Christmas Chocolatada Trek 5D

• Pre-trek briefing
• Collection from your hotel on the morning of trek departure
• Private transport from Cusco to the trailhead and return at the end of the trek
• Entry fee to Machu Picchu and Huayna Picchu
• Participation in Christmas Chocolatada
• English/Quechua/Spanish speaking professional guide, plus an assistant guide for groups over 8
• Tent: 2 people in a 4-person tent, allowing for greater comfort and backpack storage!
• Basic foam mattress. If you require greater comfort during the trek we can rent you an inflatable mattress. See Optional Extras & Upgrades below.
• Cook and cooking equipment, plus assistants for larger groups.
• Meals as indicated in the itinerary. Our professional cooks prepare a combination of traditional Peruvian and Western cuisine. Talk to your guide if you have certain preferences! Vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options available. When served, salads are washed in boiled water.
• Toilet tent
• Horses and horsemen, who carry camping equipment, food and kitchen utensils. We provide duffel bags at your briefing for your personal items (up to 7kg/15lbs per person).
• 1 emergency horse which can be ridden if you are feeling ill or if you are a little slower
• Dining tent with camp tables and chairs, and kitchen tent for the cook to prepare meals
• Tents, sleeping bags and mattresses for our staff to sleep in, plus a budget for their meals
• First aid kit including emergency oxygen bottle
• Train ticket (Vistadome service) from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes
• Celebratory dinner in Aguas Calientes
• 1 night accommodation in Aguas Calientes in a standard hotel. This will be a nice, clean and safe hotel with breakfast included and private bathroom. You can also upgrade to a higher quality hotel.
• Bus up and down between Aguas Calientes and Machu Picchu
• Train ticket (Expedition service) from Aguas Calientes to Ollantaytambo
• Private transport from Ollantaytambo to Cusco
• Lunch on the last day
• 1 night accommodation in Cusco in a standard hotel. This will be a nice, clean and safe hotel with breakfast included and private bathroom.

• Breakfast on the first morning.
• Dinner on night 4
• Lunch and dinner on the last day.
• Entrance to the Aguas Calientes hot springs
• Sleeping bags. Available for rent if you don’t have one with you.
• Tips for the guide, cook and porters
• Additional horses for your personal luggage

See What to Bring for our comprehensive recommendations on what to pack for your trek. For more great suggestions, check out our blog about How to Prepare for a Trek in Peru.

We offer you the opportunity to personalize your trek and make your experience more comfortable through our Optional Extras and Upgrades. All options are available during the reservation process; please ask your sales consultant for more information.
• Extra horse to carry luggage exceeding the allowed 7kg (15lbs) per person
• Extra horse for you to ride, and horseman to lead it. This is in addition to the emergency horse provided for the group.
• Sleeping Bag suitable for -7˚C
• Deluxe sleeping bag suitable for -19˚C
• Light-weight aluminum walking stick. Two sticks are recommended for tough hikes.
• Thermarest inflatable mattress
• Thermarest inflatable pillow
• Single-occupancy tent supplement
• Comfort Camping Upgrade
• Aguas Calientes Upgrade

Important!

• When calculating the cost of renting equipment, calculate using the length of the entire trip, not just the number of trekking days.
• Please be careful with rented equipment! You are responsible for the cost of replacement if something is damaged or broken.
• Any upgrades or trip extensions must be requested at time of booking.

• Students: USD $30 off. A valid student card which clearly shows the expiry date must be presented upon booking.
• Youth 12-17: 5% off. A valid passport must be presented upon booking.
• Children 5-11 years: 15% off. A valid passport must be presented upon booking.
• Children 0-4 years: Free. A valid passport must be presented upon booking. Children under 4 will not count towards the total number of guests in a group. This discount does not apply to train fares. Children under 2 will not be considered to occupy a seat on any train or bus, and instead must ride on a parent’s lap.

Want to join a trek? Ready to confirm a departure date of your own, but interested in having others join you? Then Trekkers Wanted is for you! Our innovative Trekkers Wanted system matches people up who are interested in hiking the same trek, bringing costs down and multiplying the fun for everyone! Read more about Trekkers Wanted, post your trek or search for confirmed departures!

• Each guide has their own preferred route and so the route you trek might not correspond exactly to the route described here.
• The times cited in this itinerary are approximate. Walking times depend on the group, and the guide may change lunch spots and campsites, depending on the progress of the group.
• This is a totally off-the-beaten path trek, and tourist infrastructure is very limited. Instead, we’ll be making use of local facilities where possible.
• Please note: this is a true adventure and things may not go exactly according to plan! Keep an open mind and let yourself enjoy the cultural differences you may experience. There is always an opportunity to learn something!
• You will be visiting remote, high-altitude villages. Conditions are harsh and you should be prepared for extremely cold, rustic conditions. This is also wet season and it is likely to be raining or even snowing. Be prepared to be wet and cold!
• This is not a tourist activity but a “real” Andean community event. Unlike most tours which are designed with the visitor in mind, this is an annual tradition that occurs with or without visitor participation. You should be flexible in your expectations and prepared for some discomfort, including long periods of waiting and perhaps not understanding what is happening.

We depart Cusco early in the morning and travel to the town of Calca (2900 m / 9512 ft). We will visit traditional markets where people from all over the Sacred Valley trade crops. From Calca we pass Inca burial tombs, local farms and herds of wild llamas en route. Just past the highest point of the day, we will stop for a short walk at the Inca ruins of Ancasmarca with views of the surrounding valley. From here we make our way down into the Lares Valley and the main town, Lares, where we can visit the local market before continuing onto the famous hot springs for a quick dip before lunch. In the afternoon we walk 2-3 hours to the village of Huacahuasi, a traditional Andean village, where we will camp for the night.

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Total Walking Time – 2-3h
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Today we celebrate the chocolatada! After an early morning start, we hike for about 5h until we reach Chaullacocha where we will find parents, teachers and Apus Peru staff preparing the hot chocolate and goodies to give out. You will be expected to be an active participant today, helping to serve the hot chocolate or distribute gifts of clothing and toys, and generally interacting with the community.

The chocolatada will last most of the day, and we’ll spend the night camping near the village.

For an extra-special experience, why not spend the night with a traditional Andean family? Check out our Chaullacocha Homestay add-on.

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In the morning we will say farewell to the people of Chaullacocha and begin our 4h hike to Patacanca. From Chaullacocha, we will climb steeply up to the final pass of the trek, around (4300m / 14,108 ft), and then the final section of our trek is a descent to the valley of Patacancha. Patacancha is a long-established textile community with strong ancient Quechua traditions. We will have lunch near Patacancha or in Rumira Sondormayo, another of the communities that Apus Peru supports via the NGO Threads of Peru. From here we will continue via private transport to the village of Ollantaytambo. We will have lunch and during the afternoon you have time to visit the ruins of Ollantaytambo. In the afternoon or evening you will take the Vistadome Train to Aguas Calientes, where we will enjoy a celebratory dinner before before tucking into our standard hotel for the night.

Total Walking Distance –
Total Walking Time – 3h
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It’s the Night Before the Night Before Christmas and we have a very early 5am start in order to watch the sun rise over Machu Picchu.

After this, we have a 2h guided visit of Machu Picchu, the magnificent Inca Citadel, followed by a bit of free time to explore on your own. For some tips on what to see, check out our recommended Machu Picchu highlights. You may want to climb Huayna Picchu to cap off your Machu Picchu experience, but remember that permits are limited and must be reserved at the time of booking! There is an additional cost to hike Huayna Picchu not included in the price of this trek.

We return to Cusco in the afternoon by train, arriving around 8pm when we will check into our standard 3-star hotel. You can also upgrade your hotel if you would like.

You will meet your guide in the morning who will explain all about traditional Christmas celebrations in Cusco, starting with how to create a typical Nacimiento or nativity scene. We will visit the different nacimientos in some of the churches around Cusco and also the famous “selling of the saints” market, Santikuraray (also known as Santurantikuy). This market is a not-to-be-missed experience where people are selling little figurines for the nacimientos and other gifts, decorations and food. The plaza will be packed! Stick around Cusco in the evening to experience Noche Buena (Christmas Eve) Cusqueño-style, complete with fireworks at midnight!

Christmas day itself is not generally full of celebrations for locals but many tourist oriented restaurants offer special dinners and celebrations.