The what trail you say? The Ancascocha Trail (pronounced: Ahn-kahs-kocha) in the Andean Mountains of Peru is the newest alternative trek and by far the least well known. This trek is one of my favorites – very few people go so it’s remote and it’s definitely one of the most strenuous (rivaled only by the Choquequirao Trek). What makes it to challenging? Well, you’ll hike 56km (34.8 miles) over 4 days, and summit very steep passes up to 4821m (15,817 ft), gaining over 1950m (6,400 ft) over the course of the trek. I must admit I love treks that challenge me; when I reach the highest pass I feel a true sense of accomplishment. And sitting down to a hot dinner and tea at the end of a long day of hiking, the weariness feels like a badge of honor. It’s almost like a competition with myself – can I do it this time?
Ancascocha was named one of the World’s Top 20 Hikes by National Geographic! That’s very high praise indeed! It’s also known as the Super Inca Trail or the Hidden Inca Trail as it includes part of the Salkantay Trail and an original Inca Trail. This trek has a little bit of everything – Andean plateaus, glacial lakes, snow-capped mountains, a small Inca Ruin along the way, a few local stone houses, lush valleys, and includes Machu Picchu on the last day!
The unique and challenging features of this trail are why we chose it as one of the two routes to highlight in our very first Video Treks! We’ve teamed up with Hot Tea Media, an incredible video production, social, media and digital marketing team, in order to bring the Ancascocha Trek to you! We can’t wait to showcase this stunning trail and hope to inspire others to join us and give back to local communities. Our Ancascocha Video Trek departs on September 14, 2016, so stay tuned in the weeks following for incredible photos and videos posted here and on our YouTube channel.
If you want to make this unique trail your next travel adventure, we offer a 5 Day Ancascocha Trek Package, which includes 4 days of high altitude hiking, 3 nights of pristine wilderness camping in 4 season Mountain Hardwear tents, an overnight in a hotel and celebratory dinner in Aguas Calientes on night 4, and an inspiring tour of Machu Picchu on day 6! Talk about epic! Our guides set a nice, steady pace along the trail and we provide menus that support proper acclimatization so you can enjoy this challenging hike! If you don’t see a trek date that works for you just request one of your own! We can depart any day with a minimum of 2 trekkers and are happy to arrange for private treks for solo hikers!
Check out our treks & tours to Machu Picchu here, including our Ancasocha Video Trek on September 14th! If you found this information helpful, please refer to post about Winter Solstice and read about the best time to visit Machu Picchu. Killa Expeditions is passionate about providing exceptional & sustainable adventure eco-travel experiences, encouraging people to explore off the beaten path, and inspiring others to give back. To book an adventure of a lifetime, contact us today!
