Cusco and Machu Picchu Tour

Upon your arrival to Cusco, you will be greeted at the airport by one of our Peru Vacation Tours representatives and transferred to your hotel in Cusco.

In the afternoon, one of our local guides will take you on a half day tour of the city of Cusco. You will be shown the exact center of the Inca Empire, the Plaza de Armas. There one can find the Cathedral built on the ruins of the Inca Palace. Next stop will be the old town with its magnificent renovated colonial buildings. Also in Cusco, we will visit Qorikancha, the Main Temple of the Incas, where Sun God is worshiped.

After, we will visit Sacsayhuaman, a ruins site located approximately 3 kilometers from Cusco. Sacsayhuaman also offers a fabulous view of the entire city. After that, the tour will stop shortly in Tambomachay, the bath of the Inca; Kenko, the giant rock whose niches and gaps were carved in an eccentric way; and Puca Pucara, the ruins of a fort.

Return to Cusco where you can relax, enjoy the local food and exciting nightlife.
Overnight in Cusco

After your breakfast you will be picked up from your hotel in Cusco by our representative. You will be taken along a road that winds over the mountains north of Cusco. On the way you will stop at a point known as El Mirador, from where we will be able to see the whole of the Sacred Valley and listen to the history of the Incas.

Later in the day, you will go towards Pisac, where we will visit the Pisac Archaeological Park. Here there are many different buildings, plazas, temples, pools and other structures, all built between the 10th and 11th centuries AD. After we will visit a peculiar market in Pisac. Here, you will have the opportunity to purchase a wide variety of fine crafts of various kinds, for example, ponchos, blankets, vases, hats and much more. You will have free time to walk around and do some shopping. Afterwards you will be taken to have lunch in a nice local restaurant to enjoy some great Andean food.

After lunch you will continue the tour and be driven along the Urubamba River towards the town of Ollantaytambo. Here you will visit the ruins of Ollantaytambo, an important Inca construction built during the Inca’s most powerful times.

We will then return you to your hotel in Cusco and you can spend the evening as you please (Optional: stay in the Sacred Valley or Aguas Calientes).
Overnight in Cusco

Early in the morning you will be transferred to the train station to take the Expedition train (Optional upgrade: Vistadome or Hiram Bingham train) to Aguas Calientes. From there you will be transferred to the bus station to drive up the steep mountain to the famous town of Machu Picchu, also known as, the Lost City of the Incas.

You will be taken on an official tour of Machu Picchu to see the most important parts of the Inca city. (Optional: hike up Huayna Picchu or Machu Picchu Mountain. This will allow you to have more time in Machu Picchu).

Machu Picchu is a magical, mysterious place that for nearly a century has intrigued archaeologists and visitors alike. Perched atop a steep, emerald green peak 8,000 feet high in the Andes in southern Peru, it is reachable only by a long road that zigzags up the slope from the roaring Urubamba river, or alternatively, by hiking for days along the challenging Inca Trail. Visitors to Machu Picchu will see well-preserved ruins hidden among the majestic Andes: palaces, baths, temples, tombs, sundials and farming terraces, along with llamas that roam among hundreds of gray granite houses.

Lunch is included in a restaurant in Aguas Calientes (Optional upgrade: lunch in the luxury Belmond Sanctuary Lodge).

In the late afternoon, you will return to Cusco on the Expedition train. (Optional upgrade: Vistadome or Hiram Bingham train).
Overnight in Cusco

After breakfast, you will be picked up and transferred from your hotel to Cusco airport to take your flight to Lima and onward to your next destination.