Compare Hidden City of the Incas by Machu Travel Peru

Day 1: Welcome To Peru & Sacred Valley With Awanakancha Textile Workshop & Pisaq

Meals: Breakfast and Lunch

Upon arrival into Cusco, be assured that a private transfer will be waiting for you at the airport in order to take you to the Sacred Valley for your tour.

We will take you to the Sacred Valley of the Incas, which is located at a lower altitude than Cusco; therefore, it will help you to acclimatize to the Andes. Along the way, you will visit the Awanacancha textile workshop where you will witness how our ancestors used to elaborate their clothes using antique techniques of tainting and weaving. You will also have the opportunity to taste the delicious different types of Andean potatoes and corn. We will then continue through the valley to visit Pisaq, which has a large daily market full of goods for both tourists and locals. This market is where villagers come from the mountains to sell their home-grown produce and unique handmade arts and crafts. It is highly recommended for having a wide variety of interesting souvenirs at great prices. Here you will have a tasty lunch prepared by expert’s chefs. At the end of this day, you will be taken to your chosen hotel where you can spend time relaxing and enjoying the spectacular landscape of the sacred valley.

Overnight in the Sacred Valley

Day 2: Maras – Moray & Ollantaytambo & Train Journey To Aguas Calientes

Meals: Breakfast and Lunch

In the morning, your Private tour guide will pick you up from your hotel between 08:30Am to 09:00AM for your private tour drive you off the beaten track to Maras, a typical Andean village. Here you will walk through the streets and get a sense that you are walking during the time of the Incas as a lot of the culture has remained very similar. The people continue to wear traditional clothing and the town is lined with historical buildings. We will visit the very impressive San Francisco Church, including visits to the baptism room and bell tower, where you will have a great view of the village and its surrounding snowcapped mountains. After discovering Maras, we will continue our trip to the amazing circular terraces of Moray, which were used as an Incan laboratory to acclimatize crops then we will visit the Salt Terraces of Maras to see and learn about an ancient pre-Incan method of producing salt. Finishing your tour at this place, we will come back to Urubamba to taste a delicious BBQ lunch provided at Foundation Niños del Arco Iris where by the way, you will have the chance to be part of the hundreds of children and teenagers’ education. After lunch, you will be taken to Ollantaytambo, one of the last Incan refuges during Spanish colonization. You will step back in time as many of the houses and buildings continue to stand from the Incan empire and display original architecture. You will be invited to enter one of these houses to observe the building and the way in which the people used to live. We will then take you to visit the powerful and impressive Ollantaytambo ruins, temples and terraces. These sites continue to be well preserved since the Spanish conquest and provide an interesting insight in how towns were designed during the Incan period. This tour also includes a visit to a local Andean house to observe the daily life and activities of the people.

After your tour at Ollantaytambo, you will be drop at the train station to board the train towards Aguas Calientes. At your arrival, our representative will be waiting for you in order to lead you to your hotel and to give you a briefing on how your tour will be next day.

Overnight in Aguas Calientes

Day 3: Machu Picchu Tour

Meals: Breakfast and Lunch

In the morning, your driver and transfer will meet you at your hotel to take you to the bus station to catch your bus to reach the top of the mountain in a 25 minutes trip. At your arrival, your guide will give you the last minutes tips for starting your tour. Along your 2 hours guided tour you will learn about the history and visit the remarkable temples of the Sun and the Condor. You will also see aqueducts and houses, while learning some interesting facts about the Sacred Incan Terraces. You will be given for free time to explore the complex by yourselves and feel the energy this amazing site emanates. Finishing your visit here, you will have a delicious buffet lunch at Sanctuary Lodge’s Restaurant just before taking the bus down to Aguas Calientes where you will catch the train back to Poroy/Cusco where our staff will be waiting for you to transfer back to your hotel.

Overnight in Cusco

Day 4: Cusco City Tour

Meals: Breakfast

Today in the morning after your breakfast, our tour guide and private transport will meet you at your hotel between 8:30 to 8:45 hrs in order to start a private tour in the city. Firstly, you will visit the great Cathedral of Cusco, the main temple of Cusco, built between 1560 and 1664; the cathedral boasts in its interior numerous chapels which are richly embellished with baroque motifs. In addition, there are numerous valuable sculptures and paintings belonging to the “Escuela Cuzquena” – (the Cusco colonial painting style). Our second spot to visit the "Qoricancha" (Temple of Sun); a majestic place that, in Incan times, was devoted to the Sun worship and currently is the Santo Domingo convent, founded in 1534 as the first Dominican convent in Peru. This building, a truly masterpiece of architecture, combines wonderfully both the Incan and the colonial heritage. This tour will make you explore the secrets of one of the most important Incan temples.

Then you will visit the surrounding areas of Cusco, this tour includes the visit of four archaeological remains that are very well preserved over the years and were used by the Incas for different purposes.  The first archaeological complex that we will visit is Sacsayhuaman (puma’s head), an imposing fortress that has been worked in blocks of stone that in some cases weigh even over 120 tons. In this archaeological complex takes place the very famous Inti Raymi or Festival of the Sun, celebrated every year in June. Our second visit is Qenqo (labyrinth), an important archaeological center used like sanctuary in the Incan times. Our third destination is Pucapucara, a military construction composed of large walls, terraces and staircases, part of Cusco´s last defense line. And finally we will visit Tambomachay (resting place), an archaeological place that was dedicated to the Water worship and was a resting place for the Inca’s empire sovereign. At the end of this tour, you will be taken back to your hotel. You will have the whole afternoon to explore the city by your selves.

Overnight in Cusco

Day 5: Departure From Cusco

Meals: Breakfast

Today, our private driver will pick you up at your hotel in order to take you to the Cusco Airport for your domestic flight. Our services then will have finished.