If you ‘re looking for a close experience with beautiful llamas and hike trough an amazing route landscape-wise, this tour is perfect for you!
The experience starts in the mountains of Cuzco, passes through the archaeological site of Huchuy Qosqo, and finishes in the Sacred Valley of the Incas. Throughout the whole hike, you will be accompanied by a group of llamas, just like the Incas used to be at the time. These elegant animals are among the most important elements enabling the history and traditions of the Incas to live on today.
The tour starts at 7 am in Lamay from where we will take you to the community of Q’enko. (We can arrange transportation from Cusco or the Sacred Valley to Lamay for you for an additional fee. For your convenience, we offer transportation arrangements from Cusco or the Sacred Valley to Lamay and back, at an additional fee of $75 USD for you and your group (up to 6 passengers. For bigger groups please contact us). This optional service can be conveniently added during the booking process.
Once in Q’enco, we will meet the llamas and start our hike with them. Unlike other tours, we will be able to load our animal friends with our provisions and carry a lot more with us, which is why this tour is more luxurious than its counterpart. Also, we will take everything we need for a beautiful picnic, which you will enjoy whenever you feel like needing to regain some strength.
After loading the llamas, we will start the ascent of approximately 1.5 km to the highest point of the route, with amazing views of the Cordillera Vilcanota and the Sacred Valley of the Incas. The trail will then take us along creeks and agricultural terraces, facing the Vilcanota river and the Urubamba mountain range until we arrive at Pukamarca (Red Village). There you will meet the Inca Trail hidden in a narrow and biodiverse gully, with water channels, ancient stairs, and bridges, as well as other archaeological remains amidst breathtaking nature.
Then, we will arrive at Huchuy Qosqo, an important Tambo (strategic military and religious site) at the heights of the Sacred Valley. History tells that this was the refuge of the Inca Viracocha until his son Pachacutec defeated the Chancas, who invaded the city of Cusco. After visiting the citadel and enjoying the views and landscape, we will descend to the village of Lamay to finish our trip at 4 pm. From here, you can return to your hotel or head to your next destination.
Please note that, as “Huchuy Qosqo with Llamas” is a private tour, we are quite flexible and can easily adapt to your schedule, personal fitness, and so on. So, if you wish to start this tour earlier or later, for example, we can arrange that for you. If you prefer going on the less expensive group tour without llamas, you can book our regular Inca Road to Huchuy Qosqo Tour.
First of all, walking with llamas is a lot less detrimental to the trails we are taking than if you would be taking horses or donkeys. But the path is still being taken care of. We pay a fee to the community, which is going to benefit from it to maintain the path and thus be involved in the tourist activity. The community members who care for the llamas are also given employment by accompanying their animals on the hike.
During the latter, we give an exhaustive interpretation of the environment. By doing that, we aim to raise the traveler´s awareness of how important it is to preserve the local flora and fauna.
Lastly, all supplies that we use are local and the packaging is sustainable.
We can arrange transportation to and from your accommodation. Whether you’re in Cuzco or the Sacred Valley, our fixed price is $75 USD per group (up to 6 passengers. For bigger groups please contact us). Sit back, relax, and let us take care of your travel needs.
You can also come by public transport from Cusco or any point in the Sacred Valley. Keep in mind the distance of the trip to arrive on time at the starting point of the activity.
The difficulty is about a 3/4, there is not much uphill but a lot of downhills, so that is why it is a little bit challenging.
The hike to Huchuy Qosqo with llamas is about 6 hours or about 12 km long (always depending on the group, if you guys are really good hikers maybe it can be faster, but we adapt to your pace).
The activity as a whole has a duration of about 7-8 hours (full day).
“Huchuy Qosqo with Llamas” is a private tour, which means that we are able to adapt it to your specific wishes, if need be!
No, that is not necessary.
It is 4100 masl (13451.44 feet) when at the Qoriccasa pass.
The Sacred Valley has a typical Andean climate; when there’s sun it’s warm, when there’s no sun it’s cold. The rainy season is from December to April but occasional rains can occur anytime throughout the year.
Find more info about climates in Peru in our blog “Best Time to Travel to Peru“.
Please refer to our article What to Pack for your Trip to Peru for all your questions about packing for your Peru trip. Whether you’re going to the jungle or the mountains, you’ll find the answers you need. You can also download a full Packing List for free.
For questions about booking a tour, prices, preparation for your trip, health and safety or other themes, please check our Frequently Asked Questions page. If you can’t find your question & answer, email us and we’ll add it!
I was born in Lima, I studied tourism and hotel management at San Martin de Porres University and I have been living in Cusco for 25 years. My motivation is to contribute to the conservation of nature and communities through responsible tourism and other activities coherent with the destination.
After so many years seeing how tourism has had a negative impact there is only one way to maintain our activity and that is to have an inclusive thinking and educate the traveler that the destination belongs to the people who inhabit it.
