Day 1 - Travel Day – Fly from your home to Peru

Day 2 – Arrive in Cusco / Rest and acclimate

Day 3 – Cusco City Tour

Day 4 – Sacred Valley Tour / Train to Aguas Calientes

Day 5 – Tour of Machu Picchu / hike Huaynapicchu / train to Cusco

Day 6 – Tour of Maras/Moray/Chincheros

Day 7 – Free Day

Day 8 – Fly out of Cusco and head home

Day 9 – Travel Day - Arrive home

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Day 1 – Travel Day

               Fly from home to Lima and from Lima to Cusco.

 

Day 2 – Welcome to Cusco!

(Included Meals: NONE)

 

We will be waiting outside the airport to greet you and take you to your hotel. We recommend that you take it easy this day because you will need time to acclimate to the altitude. Lima sits at sea-level whereas Cusco sits at just over 11,000ft (To put that in perspective, the summit of Mount Rainier is around 14,000ft). Most travelers take a nap before leaving the hotel to explore Cusco. We will show you around the main areas of the city and help you buy water, exchange money, and recommend some good restaurants. Cusco is quite safe and is a vibrant city full of both Inca and Spanish architecture.

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Day 3 – Let’s get to know the history of the area

(Included Meals: Hotel Breakfast)

 

We will meet you in your hotel lobby and introduce you to your guide. Your guide will be with you for your Cusco City Tour as well as your Sacred Valley Tour on Day 4.

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The Cusco City Tour includes tours of:

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1. Cathedral Basilica

2. Qorikancha

3. Saqsayhuaman

4. The White Christ (Cristo Blanco)

5. Q’enko

6. Puca Pucara Fortress

7. Tambomachay (If there is time)

8. Local Textile Shop (If there is time)

 

The tour takes about 4 to 5 hours. After the tour you have free time. Feel free to ask the guide or us for any recommendations on places to eat, otherwise explore and enjoy!

 

Day 4 – Explore the Sacred Valley of the Inca

(Included Meals: Hotel Breakfast / Lunch Buffet)

 

We will meet you in your hotel lobby to help you get ready and head out on your Sacred Valley Tour.

 

IMPORTANT NOTE:

You will not be coming back to the hotel that night. You will spend the night in Aguas Calientes (the village in the valley below Machu Picchu). You will be seeing Machu Picchu on Day 5. Pack a change of clothes, bring a backpack, toiletries, and anything you want to have with you at Machu Picchu and leave your larger bags at the hotel in Cusco (You will be back the night of Day 5).

 

BRING YOUR PASSPORT WITH YOU! You will need it to get into Machu Picchu.

 

Your guide from Day 3 will be with you for the Tour. They won’t be going to Machu Picchu with you (we have another guide at M.P. who will meet you).

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The Sacred Valley Tour includes tours of:

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1. The Llama Farm (feed llamas and alpacas!)

2. Viewpoint above the Sacred Valley

3. Pisaq Market

4. Pisaq ruins

5. Ollantaytambo Fortress

               

Between Pisaq and Ollantaytambo you will visit a nice restaurant for a buffet lunch (included).

After visiting Ollantaytambo the guide will lead you to the nearby train station and make sure you are all checked in. Aguas Calientes is only accessible by train. There will be some beverages and small snacks given to you on the train. The train ride is about 1.5 – 2 hours. You’ll notice the climate change during the journey. Machu Picchu lies deep within the Urubamba Valley which is a high-jungle climate. It is more humid, warm, and green.

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Once you arrive at Aguas Calientes head towards the exit of the train station and your guide for Day 5 will be waiting to greet you and walk you to your hotel. If you aren’t too tired, I highly recommend walking up the main street of the town. You’ll know you are on the main street because it is steep and goes upwards J. There are lots of shops and restaurants around. It’s a warm and glowing little town that seems like it’s right out of a movie or a novel.

 

IMPORTANT NOTE:

BRING YOUR PASSPORT and make sure to get your entrance ticket from the guide.

Buy water (usually you can buy it at the hotel for about the same cost as on the street) for your day tomorrow, you’ll need it! You can’t buy water once you are in Machu Picchu. I usually buy a liter sized bottle and then a normal sized bottle of water and take both with me.

Buy a rain poncho. Either buy one in Cusco beforehand or you can buy one on the morning of Day 5 while waiting for the bus to Machu Picchu. Like I mentioned earlier, Aguas Calientes and Machu Picchu are in the High-Jungle climate and thus can rain a lot. The rain usually dies out about the time you enter Machu Picchu. I personally prefer when it does rain while I’m in M.P. because I think it makes the ruins seem so much more mysterious and somber. But then again, I am pretty weird.

 

Day 5 – Machu Picchu

(Included Meals: Hotel Breakfast)

 

You will wake up early today. Around 5am or so. Breakfast will be in the hotel and is included. I recommend eating quite a bit since you won’t be able to eat until about noon or so. Bring a day-pack with a jacket or a sweater (and a poncho if you have it already). Don’t forget to bring your water.

 

IMPORTANT NOTE:

Leave your larger bags with the front desk at the hotel lobby and take a day-pack with you up to Machu Picchu.

 

The guide will meet you in the lobby and will take you to the line to get on the buses. There are about 12 buses that run non-stop up and down the mountain. The line is usually very long but don’t worry it moves very quickly. While in line you can buy a poncho from local vendors. The bus ride has a lot of turns so if you are someone who gets car sick I recommend you try sitting in the front. It’s about 20-30 minutes to the top of the mountain. From there you will use the bathroom if you need it before entering the park.

 

IMPORTANT NOTE:

There are no bathrooms in Machu Picchu, so if you need to go, go before you enter. It costs about 2 Soles.

 

After entering the park you will follow the signs to HuaynaPicchu mountain. It sits behind Machu Picchu. The hike takes about 1.5 hours total and is somewhat difficult. Although you are not as high up as in Cusco (Machu Picchu sits at around 9,000ft) you will still feel out-of-breath. The trail is steep and mostly stone stairs (Made by the Inca) that wind their way to the top of the mountain. I think this is one of the most memorable hikes I have ever been on. The view from the peak is phenomenal! Although the hike is a little tough and steep, it is totally worth it. If you are deathly afraid of heights I don’t think you’ll like it, otherwise do it! There are ruins at the peak as well. The Inca were masters when it came to building on steep slopes.

 

After the hike you will head back out of the park where you will meet up with the guide. Have your tickets and passports ready to head back into the park. Those who need a snack there is a snack stand outside as well as bathrooms.

The Machu Picchu tour takes about 2 hours.

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After the tour I recommend tipping the tour guide. They work very hard and are great at what they do. Thirty Soles ($9.00) is reasonable.

When you are ready, head out of the park and back to the buses. You will see a line to get on the buses. Get in line and have your bus tickets ready. Once in Aguas Calientes you can find a place to eat. There are plenty of great places all over the town.

 

IMPORTANT NOTE:

Keep track of time. You will need to be at the train station at least 15 minutes before the departure time that is on your train tickets (usually around 4pm or so). You’ll need to plan time to get your bags from the hotel and walk to the train station. Ask the hotel for directions since it can be a little tricky getting to the station.

 

Once on the train you can kick back and relax. Instead of stopping in Ollantaytambo (where you took the train on day 4) you’ll be going all the way to Poroy, just outside of Cusco. We will be waiting for you outside the station with a private car/van. It’s about a 30 minute drive to your hotel from there.

 

Day 6 – Maras, Moray, and Chincheros

(Included Meals: Hotel Breakfast)

 

We’ll meet you in the lobby of your hotel at around 8:00am and show you where to go to start your tour. This kind of tour usually will include other people besides the one in your own group. There is a full-sized bus as well as a guide or two that will take you. Maras and Moray both have some shops where you can buy snacks if you get hungry. The tour takes about 8 hours and ends around 4:30pm (I always bring a day-pack with some food and water). You will also stop in Chincheros, a town where some of the best weavers in the world live. You will learn about the traditional methods for making yarns and dyes that has been used for millennia in the Andes.

 

Day 7 - Free Day

(Included Meals: Hotel Breakfast)

 

Today is a free day. Cusco is an amazing city and there is much to see and do.

If you want some ideas on what to do just ask!

 

Day 8 – Flight home

(Included Meals: Hotel Breakfast)

 

We will meet you at your hotel and take you to the airport with plenty of time to spare. We will wait with in the airport with you (before security) and make sure everything is OK.  

 

Day 9 – Travel Day

 

Rest, relax, and remember all your great memories from Peru.