit the site and catch that afternoon’s train back to Cusco. Those going at this pace on the Inca Trail suffer a couple of disadvantages.

Firstly, you have less time to acclimatise as you tackle the highest point of the trail on only the second day.

Secondly, the campsites are very busy, particularly the last night in Winaywayna which can have over 300 people spending the night. That equates to a lot of tents, a lot of noise and some fairly unpleasant sanitary conditions.

Thirdly, your first views of Machu Picchu can be rather compromised as people jostle for a perch in a small viewing area at the Sun Gate.

This a quote from one, very good, operator “Almost every group wants to be at the sun gate for sunrise. Sheer numbers require an early start to make sure people are in place for the sunrise.”

Lastly, since Machu Picchu is in a cloudforest, sunrise happens probably around 30% of the time. More normal is that the clouds gradually drift clear later. If the weather isn’t good, they will not get to see the site in all its glory as they will be on a train back to Cusco that same afternoon.

Our way
Meanwhile…Pura Aventura clients are half a day behind the main group of walkers as you set off in the afternoon of day one.

Because you do not cross the highest pass until day three, you have an extra day to acclimatise. Our guides work hard to make sure that you walk in the peaceful conditions at any time of year. You enjoy a quiet, often empty, trail ahead of you. The places we camp are very peaceful.

You arrive in Machu Picchu in the twilight when the site is at its prettiest and quietest. That afternoon you stroll down through the site to soak up the atmosphere before spending a welcome night in a hotel nearby.

The following morning you come back up to the citadel – early enough to catch sunrise if you like. You have your full guided tour before returning to Cusco by train that afternoon.

In all you have about 24 hours at Machu Picchu spread over two days, giving you the best possible opportunity to see the site at its best.

Today you walk at relatively low altitude (3,000m) through a pretty wooded landscape camping in a lovely spot at around 3,800m.

Walk 10km, 6.5hrs, up 850m

Today is the hardest day of the trail as you cross over two high passes, effectively hiking an ‘m’ shape.

Walk 15km, 8hrs, up 650m, down 850m.

Your porters work extremely hard on the Inca Trail. In particular, the meals they prepare is the subject of much admiration from Pura clients. We work with a set team from a particular village. We can trust them to do a good job for you, they can trust us

By the end of day one you are likely to really appreciate the work your porters are doing for you.

In the mornings they are there to wake you for breakfast with a cup of tea and warm water for a wash. As you set off walking for the day, they pull up camp, overtaking you a while later fully laden with all of the gear.

A couple of hours later you come across them again and they will have prepared a three-course lunch for you on the side of the trail. After this, you waddle onwards and upwards only to be overtaken again soon afterwards.

By the time you get to the day’s stopping point, the team will have set up the campsite, have supper on the go and greet you with a cup of tea!

Pura Aventura adheres strictly to the Porter Protection Policies in place on the Inca Trail. In fact our porters are from the community of Chacllanca, about 45km from Cusco.Generally they are subsistence farmers who supplement their earnings by working on the Inca Trail.

Our two head chefs, Virgilio and Herlin are in charge of getting the teams together. Your team of porters is usually therefore made up of friends, family and neighbours who respect one another and work well together.

The final day of the trail is the most beautiful, starting with what can be the most stunning sunrise. Arrive in Machu Picchu this afternoon.

Walk 11km, 6hrs, down 700m.

Enjoy a full guided tour of Machu Picchu this morning. Return to Cusco by train this afternoon.

Transfer back to the airport for your flight home today.

Arrive back home.