Inca Trail and Inti Raymi 2024

You will be met at the airport and transferred to the hotel. There are no activities planned, so that you can arrive at any time. You are free to unwind at the hotel or amble around the town of Cusco, the part of Cusco where the hotel is situated. Some of Cusco’s finest galleries, museums, shops and restaurants are around here. If you have time we recommend the Museo Inca.

You will be driven to the Sacred Valley of the Incas. The Sacred Valley provided the Inca culture with large amounts of food agriculturally and includes various Inca remnants. The valley has been formed by the Urubamba River also known as the Vilcanota River and it goes through Pisac and Ollanaytambo up to the ancient natural sanctuary of Machu Picchu. The Sacred Valley is a lush agricultural region that keeps supplying the Cusco City with lots of its production. We are taken to the impressive Inca site of Pisac, an archaeological complex situated on the hillside high above the town, with amazing vistas of frost-topped mountains. This place has fascinating agricultural terracing carved into the mountainside. Uphill are well-kept temples, including a Solar Clock or Intiwatana which are magnificent designs.

Afterwards we continue to Ollantaytambo, a little town brimming with native atmosphere and occupied since Inca times, we stop at the principle templethat was used as an Incan fortress during the Incas resistance. Beautiful views for some awesome photos.

In the afternoon we return to Cusco, but before we stop in Chinchero, we view the beautiful landscapes and the small colonial church. We will be taken to the hotel. Overnight stay in Cusco.

The festivity in honor of the Sun god is celebrated in 3 historical scenes.

• Qorikancha (Golden Temple), it was the principal temple dedicated to the Sun in the Incan era.
• Plaza de Armas (called by the Incas “Auqaypata”, the Warrior Square), which was a huge square during the Inca times where this ceremony was held on a ceremonial platform (“ushnu” in Quechua). From there, the Inca was carried on a golden throne leading a procession through the ancient city of Cusco up to Sacsaywaman in the hills above city.
• Saqsaywaman (“saqsay” and “waman” in Quechua mean “satiate hawk”), which is an impressive archaeological centre situated at 3,555 m.a.s.l., just a kilometre far away from the Inca neighbourhood of Qolqanpata.

 Program of the Sacsaywaman´s scene:

• Ceremonial arrival
• Announcement of the 4 “Suyus” (or the four cardinal points): Qollasuyu, Kuntisuyu, Antisuyu and Chinchaysuyu
• Chicha Ritual
• Sacred Fire Ritual
• Lama (Andean cameloid) sacrifice and a sign reading (But no worries, there is not any lama killed in fact nowadays!
• Sankhu (sacred bread) Reading
• Q’ochurikuy (burst of popular exaltation)

We pick you up from your hotel in Cusco to transfer you during a 2 hour ride to the Ollantaytambo´s railway station. There, you get on a train and continue until Km 104, where a checking point of the Inca Trail is located. You pass through the point and start the Inca Trail Trekking! After about 2-3 hours, you reach the archaeological site of Chachabamba where you have lunch and a rest. Then a guided tour of the site follows. Afterwards, you continue through a mixture of cacti vegetation and a cloud forest towards another Incan significant site – Wiñay Wayna. But before we reach it, we enjoy a refresh in a local waterfall! Later on, you can admire the sunset above Machu Picchu when we get to the Sun´s Gate (Inti Punku) before entering the Inka citadel. However, today is too late to have a guided tour of this overwhelming Incan city so we descend slowly to Aguas Calientes Town enjoying beautiful surrounding scenery on the way! We spend the night in a comfortable hotel in Aguas Calientes. 

After an early morning breakfast, we continue hiking the Inca Trail for about 2 hours up to the mysterious city of Machu Picchu that we enter for the early morning best photos opportunities. Then our Tour Guide shows us around the Incan city and explains us about its history and purposes. After the guided tour, we are given the opportunity to climb up for about 45 minutes to Huayna Picchu or to Machu Picchu Mountain (peaks above Machu Picchu serving to take some panoramic pictures of the Inka city). Then, we are given time off to spend and explore Machu Picchu on our own.

The 2 day Inca Trail ends up with a train ride to Ollantaytambo (alternatively to Poroy), from where we are taken by van back to Cusco.
Machu Picchu is both, the best and the least known site of the Incas as it is not mentioned in any Spanish conquistador´s chronicle so that contemporary archaeologists can not do anything more than just speculate on its functions. Local Quechuan farmers had known about Machu Picchu for centuries before an 11-year-old boy showed the American historian Hiram Bingham (who was in a search of Vilcabamba) this site on the 24th of July 1911. At that time, all the rest of the world became aware of its existence. However, the site was covered with thick vegetation so Hiram Bingham along with his team returned and within the years of 1912 and 1915 cleared its surface. Over the years, plenty of work has been done on excavating and studying the site. Despite these efforts, many unanswered questions remain.

Transfer to Cusco airport after breakfast. End of the tour or alternatively, a good time to extend your trip!

Please note: A return flight to Lima can be arranged upon request!