Quillabamba & Vilcabamba Mountain Bike trip

We will leave Cusco early in the morning, heading north towards the high jungle, on our way we will reach a cloud forest area (1800 masl/5905 ft) where valuable agricultural products such as coffee and tea are currently cultivated. Taking advantage of our passage through this scenery, we will stop at a local farm to learn about the production process of coffee, tea and coca leaves.

Our expedition continues and now we will leave the warm lands behind, to advance towards higher lands (3500 masl/11482 ft), following the escape routes that the Incas had during their persecution by the invaders.

Little by little we will see how the climate changes and so does the geographical environment; in the afternoon we will arrive at the town of Huancacalle (3000 masl/9842 ft), a town where the Inca archaeological complex of "Rosaspata" is located. 

We will settle in our lodging to prepare our mountain bike equipment for the days to come. 

We will have dinner to coordinate all the details of our expedition. 

Night in the village of Huancacalle

Lunch and dinner included

Our vehicle will take us to the top of the surrounding mountains, specifically to “Huarhuaccasa Pass - 4560 masl/14960 ft"; in this kind of arid and rocky terrain grows a peculiar plant called "La puya de Raimondi" (the Queen of the Andes), a bromeliad that can reach 12 meters/39 ft high and whose peculiarity is that it blooms every 100 years. 

We will ride down from this place through a wide and flowy trail with majestic mountain scenery, it will be a little difficult to concentrate only on riding with such beautiful views around, but we will have time to take many pictures and visit a forest of Puyas de Raimondi and with a lot of luck we will find one in full bloom. From here we will continue pedaling to connect with the next trails and continue the riding down to Chillihua, a small village with very gentle inhabitants. 

From this point our vehicle will transfer us to the “Chucuito pass” (4460 masl/14632 ft), from where our next bike trail begins, which is featured by being very long, technical and with thousands of rock gardens, switchbacks and rock steps throughout the journey, until finally arriving at our accommodation in Huancacalle town. 

A night of campfire and good food will help us to recover our strength this day. 

MTB Trails

Chucuito 1 / Puya Madre / Chucuito 2

80% downhill - 10% flat - 10% uphill / 29.5 km/18.3 mi

Breakfast, lunch and dinner included

The menu for this day begins with the exploration of ancient Inca trails; we will start our journey on a trail that rides down from the village of Vilcabamba (3547 masl/11637 ft)  towards the village of Huancacalle (2950 masl/9678 ft), this trail is featured by many rocks in most of its route, with rock steps, thin singletracks and fast but fun areas. 

The weather here can be very changeable, so it is necessary to be equipped with clothing for rain and cold. This trail gets even more fun if it has rained before, lots of grip and some wet rocky parts may be in store.

After lunch, we will drive up to the Ccollpaccasa pass (3854 masl/12644 ft), from here we will take an old trail that will lead us through rocky sections, demanding pedaling, river crossings and overgrown trails. This ride definitely is a very long enduro trail. It will be a very rewarding challenge. 

After this trail, we will say goodbye to Vilcabamba town and get our equipment ready to get in the car and head towards the jungle, towards Quillabamba (1000 masl/3280 ft), known as "The city of eternal summer", this small town is located on the banks of the Urubamba River, the same that passes through the Sacred Valley, but here it becomes much larger and impressive.

We will arrive in the afternoon to have lunch and relax in the swimming pool of our hotel. 

Overnight in Quillabamba

MTB Trails

Vilcabamba town / Ccolpaccasa pass

75% downhill - 10% flat - 15% uphill

Breakfast and lunch included

Riding in Quillabamba is very different from the places we rode the previous days, here the terrain has a lot of gravel, dry leaves, millions of switchbacks, steep slopes, roots and the best grip. 

This day we will start with something soft, very fast and somewhat exposed, "Trail Aranjuez". 

This trail always improved by local riders, allows us to play with the terrain, go at high speed and flow through the switchbacks; the views from the exposed and off camber parts of this trail are breathtaking, on one side the Urubamba river at the base of the valley, in the background the snowy Salkantay and around huge forested mountains, it is simply stunning, we will repeat this ride a couple of times to get used to the terrain and vegetation.

Our next biking trail is on another nearby mountain, "Trail Llactapata'', this trail used mainly by the local people, will test our skills on tight switchbacks , from here we will have another beautiful view of the city of Quillabamba. 

To finish the day, we will descend a specific downhill trail made by local riders, which descends from the top of the mountain Sarahuasi and from where it gets its name "Downhill Sarahuasi", here we will find many jumps, many curves with perfect camber and drops; absolutely fun. We will connect this trail with a section of urban downhill and finish the day relaxing in the pool of our hotel. 

Overnight in Quillabamba.

MTB Trails

Aranjuez / Llactapata / Sarahuasi

90% downhill - 5% flat - 5% uphill

Breakfast and lunch included

Our last day in Quillabamba has to be epic and the only thing left to do is to try the best switchbacks of these mountains. 

If Llactapata trail, a day before, seemed challenging with its curves, you will try the trails of Cholapampa and Santa Beatriz, both rides full of switchbacks that seem endless, this day we will burn our brake pads in search of the most epic descents of this city, We will pass through terrain with a lot of grip in Santa Beatriz but also with very loose and slippery areas in Cholapampa, both surrounded by forests and coffee plantations, these trails in some cases are exposed but covered with lots of vegetation. If we still want more mountain biking today, we can repeat some of the rides we did before lunchtime and return to Cusco in the afternoon. 

Without a doubt Quillabamba has a great peculiarity and its routes are of another level.

Night in Cusco.

MTB Trails

Santa Beatriz / Cholapampa

95% downhill - 3% flat - 2% uphill

Breakfast and lunch included

Includes

• Professional full suspension bike 
• Professional MTB guide & MTB assistant. 
• Transfers from / to Hotel
• Private shuttle with bike rack 
• First aid kit 
• Bike tools 
• Complete meals. (check itinerary)
• Lodging at Vilcabamba & Quillabamba 
• Protective equipment (helmet, knee pads, elbow pads) 
• Water, snacks and fruits
• All entrances