Ausangate to Mazuko Altiplano to Jungle Bikerafting Expedition

During this incredible, giant descent we'll bike and raft a total distance of 272km/169mi with an elevation difference of 4773m/15658ft! Our highest point at 5110m/16765ft takes us from andean highland "altiplano" tundra, llama and alpaca country down through puna grassland, through high jungle scrub and into lower, lush tropical jungle. This is mostly downhill and planned for limiting hike-a-bike and strenuous uphill battles. It's also mostly singletrack with a combination of double, dirt and very little paved roads. We'll bike through the coca-chewing highland communities of the Andes, down through subtropical mining town and even further down into the agricultural areas along the jungles of the Inambari River.

Overview

Day 1    Lake Sabinacocha (Ausangate) - Corani - Tantamaco Camp
From Cusco we'll either take a private van to Lake Sabinacocha or a public bus to Sicuani then a private van from Sicuani up to Sabinacocha. When we reach the highest point just above the lake we can begin our descent on bikes. We head towards the east on a dirt road and spend the next few hrs descending from 5110m/16765ft down through high altitude valleys, through the pueblo of Corani, then up and towards the south on singletracks towards Tantamaco where we will find a picturesque (but cold) campsite near the "bosque de piedras" (rock forests) of Corani at ~14000ft. Night tent camping.

Day 2    Macusani - Allincapac (Cordillera Carabaya) Lakeside Camp
This morning we'll ascend slightly towards the south on more singletrack reaching the larger town of Macusani at 14224ft. From here we continue uphill towards the east on paved roads with beautiful views of the Carabaya mountain range and snow-capped peaks of Mt. Allincapac where we'll camp next to one of multiple high lakes between 4572-4267m/15000-14000ft. Night tent camping.

Day 3    Ayapata - Balconpata Camp
Today we begin the real descent of our trip. Now heading north we lose 1000ft in elevation every 2-3mi. We have the choice of a dirt road with switchbacks or single track to the west side. Soon we enter a valley and the district of Ayapata which now turns east again, losing the barren, rocky terrain of the altiplano and beginning to turn greener. Our singletrack takes us into a narrower valley, passing by and through agricultural plots until we reach subtropical scrub near an area called Balconpata where we'll find a campsite. Night tent/hammock camping.

Day 4-7    Bancomayo - Inambari R. Camping
Having left behind the higher altitude the challenge now becomes finding our way. This morning we'll reach a hydroelectric station and a trail which leads us further down switchbacks, across a river and eventually joins the road which leads us further down to Bancomayo, a community nestled into the spurs and crux of the mountains which are covered in high jungle vegetation. The roads and trails now switchback up and down different spurs creating a maze. We turn now to the west to cross a bridge which takes us to connecting singletracks through another 20mi of high jungle descent. We will pass through sparse agricultural areas and follow the river down to the navigable Inambari River at 532m/1745ft. This route from Bancomayo to the Inambari is all singletrack and has some ascents and may take as many as 2-3 days. Nights hammock camping.

Day 8-9    Inambari R. packrafting - Mazuko
At the Inambari river bank we'll inflate our boats and disassemble our bikes to pack them on our boats before rafting 71km/44mi through Peruvian Amazon jungle along the Bahuaja Sonene National Park to our take out point near Mazuko. The rafting portion could last 7-8hrs and 1-2 days. After landing south of Mazuko we'll deflate our boats and pack them on our bikes for a 4mi+ bike ride north to Mazuko and the bus terminal for a transfer to either Cusco or Puerto Maldonado.

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