Monasterio Ride in the Sacred Valley

You will be collected from your hotel in the ancient Inca capital of Cusco (altitude 3.338 m / 10,952 ft) at 9:00 am. From here, it is a one-hour drive to the ranch in the Sacred Valley of the Incas. This base is perfectly located in the heart of the Sacred Valley between Cusco and Machu Picchu, the famous lost city of the Incas.
Today you will have a chance to familiarize yourself with the beautiful Peruvian Paso horses and the traditional Peruvian riding gear. Upon arrival at the ranch you will be given a demonstration of Peruvian equitation by your host, a Peruvian chalan (horse trainer). After a short riding course in the Classic Peruvian Equitation and safety briefing we will evaluate your riding ability (and take into account your horse preference) and match you with a suitable mount.
Around 12:30 pm enjoy a typical Peruvian barbecue at the ranch. A Pisco Sour (our national cocktail) is part of the Peruvian tradition and, of course, included. After lunch we will mount our horses and climb with the horses almost 800 m (2,600 ft.) to the reach the Andean high plateau. The climb takes about two hours, and will be at an easy pace. Once at 3600 m / 11,800 ft., the stunning scenery and the snow-capped mountains of Chicon, Veronica and Pumahuanca are impressive. On our way up we pass the saltpans from Inca times which are still being used by the locals to extract salt from the mountain spring water. Ride to the typical Andean village of Maras, where you will meet the back up staff and car. The horses stay with the grooms for the night and the car will bring you back to the valley where you will spend the night in a quaint hotel. After refreshing with a hot shower and a rest enjoy dinner at one of the local restaurants.

After breakfast depart from the hotel at 9:30 am to return to where the horses spent the night outside of Maras. From there ride along mountain paths that were once part of the old Inca road and reach the village Racchi around midday. The scenery is spectacular and as you climb higher and higher the pace will be slow to save the horses’ energy. Meet the back up team with a wonderful picnic lunch at the next village which is Chinchero. If you want, you have the option to explore the Inca ruins and visit the beautiful old church that was built at the end of the sixteenth century, using as foundations the finely carved stones that once belonged to a great Incan palace. After lunch follow a path across the plains to a lake. Because of the flat terrain here you will have the opportunity to enjoy a faster pace of riding. You will be surprised how much ground can be covered in the Paso Llano gait, the smooth and natural gait of the Peruvian Paso which equals the speed of a canter. At Lake Huaypo you will climb again with the horses passing small mountain villages to see the lake from high above. From there you descend and ride along the lakeside to reach today’s final destination, a small farmer’s community where the horses will be left with the grooms. The backup vehicle will bring you to your hotel where you can freshen up and relax a bit before going out for dinner in one of the quaint local restaurants.

After breakfast transfer back to where the horses were left the previous day. Today you ride again along some beautiful trails high up in the mountains and pass agricultural lands and a few very small farming communities. You will see women with their children herding their sheep and enjoy a glimpse of real Andean country life. The locals here speak Quechua and though they have a hard life they are very friendly and smile a lot. Follow the trail towards the agricultural terraces of Moray where the backup team will meet you again with a picnic lunch and food and water for the horses.
From here continue riding until you descend back into the Sacred Valley arriving at the ranch before it gets dark to enjoy a refreshing Pisco Sour or cold beer. A private car will bring you back to Cusco late in the afternoon.