Cusco Surroundings

Upon arrival, you are welcomed by your friendly and knowledgeable private guide who will be with you throughout your stay. From Cusco´s airport, we will drive into the Sacred Valley of the Incas, a tranquil oasis of cultural, historical, and agriculture richness. This day we will visit the Ccaccaccollo Community to discover a women’s weaving cooperative where we will see and feed the Andean camelids, such as the llamas and alpacas, and where the women will show us all the stages of the traditional weaving process: hand-spinning the wool, dying the wool using natural dyes, and participating in a weaving demonstration. Ccaccaccollo is a community that still have their traditional and ancestors’ customs, with an original heritage and from where you could have an amazing view of the mountains. We will then continue to the Inca and Colonial Pisac to discover one of the most beautiful archeological sites in the Sacred Valley located at the top of the mountain where you can have an amazing view of the colonial town of Pisac. Then, we will have a walking tour to the Colonial town where we will enjoy a delicious lunch. After visited Pisac, we will head to the impressive Inkariy Museum. Here we will take a guided tour of the museum to learn more about the numerous rooms where cultural representations of pre-Hispanic civilizations of ancient Peru are exhibited.

Overnight in the Sacred Valley.
lunch

Our adventure continues exploring the less visited treasures of the Sacred Valley of the Incas. We will start in Moray where the view is awesome due to the colossal concentric terraces simulating an amphitheater. The purpose of it: to recreate 20 different types of microclimates, a measure that guaranteed the agricultural production of the empire. After that, we will go to Maras, the famous and millenary salt mines from colonial times. The contrast of the white wells and the green valley is awesome and a must for a spectacular snapshot of the Sacred Valley of the Incas.

We will enjoy a delicious lunch and in the afternoon, we will visit the archaeological site of Ollantaytambo, where we will be able to learn about the technique with which the Incas worked the stones.

Finishing our adventure, we will board our train to the town of Aguas Calientes (also called Machu Picchu Pueblo), at the base of Machu Picchu Mountain. Our breathtaking train journey takes us along the Urubamba River, winding through a narrow valley, where we begin to note the landscape changing to lush forests and steep cliffs indicative of the cloud forest surrounding this mythical site.

Overnight in Machupicchu.
breakfast/lunch/dinner

Early departure from your hotel for your full day guided visit to Machu Picchu and Huayna Picchu which takes around 8 hours. Walking through the different sectors of the hill-top citadel and learning about different aspects of Inca life and history as you admire the mist cloaked mountains. Else, you may choose from a number of short hikes like the Sun Gate or The Inka Bridge.

After lunch, we may return to Machupicchu to continue enjoying this magnificent citadel and recharge ourselves with positive energies.

Upon concluding our excursion to Machu Picchu and Huayna Picchu, we travel back to Cusco in style aboard the Hiram Bingham Luxury Train (or the train of your preference). This is a highlight of our journey, as we unwind over a delicious gourmet meal and listen to lively Peruvian musicians. 
Once in Cusco, we will transfer to your hotel.

Overnight in Cusco.
breakfast/lunch/Dinner

Our experience will start in the morning. We will pick you up at your hotel to start the journey ascending to the north of the city; we will arrive at the White Christ viewpoint (Cristo Blanco), from where you have a panoramic view over the city and the incredible landscape. On the way back to the city center, we will pass by the archaeological remains of Sacsayhuaman, and then visit the artisan neighborhood of San Blas, a charming and traditional neighborhood that is home to many artisans, workshops and craft shops. We will walk through its narrow and steep streets, with old houses built by the Spaniards on important Inca foundations; in this neighborhood we will also visit the church of San Blas and its famous pulpit and then we will make a stop at the famous “Twelve Angles Stone”, in order to take the best photos.

We will continue our journey to the Inca Museum, also known as the Archeological Museum of Cusco, which contains traces of invaluable culture in Peru. After visiting this important museum, we continue our walk to the Plaza de Armas in Cusco, in the heart of the city, where we will recharge our batteries. Then we will continue to the local market of San Pedro, which is open every day of the week with a variety of items that are sold, such as delicious cakes, fresh juices, cheeses, huge bread (known in Cusco as Chutas), tropical fruits, vegetables, medicinal herbs, fresh coca leaves and also products considered “odd” by some: snakes in bottles, snouts, animal heads and soups served with animal parts.

At the end of the tour we will drop you off at your hotel.

Overnight in Cusco.
Breakfast/dinner

Our adventure begins very early, at 03:00 a.m. to 3:30 a.m., starting to pick you up from your hotel.

Later we leave in our transport units towards the Rainbow Mountain. Along the way we will observe multicolored landscapes and crops that are mixed between the mysterious mountains and snowy, Andean animals like llamas, alpacas, sheep, and vicuñas. After 3 hours we will arrive to the community of PITUMARCA there we will take our exquisite breakfast.

After our breakfast, we head to the community of Qesoyuno place where our adventure begins. The hike to the mountain is approximately 3 hrs up the mountain.

Starting the walk we will pass a path that gradually changes the panorama between mountains of intense colors and small streams of ice water that feed and give life to this beautiful place, as we go walking we will observe how the colors around us will change by the climate, until reaching the skirts of Vinincunca. We will ascend to a height more than 5033 m.a.s.l. Top of the magic Mountain of Colors or Rainbow Mountain.

This is the point where we will have enough time to take selfies, photographs, videos, etc. At the same time will be the place where we will enjoy our refreshment while we appreciate the magic and energy that keeps this majestic place, behind its veil of clouds, and snowy peaks. A few last photos of this spectacular mountain and we will begin our descent. We do this a little differently than other groups. Instead of hiking the same route as they do, we hike to a lookout point to see the Red Valley and continue with our hike. This valley is the icing on the cake, and many of our hikers say that it is even nicer than Rainbow Mountain! It is about 2½ hours mostly downhill from Rainbow Mountain, to the end of the trail, which is near where we started the hike. Here you will enjoy a fresh meal prepared by your chef, which includes cold drinks, appetizers, soup, and the main course.

Finally, we return to Cusco, arriving in the city of Cusco at 18:30 pm where we will transfer to your hotel.

Overnight in Cusco.
Breakfast/lunch

At the proper time, we will pick you up from your hotel to transfer to the airport for your flight to your next destination.