Cusco Sacred Valley to Inca Trail

You will be meet at the airport and transferred to the hotel. There are no activities planned, so that you can arrive at any time. The rest of the day is free to acclimatize to its high altitude and discover the city at your convenience.

Cusco was the capital and heart of the Incan Empire (Tawantinsuyo = the Country of the Four Cardinal Points) that served as a base to Inca´s expansion into new territories. It is also the archaeological asset of the America. You can explore the Inca and Colonial town or you can do the City tour (optional).

Max. elevation: 3,345m (10974.41 ft)

Activity: The first day is an arrival day and no activities are planned, so that you can arrive at any time!

Difficulty: Moderate to challenging

Site you can to visited: Sacsayhuaman, Quenqo, Pukapukara, Tambomachay, Qoricancha (Temple of the Sun), The Catedral of the Cusco, San Pedro Local Market, San Blas and San Cristobal

Breakfast at the hotel. At 07:30 hours in the morning we will pick you up from your Hotel and we will go on a Tourist Bus heading to the Sacred Valley of the Incas.

This beautiful valley is composed of numerous rivers that descend by streams. First we will go to the archaeological center of Pisaq, impressive construction built in the period of the Inca Empire, where we can observe the great work accomplished by the Incas. Then we will visit the town of Pisaq, where we will find a picturesque craft market. For those who like to buy souvenirs, this place is undoubtedly one of the best places to do it, since there are many varieties of alpaca wool items, silver and gold jewelry, among others.

Continuing we go to the population of Urubamba where they will have a buffet lunch in one of the restaurants that offers the best presentations of typical dishes of the Cusco region. After lunch we will go to the town of Ollantaytambo, where we will visit the beautiful fortress that bears the same name. Once the guided tour in Ollantaytambo is over, we will go to your hotel for dinner and rest

Estimated trekking time: 7-8 hours

Site to visit: Pisac market, Pisac and Ollantaytambo archeoligical
Cusco – Pisac – Ollantaytambo distance: 93 km
Max. elevation: 3,450m (10974 ft)
Min. elevation: 2,792 m (9160 ft)
Difficulty: Moderate to challenging

Early in the morning, we will pick you up at your hotel, to transfer you to the train station in Ollantaytambo; we will board the train that will take you to the km. 104 the trip is about 1 hour. It is here at Km 104 (2,200 m / 7,217,848 ft) where we will start the walk to the Inca Trail, we will pass by the bridge that is on the Urubamba or Willkamayuc River which translated from Quechua means Sacred River, which was very important for them. When you arrive at the control point you have to show the identification documents, either Passport or Alien Registration Card or National Identity Document. A 15 minute walk is the archeological center of Chachabamba and Choquesuysuy that are hidden in the semi-tropical forest, after your visit we will begin the walk through tiers upwards until we reach the next place on the way we will observe the sacred valley , water cascades and different types of semi-tropical forest orchids, after 4 hours of walking we will arrive at Wiñaywayna (2,650 m / 8,694,226 ft) it shows a perfect example of what agriculture was in the time of the Incas, since Along its skirts lie a large number of circular terraces, where the Incas cultivated different agricultural products. The name Wiñaywayna comes from a beautiful orchid that abounds in the area and that has as meaning in Spanish “Eternally young” and has more than 20 buildings, one of them the Temple of the Rainbow also called Temple of Fertility, the visit will be One hour later, on average, you will enjoy a box lunch to recharge your batteries and continue until you reach Wiñaywayna’s control.

In this second part of the tour we will walk for 2 hours through an Andean plan, stone stairs and tambos (“resting places”) until we reach the Inti Punku – Puerta del Sol (2,720 m / 8,923,885 ft) that during the Incas functioned as control of entry to the Citadel of Machu Picchu; From here you have an impressive panoramic view of Machu Picchu and the entire surrounding valley, then descend for approximately 30 minutes to the wonder of Machu Picchu world (2,490 m / 8,169,292 ft) and finally take the bus to Aguas Calientes – Machu Picchu Town (2,160 m / 7,086,614 ft) the trip lasts 25 minutes, here we will spend the night in a basic lodging. If you are not very tired, you have the option of visiting the thermal baths located 5 minutes from the town, the cost is 10 soles. For those who like to dance or have a drink in a bar, we inform you that Aguas Calientes has a wide variety of bars and restaurants, including an ATM, in case you wish to withdraw money from the bank.

Estimated trekking time: 7-8 hours

Site to visit: Chachabamba, Wiñaywayna, Intipata, Intipunko (Sun door) and you can see Machu Picchu
Trekking distance: 16 km
Max. elevation: 2650 m (8695 ft)
Min. elevation: 2230 m (7317 ft)
Difficulty: Moderate to challenging

We started early to get ready to go to the Citadel of Machu Picchu; Here we have two options: get on bus or go walking. The trek to Machu Picchu is 1 hour and 30 minutes, the first 30 minutes of flat walk to the Ruinas bridge and then up through the properly signposted stands. The bus trip takes approximately 25 minutes.

This enigmatic and mysterious city is explored for approximately 2 hours in the company of your guide, who will give you information about this wonder, you can visit the most impressive places like the Royal Mausoleum, the temple of the 3 windows, the main temple, the Sacred Plaza , the famous Intihuatana where the wise Incas moored the sun on the winter solstice in June, stairways, squares, fountains, etc. After the guided tour you will have a free time of 5-6 hours, to take pictures, or visit Huayna Picchu or “Montaña Joven” which has only 400 spaces, divided into two groups: first group (07:00 am – 08: 00 am), second group (10:00 am – 11:00 am). Then you will go down to the town of Aguas Calientes, either by bus or walking according to your choice. In the evening we will take a train to Ollantaytambo where our driver will wait to take us back to Cusco City.

Estimated trekking time: 2 hours

Site to visit: Machu Picchu, Huayna Picchu or Machu Picchu mountain (optinal – extra price, please book in advance)
Trekking distance: 5 km
Max. elevation: 3345 m (10975 ft)
Min. elevation: 2040 m (6693 ft)
Difficulty: Easy hike