Magic of Cusco Tour

Arrival to Cusco. Please leave the Cusco´s airport arrival hall, a Tierras Vivas Representative awaits you in front of it holding a sheet with your name. Then he/she transfers you to your hotel. The rest of the morning is free so you can relax, have some coca tea (a natural tea of coca leaves and the best tool against altitude sickness) or just walk around the city´s centre and visit some Colonial churches and ancient streets.

In the afternoon, your Tour Guide picks you up from your hotel and takes you onto the tour of Cusco City starting with a visit of the Cathedral located on the main square (Plaza de Armas). Then, you visit Qoricancha - the golden temple of the Incas that was once the main temple of the Incan Empire and it was dedicated to the god of Sun! After that, we continue by our bus outside of the city visiting the huge Incan fortress of Sacsayhuaman. There are some magnificent Inca´s walls made up of huge and impressive stones weighing up to 130 tons. The stones fit together with an absolute peferction! Three of these walls run parallel to over 360 m. There are 21 bastions in the fortress. 
 
Later on, we continue to a nearby Incan labyrinth and a ceremonial site - Qenqo. After our Tour Guide has explained us about this enigmatic site, we board our bus to continue to the red fortress of Puca Pucara. Our last stop is in Tambomachay - a water temple of the Incas.
  
Finally, we are taken back to our hotel in Cusco to overnight

Picture: Cusco's main cathedral

Your Tour Guide picks you up from the hotel in the morning to takes us into the Sacred Valley of the Incas that was an important source of food to the Incas. The Sacred Valley is a lush agricultural region that keeps supplying the Cusco City with lots of its production. We visit the majestic ruins of Pisaq as well as its current famous handicraft market. Then, we stop in Urubamba, considered to be the capital of the valley, to have a buffet lunch offering Andean cuisine. Afterwards, we continue to the picturesque town of Ollantaytambo with its Incan fortress. The town and the fortress are strategically situated overlooking the beautiful Urubamba River Valley. The fortress is known as the best surviving example of Inca´s urban planning and engineering! It is admired for its huge steep terraces guarding the fortress as well as for being one of the few places where Spaniards lost a major battle during their conquest.

In the afternoon, we take a train to Aguas Calientes. We spend the night in this small town before heading for Machu Picchu.

Picture: Ollantaytambo fortress

In the morning, we get ready for the long-awaited trip to Machu Picchu!! First off, we get on a shuttle bus that let us just in front of the entrance to this historic and spiritual centre of the Incas. There, we enter and start our guided tour, during which our Tour Guide introduces us to its history and describes us each part of the "Lost City of the Incas".
Afterwards, we are given an opportunity to hike the peak of Huayna Picchu to observe the Incan citadel from another perspective (Extra price).

In the afternoon, we return by train 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 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 have remain.

Picture: Terraces in Machu Picchu

Today is the last day in Cusco so we transfer you back to the Cusco´s airport. Nevertheless, you can still extend your trip. To do so, please check our tailor made section or choose another of our tours.

Please note: a return flight to Lima can be arranged upon request.

• Welcome by our Representative at arrival.
• Private transfer from/to the Cusco´s airport at arrival and departure.
• Accommodation: 3* hotel (3 nights).
• Entrance fee to the Cathedral of Cusco and Coricancha church.
• Tourist Ticket to the City tour and Sacred Valley.
• Entrnace fee to Machu Picchu Inca city.
• Professional bilingual Tour Guides as per the itinerary.
• Meals: 3x breakfast, 1x buffet lunch (during the Sacred Valley Tour).
• Transport by a private van during the tours and local transfers.
• A tourist train round trip to Machu Picchu.
• A shuttle bus Aguas Calientes - Machu Picchu - a round trip.
• Private transportation from Ollantaytambo to Cusco

• Pre & post tour accommodation,
• International and local flights nor airport departure taxes,
• Meals not mentioned,
• Huayna Picchu tickets (U$ 80).
• Travel Insurance
• Tips and baggage portage (please note: it is a custom to give tips in Peru, however, it is not obligatory),

Meals budget: Please allow USD 20 for meals not included.
Solo Traveller: Please note that if you have booked the "Solo Traveller" option for this tour, you receive your own single room for all overnights.
Local flights: No flight is included in the cost of the tour! If you need the local flight from Lima to Cusco, contact us!

All Cusco & Machu Picchu group tours are accompanied by a Tierras Vivas Tour Guide, a Representative or an expedition team. The aim of our Tour Guides is to take a hassle out of our customers’ trips and to help them to have the best trip possible. The Tour Guides provide information on places visited, offer suggestions of what to see and to do, recommend a good place to eat and introduce to his/her colleagues. The Guides have a broad general knowledge of each country visited during a tour, including historical, cultural, religious and social aspects. We also use local Tour Guides where we think that more specific knowledge could add more enjoyment to visited places.

These following hotels are used to accommodate you during your tour:

 Accommodation in Cusco:

Hotel Prisma Cusco

Address: Calle Matara N 394, Cusco

Tel: (+51)  84 224466

Hotel Wiracocha Machu Picchu

During the 4 day Machu Picchu Tour, we request our hotels to get ready your rooms for the time of your arrival, especially, if you arrive prior to standard check-in time. Nevertheless, this is not always possible. In this case, you just store your luggage in that hotel storage room and you can explore your new destination in between.

Please note! If you have purchased pre or post-trip accommodation, you might be asked to change your room during your trip.

A kind of luggage you need to take with depends on a kind of tour you plan to undertake, a part of the country you like to visit, a year season and a length of your trip. In general, you should pack as lightly as possible because you carry your own luggage during most of our tours (however, there are not long walking distances – up to 30 minutes). We recommend you to keep weight of your luggage under 10 kg (22 lb.).

Most of travelers use a suitcase. However, a big backpack would be more suitable. In any case, please do not forget a small rucksack that you will need for daily travels (to carry your bottled water, camera, snacks, etc.). It is better to avoid a wheeled luggage and use luggage with shoulder straps.

What to Bring on the Cusco & Machu Picchu Tour

• Passport Original and copies
• Travel insurance(+ copies for a case of lost),
• Flight tickets,
• Cash in USD or credit cards,
• Our service voucher (sent by us to you),
• Entry visa and a proof of vaccination (if applicable),
• Day pack (to carry your personal items during daily travels),
• Rain gear (a rain-jacket and a waterproof trousers or a rain poncho - this can be purchased in Cusco),
• Resistible footwear, waterproof trekking shoes are recommended,
• Sandals (for a higher comfort while at a campsite),
• Warm clothes such as a jacket, a fleece (thermal clothing is also recommended for cold nights during camping),
• Hat or a cap (to protect you against the Sun, rain as well as cold),
• Sun cream or sun block,
• After-sun cream or hydrating cream for face and body,
• Insect repellent– recommended minimum is 20% DEET (please note that no malaria has been reported during this trip!),
• Camera and its charger/batteries (please note that batteries are consumed quickly under cold conditions),
• Flashlight/headlamp + batteries,
• Small towel and toiletries,
• Sufficient reserve of underwear,
• Handkerchiefs and toilet paper,ç
• Swimsuit (to visit the thermal baths of Aguas Calientes),
• Snacks (biscuits, energy bars, chocolate, raw fruits, muesli, etc.)
  Please note: we do provide a daily morning snack and our meal service is very complete and well supplied. The recommendation of taken own snack applies only for customers who like a specific snack that might not be in our menu.
• Bottled water for the first morning and a water bottle.
  Important: plastic bottles are not allowed on the Classic Inca Trail! Please bring a metallic (alternatively Nalgene) bottles!
• Optional: walking sticks (please note: rubber covers are required for the Inca Trail!!); you can also rent it from us,
• Please note: we provide with filtered boiled water during entire Inca Trail, but if you like to use water from streams along the trail, you need to take some water-purifying tablets with you.

Cusco was the capital of the Incas and is a very interesting destination for tourism, in the tour we offer you will learn about the culture of the Incas and their legacy, the towns of Cusco and Valle with their customs. Of course we will not miss Machu Picchu, its impressive architecture, its energy and the incredible natural environment that will make your trip an unforgettable experience. You will also feel the affection of our people who receive their visitors with joy.

Machu Picchu is an Inca city surrounded by temples, platforms and water channels, built on top of a mountain. Its construction was built with large blocks of stone joined together, without the use of amalgam. At the moment it is considered cultural patrimony of the humanity when being recognized like important political center, religious and administrative of the Incaic time. Machu Picchu Peru.

Cusco Machu Picchu Peru 6 Days/ 5 Nights

The Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu are two places almost mandatory to visit in Cusco, it is one of the best ways to travel and know the Inca culture.

In itself the Sacred Valley has a beauty characterized by nature and the villages that develop along the Vilcanota river, which allow to enjoy beautiful views along the route. If we add to that the archaeological sites of Pisac, Ollantaytambo with its grandiose stone buildings in almost inaccessible places, it amazes all visitors for all the historical richness that can be appreciated. Sacred Valley to Machu Picchu.

Sacred Valley to Machu Picchu 2 Days/ 1 Night