High Andes Peru - 9 days

The Andes are BIG. And we've got the descents action to match. Peru is an assualt to the senses in every way. Ride through villages on ancient Inca pathways seemingly tailor made for the singletrack obsessed, ride up close to massive glaciers and even visit Machu Picchu.

CHECK OUT THE ITINERARY AND GET IN TOUCH TO FIND OUT MORE

Our trip starts in Cuzco. We’ll meet you at the airport and head to our accommodation. After lunch, we’ll set off for a walk around this amazing ancient city.

We'll need this first day to acclimatise to the altitude at a whopping 11,150 feet! This is a great opportunity to build bikes, get nerdy about bike specs and get a full run down of the trip from Roberto, our local guru who has pioneered so many of the trails we'll ride on this trip.

ACOMMODATION:  Hotel Boutique Mamasara
MEALS: L, D

In Inca culture, Cusco is known as the heart of the Inca Empire, and the epi-centre of the world. It could well be the same for mountain biking. Completely surrounded by the Andes, there are some absolute classic single track rides that we'll session today - all ending up right in the middle of town - mixing singletrack with urban downhill. These trails were al built by local shredders and hold something for everyone. We'll shuttle each ride, take a break in between in the grand main town square with a drink, and rinse and repeat - a great chance to further acclimatise to the altitude and soak in the city at the same time!

DISTANCE: 15 miles
DESCENDING:  5250 feet
ACOMMODATION:  Hotel Boutique Mamasara
MEALS: L, D

Today is the stuff that dreams are made of. We'll shuttle high above the Cusco valley after breakfast and to 13,900 feet at the Occoruro Pass. From here it's time to tackle 2,592 feet of steep berms, rock-gardens, and technical features on a classic ridge line - all the way to the valley below.

Not to be outdone by El Brujo, a short drive brings us to the top of El Pastor - another ridegline classic descent, topping 2500 feet to the valley.

DISTANCE: 17 miles
DESCENDING:  6000 feet
ACOMMODATION:  Cusco Hotel
MEALS: B, L, D

Another Peru Classic awaits us this morning as we head into to the Sacred Valley of The Incas, possibly Peru's most iconic valley and for our benefit seemingly designed perfectly for singletrack descending.

Our rides today are the Lares and Lamay descents - they're loooong, flowy, cruisy in parts and a WHOLE lot of fun through high alpine tundra, tiny villages and farmers tending hillside crops. Watch out for the llamas and alpacas on the trail!

DISTANCE: 28 miles
DESCENDING:  9600 feet
CLIMBING:  650
ACOMMODATION:  Hotel Qasana, Calca - Sacred Valley
MEALS: B,L,D

Get prepared for more mind-blowing mountaine scenes and descening today. We'll drive out of the Cusco valley and to the mountain pass known as Quishuarani at a whopping 14,270 feet. We'll have a short climb before descending a seemingly tailor made single track trail (but also an old Inca pathway) all the way to Huaran town in the sacred Valley. This is a loooong one - 14 miles and 7200 feet of descent. You'll grin from ear to ear after this!

DISTANCE: 14 miles
DESCENDING:  7200 feet
CLIMBING:  700 feet
ACOMMODATION:  Hotel Cusco
MEALS: B,L,D

Today is a good opportunity to rest after a few days of going hard. You're free to kick back and relax in Calca - a beautiful town with markets, cafes and thermal baths. It's also a good chance for a bike tune up day! If you're keen to pedal some more and see more of the valley, then this is a perfect opportunity.

Alternatively, there's a chance to visit Peru's most iconic site - Machu Picchu - the Inca outpost discovered in 1915 and thought to have been built some 500 years ago on the narrow ridge top overlooking the Urubamba River. If you choose this option you'll take in a full day guided tour of the site.

ACOMMODATION:  Hotel Qasana, Calca - Sacred Valley
MEALS: B, D

This is the big one! We'll make an early start this morning, and head out of the Cusco Valley, bound for Pacchanta - at the foot of one of Peru's most dramatic glaciated peaks - Ausangate.

There's a chance to take another lap on El Brujo today, as this trail gets even bettre when you know the lines a little better!

We'll settle into our family run accommodation in Pacchantas and have the chance to soak in our very own hot springs, while viewing the surrounding peaks.

DISTANCE: 8 miles
DESCENDING:  3000 feet
ACOMMODATION:  Pacchanta Family Lodge
MEALS: B, L, D

Considered a deity, Ausangate Mountain is an imposing presence, towering over multi-coloured lagoons ans surrounding peaks. It's also the backdrop to an epic day of backcountry riding. We'll leave from our family lodge accommodation in Pacchanta and head high into the hills at the foot of Ausangate Glacier on an ancient Inca pathway, which traverses ridgelines, scree slopes, moutain plateaus and chunky rock gardens. It's a "pay to play" day today also, so be prepared for a lung busting climb (up to 16,000 feet), and a little bit of hike a bike! It's all worth the effort, with an absolutely classic descent at the end our day, with the massive bonus of having mind-blowing scenry as a back drop, as well as another soak in our own hot pools back in Pacchanta.

DISTANCE: 15 miles
DESCENDING:  2650 feet
CLIMBING:  2450
ACOMMODATION:  Cusco Hotel
MEALS: B,L,D

This morning we'll depart our hotel in Cusco, take a final look at the incredible mountains we've explored the last week, and board flights for home.

It's our mission to create lifelong friends, memories and stoke through the shared experience and joy of riding in our favourite parts of the world and we hope you'll have enjoyed the epic descending, climbing, views, people and goodtime here in the Peruvian Andes.

MEALS: B,L, D

High Andes Peru - 9 days
High Andes Peru - 9 days
High Andes Peru - 9 days
High Andes Peru - 9 days
High Andes Peru - 9 days
High Andes Peru - 9 days
High Andes Peru - 9 days
High Andes Peru - 9 days
High Andes Peru - 9 days
High Andes Peru - 9 days
High Andes Peru - 9 days
High Andes Peru - 9 days
High Andes Peru - 9 days
High Andes Peru - 9 days
High Andes Peru - 9 days
High Andes Peru - 9 days
High Andes Peru - 9 days
High Andes Peru - 9 days
High Andes Peru - 9 days
High Andes Peru - 9 days
High Andes Peru - 9 days
High Andes Peru - 9 days
High Andes Peru - 9 days
High Andes Peru - 9 days
High Andes Peru - 9 days
High Andes Peru - 9 days
High Andes Peru - 9 days
High Andes Peru - 9 days
at a glance
trip highlights

+ Deep local knowledge

+ BIG descents

+ Incredible local flavours

+ Visit Machu Picchu

+ Cultural immersion

+ Ride through Inca Ruins

The Dirt on the details

June 2024 - date To be updated soon!

Fare per person - US$379

INCLUDES:

- All guiding

- All accommodation

- Meals as per itinerary

- All transport and transfers, including pick up and drop off from Cusco airport

- Local taxes

- All uplift transport

NOT INCLUDED:

- International flights

- Alcohol

You're generally comfortable riding all types of terrain in the singletrack realm. Technical features are common here, along with rock gardens and some steeper sections.

There is some climbing on this trip, so make sure you're comfortable with a couple of 500 metre climbs thrown in the mix.

Due to the varied terrain and mix of tech, flow and occassional climb, 150mm of travel front and back is best, with descending focused geometry while still allowing for a comfortable climb. Our pick - A Zerode Katipo!

A mix of single track - high tussock land and ridgeline. Some sections of trail are rocky, with stones, and there's some bike park flow thrown in for good measure.

Some sections of trail in this area are over 500 hundreds of years old - orginally put there as narrow, steep and traversing walking trails by the Incas themselves.

This trip starts and ends in Cusco. You can arrive at any time on Day 1 of the trip. All flights into Peru arrive into Lima. Then it's a short, 1 hour flight to Cusco. Some arrivals into Lima might mean either an overnight stay in Lima or a few hours to wait in Lima airport to the onward flight to Cusco.

For flights home, we recommend booking them no later than 1pm on the last day.

Visas are currently not required for Australian, New Zealand, US, Canadian or UK/EU passport holders wishing to visit Peru. If you are outside these regions, please check with your embassy. You can also check the Visa HQ website for up todate information.

A good guide makes a trip great - a first class guide creates memories that last lifetime. You'll experience your trip with a leadership team who are local, experienced and know more than simple where to go and what to ride. We make sure our trip leaders are engaging, pro-active, passionate, can read the room and are simply a whole lot of fun to be around.

Your head guide for this trip is Stefano Ude. He built a couple of the trails on this trip, and is pretty famous in the Italian mountain bike scene for pioneering new trails in the Dolomites.

Thankfully for us, we reckon they've got the whole star rating thing a bit mixed up in the Dolomites. Technically, we stay in locally owned 3-star rated hotels, but they of a MUCH higher standard than that. Super comfortable, bike friendly, great communal areas to hang out in and tell lies about the lines you took, and awesome hosts who can tell you a few stories about the history of their establishment.

Rifugios - We spend one night high in the mountain in a Mountain Inn. These places, while a little less sofisticated than the hotels we stay in, are simply amazing - cosy, warm, cool dining/lounge areas and a deck with killer views to kick back and have a beverage.

check availability

Throw your name, email address, number and the trip name you're interested in below. We'll get back to you straight away.

Recently viewed