Cusco, The Magic of this Natural Treasure

Upon your arrival, our tour guide in Cusco will be there to welcome and take you to Awanacancha center, that promotes, retrieves, and revalues the ancient techniques of weaving, dyeing, management and production of camelids fibers. This project works together with families of native weavers craftsmen in high Andean native communities; providing for this purpose a unique space in a restored and proper archaeological environment for the promotion, distribution and supply of textiles and related products.
The archaeological site of Pisac is located on top of a hill in front of the Sacred Valley. It is made up of groups of platforms and architectural structures scattered on the slopes and on top of the hill. According to the archaeologist and ethno historian John Rowe, Pisac has been part of the heritage of the Inca Pachacutec, who may have ordered its construction. Due to its location and its particular characteristics, we can say it was an Incan center of great importance. In the afternoon, you will be taken to a tourist restaurant situated in the valley, and where lunch will be served; then you will be taken back to your hotel where you have the rest of time to relax.

Meals included: Lunch

After a rich breakfast in your hotel, you will visit the terraces of Moray that resemble a sunken amphitheater or an artificial crater; when it was built, its walls were filled with fertile earth and watered by complex irrigation systems. Thus, the existing thermal variation between the surface and the bottom of these natural holes was exploited so that each terrace had different varieties of plants (more than 250 plant species) adapted. It is speculated that, from their experience with this kind of greenhouse, the Incas organized agricultural production throughout the Tahuantinsuyo. Las Salinas de Maras, Maras or as it is also called, are salt mines whose exploitation is as old as the Tahuantinsuyo. Located on the hillside, the salt-mines form terraces or platforms that are connected by an irrigation system that feeds the pools of salt with water. Using Maras Salt dates back thousands of years and is inherited in each family, but is managed communally.
After visiting Maras, you will be invited to the Foundation “Niño’s del Arco Iris”, the most important social project in the area that provides education and health care to children and teenagers in extreme poverty. Here you will have a delicious BBQ lunch prepared by a local cook while being in the midst of amazing landscapes.
After lunch, our tour guide will lead you to visit Ollantaytambo ; a finely worked ceremonial center is at the top of the terraces. Some extremely well-built walls were under construction at the time of the conquest and for that have never been completed. The stone was quarried from the mountainside 6km away, high above the opposite bank of the Río Urubamba. For this reason Transporting the huge stone blocks to the site was a great effort. At the end of the day, you will be transferred to your hotel situated in the heart of the Sacred Valley.

Meals included: Breakfast and Lunch

Today, we will pick you up early in the morning to be transferred to Ollantaytambo station to catch a train to Aguas Calientes, for many people the train ride has a special glamour. In this particular route, which has an average speed of 40-45 kilometers per hour, passengers can fully appreciate the beauty of the amazing scenery. The route follows the bank of the river Vilcanota and views are truly moving and relaxing. The train ride to Machu Picchu will be a most rewarding experience. One of the peculiarities of this route is that the passenger can see how the landscape is slowly changing for instance from beautiful Andean mountains to lush fields and the rain forest where hides the Inca citadel on top of a mountain. The trip takes approximately 1 hour and 45minutes.
What many do not know: the train reaches the station of Machu Picchu Pueblo also known as Aguas Calientes, due to the influx of hot springs. From there you will meet your guide to take a bus that goes to the top of the mountain where the Inca citadel resides. According to estimations, the Incan city’s construction would date from the 14th century and is attributed to the Inca Pachacuteq. The archaeological complex is divided into two sectors which cover about 20 hectares. After a complete excursion into the sanctuary with your guide, you will partake of an exquisite lunch in the best restaurant: Tinkuy by Sanctuary Lodge, you will then return to Aguas Calientes by bus; and then your guide will take you to the station to catch your train, Upon arrival in Poroy, our representative will be waiting for you, then you will be transferred to your hotel in a private transportation.

Meals included: Breakfast and Lunch

For the morning, your guide will meet you in your hotel at a specific time to begin your private tour through the city. Your guide will take you through the past and present, starting from Inca walls to ancient churches, including the Basilica Cathedral of Cusco city; the ancient capital of the Inca Empire. You will also visit and see some Inca buildings such as the Qoricancha or the Temple of the Sun also considered as the most important Inka building, above you will see that the monastery of the Dominican order have built a church that has a colonial and Andean Baroque style. Ten minutes away from the city’s downtown are located the massive walls of the fortress of Sacsayhuaman. A few kilometers away from it, are the archaeological sites of Kenko, Pukapukara and Tambomachay, archaeological Inca complexes constructed completely with stone. Once the tour has finished, we will take you back to your hotel; so you have the rest of afternoon as free time for exploring the city by your own.

Meals included: Breakfast

The last day you will be transferred to Cusco airport in order to take a domestic flight back to Lima. Upon your arrival, there will be plenty of time to check in at the airport to catch your international flight.

Meals included: Breakfast