Cuzco and Machu Picchu 7 d/6 n

Day 1. Lima                        

Arrival in Lima. Flights according to schedule. You will be welcomed by our guide who will take you to your hotel in the Miraflores district, Lima, traditionally known as “the city of the Kings” which has transformed into the Culinary Capital of South America. 

Day 2. Cuzco 

After breakfast, we transfer back to the airport in order to fly to Cuzco, 1.5-hour flight into the Capital of the Incas at an altitude of 3400 masl where we will start touring directly into the “Sacred Valley of the Incas”. The first stop is Pisak with its old market, time to stroll around and see the town and the market. The second stop will be to the Pisak ruins, incredible stonework in architecture, where the landscape is unique.  

After a well-deserved lunch, we continue along the Urubamba river and end up in Ollantaytambo at 2600 masl. This will be our home for the next three nights, we do our check-in, and right after we walk to  the “fortress of Ollantaytambo”, the Temple of the Sun made of six gigantic monoliths, whose total weight exceeds 50 tons, ending with the Terrace of the Ten Niches that stand out incredibly. 

In the evening we are free to stroll around the main square of this beautiful little village and have dinner somewhere.

Day 3. Ollantaytambo       

Excursion Moras y Moray 

After breakfast, we go to the Urubamba Valley's fascinating surroundings. An excursion today will take us to the Salt Mines of Maras, which appears to glow due to its intense white shine, it is an impressive sight for any visitor. The Salt mines have been used from the Incas to today, and the same old method of exploiting salt has been quite successful.  

Moray, with its circular terraces hidden among the hills, similar to the Greek amphitheater will make an extraordinary scenery, the valley is surrounded by the impressive snow-covered Andes mountains. Moray was used as an open-air agricultural lab to make plants adapt to different environmental conditions in the empire, where they will become a crop. We end the tour with lunch at a restaurant in the Valley. 

Day 4. Ollantaytambo 

(Full Day Excursion to Machu Picchu)

We wake up in Ollantaytambo and will take on one of South America's biggest attraction. Early a.m. start to arrive at the hotel late in the evening. 

Full day excursion to Machu Picchu 

Walk to the train station to catch an early train to Aguas Calientes, the village below the Machu Picchu ruins. A fantastic train journey where we see the Andes mountain chain with its rivers up close, one of the world's most beautiful train journeys without a doubt.  

Upon arrival in Aguas Calientes, we will be greeted by our guide, who will assist us into the shuttle bus that will take us to the entrance of the citadel. During our guided tour we will experience the uniqueness of the location and the genius that went into its construction. Machu Picchu stands in an extraordinarily beautiful setting, it was probably the most amazing urban creation of the Inca Empire. We will find giant walls, terraces, and ramps, all with the highest precision you can imagen. To this day, many of Machu Picchu’s mysteries remain unresolved. 

A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983. The magical tour in these one of the seven wonders of the world will take approximately 2.5 hours and will end back at the citadel again. Back to Aguas Calientes for late lunch and walks around the town. At a coordinated time, we will meet at the local train station to board the Voyager service back to Ollantaytambo. 

Day 5. Cuzco                      

City Tour in Cuzco 

After breakfast when we have adapted to the high altitude we´ll return to the capital of the Incas, Cuzco, by bus. We check in to our comfortable hotel for the next 2 nights. In the afternoon we walk through the major sites of interest in an incredibly interesting city that has been well preserved over time since the Incas era. 

Cuzco City tour on foot 

We visit the famous Cathedral with its magnificently carved woodwork, the ornate altar, and hundreds of canvases from the 17th-century Cusco Painting School. The wealth of Cusco Cultural background at the Temple of the Sun where we witness the incredible masonry of the Incas, an engineering feat that remains an enigma. 

Afterward, we walk along Hatunrumiyoc Street named after the 12-angled stone clearly visible in the remaining walls of what used to be Inca Roca’s Palace. Last stop in the San Blas artisan quarter. Its steeped cobblestone alleys not only offer spectacular views of the city but are lined up with workshops and galleries, a great way to soak into Cusco's artistic atmosphere. An exciting city with a lot of history and culture, you could stay in the town a bit longer or just walk back to the hotel and rest. 

Day 6. Cuzco                      

Day at Leisure in Cuzco/Optional tours 

The guide will provide advice and tips on what to do in and around Cuzco. Strolling around on your own is always a nice option. But if you want to visit Sacsayhuaman, the ruins are a good idea, it is only 2.8 km away from the city. Anyone who wants to do a challenging hike can do the rainbow mountains or you can go river rafting.  

Day 7. Ecuador/Colombia or home

Flight to Guayaquil/Cartagena or home

After breakfast at the hotel, we transfer to the airport once again and board the flight back to Lima and on to Guayaquil, Ecuador. For those of you going to the Galapagos or staying in Ecuador, note that you will be spending one night in Guayaquil. For those of you going to the Caribbean, you will board from Lima. Some of you will end your tour with us here, we will wish you a safe travel back to your home and hope to see you again.