The Moonstone Trek

In the altiplano hills, Cuzco, the imperial city of the Incas, was the geographic, cultural and political centre of a vast empire which, at its peak, stretched from present-day Quito in Ecuador to Santiago, Chile. After Spanish conquistadores invaded the city, they built on top of Inca structures, resulting in unique architecture, a fusion of the Inca and Spanish colonial styles.

There may be time for a short orientation tour of the city or free time to wander the cobbled streets, admiring the old houses, visiting interesting museums, churches and pre-Columbian buildings, or to sit in a cafe and sample a coca tea. Take it easy upon arrival into Cuzco and drink plenty of water to allow your body to acclimatise to the altitude (11,155ft/3,400m). There is a welcome briefing in the hotel lobby this afternoon/evening. Stay: MamaSara Hotel (or similar).

Today has been left free for exploring Cuzco, one of the most beautiful cities in South America. The Plaza de Armas, a fantastic spot for people watching, and Qorikancha (the Sun Temple) in the Santo Domingo church and monastery are worth a visit. The Mercado San Pedro is the place to try local produce and there are many handicraft markets to shop for souvenirs, such as alpaca jumpers and scarves. Outside the town are more Inca ruins, notably the fortress of Sacsayhuaman where the Inca armies made their last stand against the Conquistadores.

Cuzco is also the gateway to the Sacred Valley of the Incas and, should you wish to visit the sites, your leader can help organise an excursion, including Pisac Market (optional). If you would like something more active, there is an array of other optional activities available, including paddleboarding on a lake, mountain biking, or a combination of via ferrata and zip-lining in the Sacred Valley. Stay: MamaSara Hotel (or similar) (B).

We have an early start as it's a very busy day! We take a private minibus to the trailhead, stopping first to explore the nearby ruins that the trek was named after. This is a large site with several distinct Inca remnants, clearly of religious importance. As with the rest of the trek, we are most likely to have the site completely to ourselves. The Moonstone itself is a large carving on an enormous boulder and its significance is not yet understood. The trailhead is in a quiet, dusty valley and we soon climb high enough from the floor to enjoy great views.

Around lunchtime, we stop to explore the imposing pre‐Inca fortress of Wata, which straddles the trail. The ruin has not yet been accurately dated and pottery can often still be found lying on the ground. The path then traverses along a green side valley as we head above a few tiny villages before entering the village of Chillipawa, where we camp. Stay: Full‐service camping: Chillipawa Camp (B/L/D).

A long, steady climb with plenty of rest stops to aid acclimatisation takes us above the villages and into the high pampas – rugged meadows of long grass. We normally stop for lunch shortly before the crest of the Accoccosa Pass (where the very rare Andean flicker is sometimes seen, and often heard). The last leg of the pass is on loose red scree, but the view from the top makes it all worthwhile: a broad, hidden valley surrounded by snowy peaks, the Huayanay range on the left, the Urubamba range straight ahead and beautiful, triangular Mount Veronica (19,030ft/5,800m) to the right.

We have time to explore this plateau and experience walking in the altiplano before returning to our camp for a well‐deserved hot dinner. The isolation of the camp, well away from any settlements, results in spectacular night skies when clear. Stay: Full‐service camping: High Pass Camp (B/L/D).

We start after breakfast by following the stream into a narrow canyon. Rare polylepis trees grow here and we pass through a small grove as we leave the canyon. Our path then turns north and traverses very high above a deep, steep valley separating us from the Huayanay mountains.

This is probably the most spectacular section of the trek and we roughly follow a (now-defunct) Inca aqueduct spectacularly carved out of the cliffs to take water from the hidden valley of our campsite to the Sacred Valley several miles away. At the end of the traverse, we have a short but steep climb up to our lunch spot: a flat, ridgetop meadow facing straight across the Sacred Valley to the snowy Urubamba range.

After lunch, we walk down to Huayrapunku. Meaning Gate of the Wind, this is a ridgetop Inca shrine oriented to Mount Veronica, of which it has an incredible view. A short walk brings us to our final campsite, among the granite stones of the Cachicata Quarry. It was here that huge blocks were cut from the rose‐coloured granite before being dragged down the mountainside and across the river to the Sun Temple at Ollantaytambo. Stay: Full‐service camping: Cachicata Camp (B/L/D).

Wake before dawn to watch the sun rise over the Sacred Valley from our campsite high above it, the sun's first rays catching the glaciers of Mount Veronica. This is our last day on trek and we descend from the pampas into the lush valley floor along the enormous stone ramps on which the Incas dragged the stones. We cross the river and explore the huge Sun Temple complex to see where the stones ended and what use they were put to. Stay: Tunupa Lodge (or similar) (B/L).

We wake early for a scenic train journey through the Urubamba River valley (approximately 1hr 20min) to Km104 where we disembark, cross the river, and start our full-day Inca Trail trek to Machu Picchu. Our uphill efforts are rewarded with spectacular views and access to the attractive ruins of Wiñay Wayna (Forever Young), where we enjoy our box lunch. From here, a relatively flat trail takes us past wild orchids to Inti Punku (the Sun Gate), where we get our first full sight of Machu Picchu, one of the New Wonders of the World.

Our afternoon arrival usually yields great photo opportunities as we descend into the ruins complex. With our full tour tomorrow, we exit the site and board the bus to Aguas Calientes to enjoy a well-earned meal, shower and a comfortable bed for the night in preparation for our early return to Machu Picchu. Stay: Inti Punku Machu Picchu (or similar) (B/L).

We start early to beat the day-trippers from Cuzco and reach the ruins as early as possible; buses return us up the winding road to the Machu Picchu entrance. During high season (May to October), there may be a bit of a wait. Machu Picchu is one of the architectural and engineering marvels of the ancient world and what makes it all the more dramatic is the staggering mountain backdrop.

The Spaniards never found it, the Incas left no records of it, and so Machu Picchu remained an enigma, a city lost for centuries in the jungle until it was rediscovered in 1911 by the American historian Hiram Bingham. Your guided tour highlights the history, culture, architecture and mysteries that Machu Picchu still holds to this day.

This afternoon, we catch the train back to Ollantaytambo (1hr 30min) and continue by private bus to Cuzco (1hr 30min). Stay: MamaSara Hotel (or similar) (B).

The adventure ends in Cuzco and we begin our return journeys home after breakfast. However, if you're not ready for the adventure to end, you can always book onto our Lake Titicaca extension, where you explore the sky-high waters by boat, visit an indigenous community and explore the pre‐Inca site of Sillustani. Alternatively, journey into the wilds on our Amazon Rainforest extension and explore lakes, rivers and jungle trails in search of the abundant wildlife that lives there (B).