5-DIAS CUSCO & MACHU PICCHU

We will pick you up at your hotel in Cusco around 8:00 am and begin our journey to the Inca Ruins in Pisac. These are amazing ruins located on top of one of the mountains in the Sacred Valley. There are hundreds of agricultural terraces that are still used today, where the Incas farmed corn, potatoes, and quinoa. We will also see the religious and astronomical side of the Incas at these ruins. It is an amazing place to take photos as you will be on top of the Sacred Valley, with nearly endless views.

After visiting the ruins, we will drive down to the Pisac market in the city. This is the most traditional market around Cusco and another great place to purchase gifts. You can also experience some local delicacies – many of the local farmers bring their vegetables here to sell. We will also have lunch at the market.

After lunch, we will drive further through the Sacred Valley to Ollantaytambo. Ollantaytambo was an Inca checkpoint to protect Machu Picchu and the valley against any enemies (Ollantay is the name of the leader, Tambo is a lodging place). After your tour, you will have extra time to wander around the site. In the evening, before heading to the train station, you can have dinner in one of the local restaurants. Your train will depart at 7:00 pm to Aguas Calientes, which will be a 2-hour journey.

Sleep in Aguas Calientes

Today is the most important day as we will be visiting Machu Picchu. Because it’s so special, we encourage you to wake up early in the morning to enjoy breakfast at the hotel and then walk to the bus station to catch one of the early buses, which begin running at 5:30am (they are on a first come/ first serve basis). The bus will take about 25 min to get up to Machu Picchu.

Once you arrive, your guide will be waiting to bring you to a spectacular view of the Lost City of the Incas. You will then have a 2 hour guided tour around Machu Picchu. If you have tickets to climb the amazing mountains of Huayna Picchu or Machu Picchu Mountain, your guide will direct you to where this hike begins. Please make sure this is arranged with us at least a month in advance, as tickets sell out quickly and come with additional cost. Once you finish exploring Machu Picchu, you will take a bus down to Aguas Calientes where you can have lunch. You will then take an afternoon train back to Ollantaytambo where our transportation will bring you back to Cusco.

Sleep in Cusco

We will pick you up from your hotel between 3:30 and 4:00 am before traveling in our private transportation to Mollepata, located in the lush valley of the Apurimac River and approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes away from Cusco. In Mollepata, we will stop for a quick breakfast to get some energy before our hike! We will continue on our journey by car towards Soraypampa, which will take approximately one hour (3900 masl).

Here, we will begin our trek to the Humantay Lake located at 4200 masl (13779 feet). The steep hike up will take about 1 hour and 30 min.

If the climb is too difficult, you can ride a horse up to the lake. Once you reach the summit and see the magnificent Apu Humantay Lake, all hardship will be forgotten.

On the top of the mountain we will learn about why this place was considered sacred for the Incas and we will take time to appreciate the breathtaking views.

Once at the bottom, we will go back to Mollepata and have a delicious lunch. Finally, we will take our transportation and go back to Cusco and enjoy a much-needed siesta!

We will pick you up from your hotel between 4:15 and 5:00 am to start our 3 hour ride towards the foothills of the Mount Ausangate. Once we arrive at our destination, we will have a boxed-breakfast and after a brief chat with the group, we will begin our trek.

It will take about 2 hours to reach the most beautiful point where we will have time to take photos of this enigmatic place! During our trek up and down the mountain, we will have the opportunity to see the varieties of South American camelids and the impressive Andean Mountains highlighted by the snowcapped Ausangate. We will have a brief meeting at the top to hear about the Rainbow Mountain and surrounding area and then you will have time to take in the beautiful landscape that makes up this sacred land in Cusco, Peru.

We will then start our descent from the mountain, which should take around 2 hours. There will be options to take horses up or down from the mountain, if the climb becomes too challenging.We will regroup at the bottom and then head to a small city to have a delicious Peruvian inspired buffet lunch! After this fantastic meal we will drive back to Cusco and have a much needed siesta!