INCA ADVENTURE FREERIDE trip: Peru

We will build our bikes in the morning and after a light lunch we will be transferred to Pachacamac. This little town is located 40Km. South of Lima and it's famous for its food, Inca sites and their awesome downhill trails for mountain biking. This is the place where ALL the mountain bikers from Lima go to find some cool singletracks! We will ride The Prado, Amancaes and Chirimoyo trails, all full of jumps and fun sections. At the end of the day we will return to our hotel in Lima.

Santo Domingo de los Olleros, or simply 'Olleros' is located 150 Km. east of Lima on the Lurin Valley at an altitude of 3,150 masl (10,356 ft.). The start of this trail is located at an altitude of 3,450 masl (11,319 ft.) and 4 hours away from Lima. The trail is 54 Km. long and is Peru's most famous mountain bike trail. From the start of the trail, on a good clear day, it's possible to see the Pacific Ocean, where we will end our ride! It's 3,500 meters of epic vertical descent that will take us directly to the Pacific Ocean. We'll end near San Bartolo beach, enjoying a relaxing view of the Pacific Ocean. We plan to return to Lima approximately at 7:00 pm.

Marcahuasi is a mountain top plateau located on the Santa Eulalia Valley at an altitude of 4,000 masl (13,123 ft.) and 150 Km. east of Lima. It takes approximately 3 1/2 hours to reach the town of San Pedro de Casta (3,150 masl / 10,355 ft.), the entrance of Marcahuasi. This place is special for many reasons: On top of the mountain is an incredible 'stone forest' with lots of zoomorphic and anthropomorphic figures carved in the rocks; the place is considered a point where you can make contact with other worlds and it is a place where the Shamans and 'curanderos' make their rituals.

We will pick you up from your hotel at 6:00 am to start our tour to one of the best downhills in the world. Our first stop is the town of San Pedro de Casta, where we will start with a one-hour horse back ride to the Marcahuasi plateau. We will visit the pre-Inca graves, the fortress, the lake and all the rock formations at the top of the mountain and are going to take a snack before we start with the downhill trail. After our visit at Marcahuasi, we'll start a demanding downhill ride that will take us down to the town of Huinco at the Santa Eulalia Valley. This trail has a vertical descent of almost 3,000 meters (9,842 ft.) and will take us three hours to complete. We plan to return to Lima approximately at 6:00 pm.

Early in the morning we will fly to Cusco, the center of the Inca Empire. The rest of the morning is free to rest and get our bikes ready. After lunch we will have our first ride on an Inca trail descending from the village of Salkantay at an altitude of 4,000 masl (13,123 ft.) and finish in the middle of the main square of Cusco at an altitude of 3,350 masl (10,991 ft.). The rest of the afternoon is free to walk around the Inca streets of Cusco and enjoy the nightlife of this Imperial city.

We will transfer early in the morning to the town of Chinchero at 3,750 masl (12,327 ft.), the start of one of the most demanding downhill trails in Cusco. We are going to cross the Inca site of Chinchero with its incredible stone architecture and infinite rock steps to then enter into a deep canyon that will take us directly to the Sacred Valley at the village of Urquillos (2,950 masl / 9,697 ft.). This is a one hour downhill with more than 750 meters of vertical descent. After we take lunch at a nice restaurant in the Sacred Valley, we will transfer to Maras to ride another impressive Inca site that will take us first to the town of Maras and then to the ancient salt mines. Our third ride today starts near the Inca site of Moray at an altitude of 3,650 masl (12,000 ft.). It's a one hour downhill that will leave us near Ollantaytambo. Finally we will be transferred to the town of Ollantaytambo where we will stay for the next 3 nights.

This day is supposed to be a rest day, but in Peru we have so much to see that there's no time for rest. We suggest you to visit Machu Picchu as an option for this day. The tour starts with a train ride from Ollantaytambo to the town of Aguas Calientes. From there we take a private bus up to the Citadel. Machu Picchu (like most of the Quechua names of towns and different sites in the region) is a compound word that comes from Machu = old or ancient, and Picchu = peak or mountain; therefore, Machu Picchu is translated as "Old Mountain". The famous mountain that is seen in front, and appears in most of the classical views of the site is named Wayna Picchu (Young Mountain). We will have practically all the day to explore the entire citadel and know all of its well preserved secrets.

N.B. the trip to Machu Picchu is not included in the trip price. The cost to visit Machu Picchu is $250 Cdn/person, which includes return train ride to Aguas Calientes, bus to Machu Picchu, admission and guide.

This day we will ride the Megavalanche downhill course where top ranked racers like Steve Peat, Cedric Gracia and Brian Lopes have raced, challenging the mountain, the altitude and the weather conditions. We start with a one hour bus drive to the Mountain pass of Malaga at 4,350 masl (14,300 ft.), the start of this trail and where we can have great views of the glaciers like the Veronica Summit at more than 5,000 meters (16,500 ft.). The trail starts with a wide singletrack on top of the mountain and then it turns to a narrow trail with many obstacles like rock steps, jumps and close turns. It will take us approximately one hour to complete the trail until we reach the village of Tanjca on the Sacred Valley at an altitude of 2,850 masl (9,370 ft.). We plan to ride this amazing trail twice.

We will be transferred early in the morning from our hotel in Ollantaytambo to the town of Calca in the Sacred Valley and then climb to the mountain pass of Lares located at 4,350 masl (14,300 ft.) where we will start another epic ride going through an impressive Inca trail that follows a narrow valley with big walls of granite. We will pass maybe one of the most impressive landscapes of all the tour, crossing a deep canyon where it is only possible to make it walking or on our bikes. We will pass different terrains, from flat rocky surfaces on top of the mountain to fertile valleys at the middle and end of the trail. We will finally end this epic ride at the town of Calca on the Sacred Valley at an altitude of 2,900 masl (9,533 ft.). After lunch, we will be transferred to Cusco where we will end our day riding another Inca trail that descends to the center of the city.