Discover the thrill of mountain biking in Peru's stunning Cusco region, where epic trails, ancient ruins, and cultural immersion await, all in a 7-day adventure of a lifetime.
Welcome to Peru! Your guides will pick you up from the airport and shuttle you to your hotel. Today you can rest, put your bike together and get ready for the upcoming adventure. You will stay in Cusco or the Sacred Valley, which will be discussed after booking.
Accommodation: Hotel in Cusco or Sacred Valley
No meals
Depending on your groups preferences and skill set, you will choose between two famous MTB options in Peru, the Lares trail and Lamay.
Option 1: Lares – A Cusco classic
After breakfast, hit the scree fields of Lares! The shuttle will take you up to the Lares pass where you’ll hike your bikes up to 14,600 ft/4,462 m. From there, rip free ride lines through the scree and verdant mountainside until you hit an ancient Inca singletrack trail. As you descend, you’ll pass alpaca herds, locals working the fields, and eventually arrive at the town of Calca and its beautiful main square. If there’s more time to ride, visit another trail or ride a section of Lares again. Stop for a delicious lunch at a local Peruvian spot!
Distance: 20 km/12.5 mi
Max elevation: 4446, m/14,587 ft
Ascent: 184 m/603 ft
Descent: 1482 m/4862 ft
Optional Lares section
Distance: 7.56 km/4.7 mi
Max elevation: 4,227 m/13,868 ft
Ascent: 55 m/180 ft
Descent: 566 m/1,857 ft
Option 2: Lamay – A mountain biker’s paradise!
The gorgeous and fertile valley of Lamay is filled with incredible MTB trails. Today’s route will start at 4337m/14,229 ft above sea level and take you down 17 km of the most amazing singletrack. This high alpine trail has Incan rock gardens and tech spots mixed with fast flow sections. You’ll definitely feel the burn with some burly Inca stairs before finally arriving into the village of Lamay where you can stop at a nice local spot and enjoy cold beers! Depending on how much time is left, decide if you want to ride it again or ride a new trail in the valley. On the way back to Cusco, you might go for an urban downhill with a nice singletrack route that leads to the city stairs of Cusco. You’ll end up at the shop where you can clean up and service the bikes to prepare them for tomorrow’s shred session.
Distance: 16.78 km/10.42 mi
Max elevation: 4334 m/14219 ft
Descent: 1386 m/4547 ft
Ascent: 71m/233ft
Optional Ankashmarca-Cortes-Calca section
Distance: 13.44 km/8.35 mi
Max elevation: 4,013 m/13,166 ft
Descent: 1113 m/3651 ft
Lodging: Hotel in Sacred Valley AMAK
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, snacks on trail
You’ll once again choose between two brilliant options that the Sacred Valley offers: Patacancha and Chincheros.
Option 1: Patacancha
Patacancha is famous for being one of the highest-altitude enduro races in the world, at a whopping 4,420 m/14,500 feet, with rock gardens and narrow dirt switchbacks. The course is split up into five stages, with tons of freeride lines and cross-country type terrain. You’ll ride the section from the top all the way down past Patacancha and into Huilloc. There, you’ll have a home cooked lunch with a local family. After that, ride a trail exclusive to your guides down to Pumamarca, which will take you all the way back to Ollantaytambo to finish off the day,
Distance: 27.9 km/17.3 mi
Max elevation: 4,435 m/14,552 ft
Ascent: 138 m/452 ft
Descent: 1,551 m/5,089 ft
Option 2: Chincheros
The infamous Chincheros route, which passes rarely-seen ruins or techy Racchi trails, is full of forests, amazing views and Inca ruins. It ends with a full-on downhill with loose sections, curves, and Popeye forearms, marking on the boxes of an excellent trail!
Distance: 8 km/5 mi
Max elevation: 3,860 m/12,664 ft; descend to 2,873 m/9,426 ft
Ascent : 19 m/62 ft
Descent: 987 m/3,238 ft
Lodging: Hotel or villa in the Sacred Valley
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, snacks on trail
Today you will take some time to maintain your bike, eat, rest and visit the Sacred Valley. Riding at high elevation actually burns twice the amount of calories than biking at lower elevation, so load up on Peruvian superfoods like maca, tarwi, quinoa, and chia. You will visit the town of Ollantaytambo in the Sacred Valley, only 20 minutes away. This living Inca village was once the royal estate of Incan Emperor Pachacuti and later served as a stronghold for the Incan resistance during the Spanish conquest of Peru. Now, Ollantaytambo is a relaxing and charming place. If you are a big fan of Machu Picchu, go on an optional tour (additional fee). You can sleep in a little the following morning!
Lodging: Lizzy Wasi o Intitierra Sacred Valley
Meals: Breakfast
Today will be your last day in the Sacred Valley. After today, you’ll head back to the city of Cusco where you can enjoy the nightlife and get to know the capital of the Incas. Your route today will depend on the riding abilities of the group and the style of trails you prefer.
Option 1: La Maxima
This seemingly endless enduro trail that takes you through 15 km of Andean single track. This highly demanding Enduro trail has punchy climbs, long beautiful traverses with stunning views, loose rocky switchbacks, and loose baby head sections that will give you Popeye forearms.
Distance: 15 km/9.3 mi
Max elevation: 4407 m/ 14,456 ft
Ascent: 65 m/213 ft
Descent: 1,537 m/ 5,042 ft
Option 2: Pumamarca and Maras 2
Maras 2 is a totally different style of terrain — it boasts desert-style dry trails that take you along cliff sides and down to the Urubamba river. This is a local favorite and can be ridden more than once today. Be ready for loose and steep! The “Edge of the World” Pumamarca ride begins at the Pumamarca ruins and passes over sequences of ancient Incan terraces — it’s always a highlight of the tour with its fast fluid sections interspersed with techy rock sections. Cold beers are a must after this long and intense ride! Afterwards, the shuttle will take you back to Cusco and your new lodging.
Maras 2
Distance: 10.23 km/6.35 mi
Max elevation: 3697 m/12,129 ft
Descent: 863 m/2831 ft
Pumamarca
Distance: 5.11 km/ 3.17 mi
Max elevation: 3336 m/10,944 ft
Descent: 462 m/ 1515 ft
Accommodation: Centenario Inn Cusco or local airbnb
Meals: Breakfast, lunch
Today, you’ll shred down a Haku original — the Radar MTB trail in the South Valley. Haku owners Bill and Nic were the first ones to lay mountain biking tracks on the bottom half of Radar, and from the moment they did it, they knew they’d have to find a way to share this incredible trail with other MTB enthusiasts. Now, it’s one of the most coveted bike routes in the Cusco region. You’ll ride along a breathtaking, towering ridge at over 4,468 m/14,000 ft before dropping into the South Valley on 18 km/11 mi of high-speed singletrack.
After Radar, you’ll head to the Switchbacks of Chipta, a secret trail nearby that ends at a local’s house. You might be able to grab a quick, delicious, organic lunch with one of the local farming friends in the valley before heading back to Cusco.
Radar
Distance: 18.8 km/11.7 mi
Max elevation: 4,468 m/14,658 ft
Ascent: 94 m/309 ft
Descent: 1367 m/4,487 ft
Switchbacks of Chipta
Distance: 5.7 miles/9.2 km
Max elevation: 12,992 ft/3,960 m
Ascent: 137m/450m
Descent: 830 m/2,723 ft
Urban DH also known as Postre
Distance: 6.52 km/4 mi
Max elevation: 3,770 m/12,368 ft
Ascent: 21 m/69 ft
Descent: 399 m/1,309 ft
Accommodation: Centenario Hotel or local Airbnb
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, snacks on trail
Today, say your tearful goodbyes as your guides take you to the airport and your bucket-list Peru MTB vacation draws to a close. If your flight isn’t until later in the evening, there’s tons to do in Cusco. Visit the stunning ruins of Sacsayhuaman or experience the colorful authenticity of the San Pedro Market. Try foods like lomo saltado (stir-fried beef) and anticuchos (beef hearts) and local fruits like lucuma, granadilla, and chirimoya. If the possibilities for today feel overwhelming, come by the shop, and your guides can give you tips on how to make the most of your day.
Meals: Breakfast
What you get on this adventure:
The 12-day tour also includes:
What’s not included:
These Peru MTB tous are designed for avid, intermediate to advanced mountain bikers who want to be challenged and thrilled. You can expect enduro-style tours with lots of all-mountain style downhill (not hardcore with crazy jumps and drops — just fast downhill riding and traversing).
Ideal participants have 3+ years of riding on singletrack with features such as rock gardens, steep sections, rolls and drops, roots, and small jumps. You should be confident on the bike, constantly looking to improve your skills, and enjoy riding for extended periods of time climbing and descending in terrain of all sorts.
Regarding fitness, you should be exercising 1-2 times a week. It is expected that climbs and long descents might give you some trouble and you tend to get tired after about 2-3 hours on the bike.
Keep in mind that this tour includes several days of non-stop biking. Do not overstep your limits. However, you can always walk any section of the trail that you are not comfortable riding. There will also be free days to relax and regain energy.
Here’s a list of the equipment you need to bring:
Dress comfortably and for the weather in clothes you can move in. We suggest bringing clothing appropriate for the season. Layers are best and don’t wear jeans.
On each ride you should have a Camelbak with water, snacks, rain jacket and whatever bike tools you need for the trail. Since we sleep in a hotel each night, we do not need to carry any additional gear with us.
Your main luggage will remain at the hotel or come with you in the shuttle vehicle when you move to another location. As for bike bags, they can be stored at the Haku shop with bikes while in Cusco. In the Sacred Valley, the bikes are stored at the hotel. Your guides can provide smaller duffel bags for you if you should need one for excursions to the valley.
Yes, you are welcome to bring your bike with you or rent it from your guides for an added fee. Save yourself the hassle of bringing a bike and rent one from a fleet of bikes your guiding company owns. They recommend the Kona Process 153 full suspension mountain bikes for these tours.
E-bikes are not required on these trips as they are 95% downhill. All the trips include a shuttle drop off to the top of the routes.
Packing your bike for a trip like this requires either a bike bag or a bicycle box. You can contact your local bike shop and generally get one for free or very cheap.
If you have a bike bag like Evoc or Dakine there will be directions of what goes where. Make sure to tie up the chain so it does not move and scratch the bike. Tie up any loose ends with zip ties or string.
If you are using a bike box you will need to put in a tire or two first then the frame (and maybe the second tire) with the bars strapped to the bike. Make sure nothing moves. I usually use zip ties to make sure the tires are strapped in one place with the frame. Also make sure that the cog set is facing away from the bike. This will scratch the bike otherwise.
Once everything is packed you can often put a few extra items inside like your helmet and bike shoes. You will want to keep the bag at 23 kilos/50 pounds unless the company you are flying with allows for more weight without a price increase. Don’t forget to put your name, address, phone number and email on the bag or box.
If you are bringing your bike, think about packing these as well:
These Peru mountain bike tours include breakfast from your hotel each day and lunch on ride days.
Lunch will be held at local restaurants or in the homes of locals who live on the trail. All of the food is produced locally and most often organic. Most meals are a large bowl of soup followed by a main meal (generally meat, chicken or trout along with rice, potatoes, and vegetables). Most lunches do not contain flour. If you don’t eat meat, you can get a plate that has rice, eggs and fried plantain. All the meat is free range, grass fed and produced by local farmers with small farms.
If you have dietary restrictions please let us know during the booking process.
Your guides will also provide snacks for the ride days. However, Peru does not have the same high calorie snacks that most developed countries have so feel free to bring extra energy bars you already enjoy! Your guides will also provide water for the rides. You will need a bottle or camel pack to fill up.
Dinner (except the farewell dinner) is not included so that you can explore Cusco’s amazing food scene on your own.
During the tour, you will stay at local hotels, fincas or Airbnbs, depending on the size of the group or the location you are in.
Group sizes and prices:
If you would like to book specific dates or travel with a larger group, contact us and we will arrange a private tour for you.
Min. age requirements:
To get to Cusco, most people fly into Lima International Airport, about an hour away by plane. Layovers are often long and arrivals to Lima are generally around 2 a.m. to 3 a.m. You can spend a night there before flying to Cusco in the morning. Due to the rugged terrain, it’s bet to avoid other types of travel as it may take you 20 hours to reach Cusco.
When you land in Cusco, you guides will pick you up and drop you off with your mountain bike at your accommodation. A driver will be waiting at the Cusco airport for you with a sign with your name. Your guides can also arrange your transportation to the airport on any date you leave from Cusco.
You can arrive on day one and leave on the last day of your adventure but due to the very high altitude of Cusco, it’s best to arrive early to aclimatize.
If you are brining your bike, look into how much baggage you are allowed and how much an oversized bag will cost you as all bicycles are oversized.
You will be given a tourist visa at the Lima airport, typically they are for 90 days. Check that you do not need a visa for any of the countries you will be passing through on your layovers.
Your passport must have 6 months validity in order to enter Peru.
There are no vaccine requirements in order to enter Peru.
We highly recommend that you cover all your bases with both emergency medical and travel insurance. With medical insurance, if you have an accident or medical emergency on or off the mountain, you’ll avoid paying out of pocket for costly expenses. This covers everything from hospital treatments to emergency air transportation and more.
Travel insurance covers canceled flights, natural disasters and other scenarios that may interrupt your travel plans.
We also expect you to respect local regulations and take measures to protect yourselves, your guides, and the communities you’re traveling to. For more information on travel recommendations and restrictions in Cusco, Peru please refer to the official tourism website of Peru.
If you need assistance selecting the right insurance for your group, let us know and we will be happy to help!
It’s recommended to bring cash when you’re traveling to Peru. Most people don’t have bank accounts so services like Venmo, Pay-Pal, and Apple Pay aren’t used here. Most local stores, taxis, and local restaurants are cash only.
ATMS charge around $8 to take out $60-200 and banks only allow a small withdrawal daily so it’s probably a good idea to take a good sum of cash before you come to Peru.
Strikes are very common in Peru and on those occasions, all transport will shut down. This means that trains to Machu Picchu, busses to train stations, taxis and private cars won’t work. You may miss a flight or the tour, so make sure you purchase travel insurance as you guides will not be responsible for strikes and how it affects your tour.
Also keep in mind that flights are often delayed or canceled, natural disasters are common and your guides will not be responsible for your loss of activities during the tour.