Trip introduction
The success of the Inca civilization to manage to dominate a large part of the South American territory was largely due to the good organization of the state and, above all, the good organization of its roads and road networks, thus making possible the transport of food and the movement of the armies at that time. of war, our travel package mixes the cultural side of the Cusco region and additionally offers you the option of making the last stretch of the original route of the Inca trail to Machu Picchu, entering through the Puerta del Sol to have a unique view. from a different perspective than the traditional one.
Responsible Travel
By booking this trip, you will be helping provide a special Christmas breakfast for low income children in Cusco.
Overview
In this package we will visit the cultural and colonial side of Cusco, where we have the city's cathedral as a colonial attraction inside which many works of art from different local and European artists are stored during the time of the conquest, we will leave the city and We will take a tour through the sacred valley ending our day in the town of Ollantaytambo where its streets will surely not make you fall in love with the Andean culture, but of course! As our main objective is to get to know Machu Picchu, what better way than to hike through the Inca trail for 12 km, visit places that can only be accessed through this trail to finally reach the Puerta del Sol and enjoy a unique view at sunset precisely when the city is with the least amount of people.
Day 1: CUSCO – CITY TOUR - CUSCO
In the morning our driver will be waiting for your arrival at the city airport to drive you to your hotel, and in the afternoon at approximately 12:30, our guide will go through your hotel to start the City tour where you will You will be able to visit some colonial temples of the city such as the Cusco Cathedral, which is considered the second most beautiful in the entire American continent and inside which stores more than 300 works of art, many of them from the Cusco school that was developed between the years of 1600, we will continue the tour until we reach the famous temple of the sun or Qoricancha that was considered the most important temple in the ancient Inca empire, here the architecture of the place will leave you amazed by the great quality of construction that the place presents.
We will board our transport to leave the city for a moment and in 20 minutes reach the Inca fortress of Sacsayhuaman where its megalithic constructions with stones weighing up to 120 tons will simply leave us impressed and from which we will also have a panoramic view of the city of Cusco , we will continue the trip by car until we reach the sites of Qenqo, Puca pucara and Tambomachay which, due to their size compared to the others, are small but their importance was very valuable since in Qenqo mummification processes were carried out and in Tambomachay cults of Water .
By late afternoon we will return to the city arriving at approximately 6:30 a.m. where our tour will end near the main square.
Day 2: CUSCO - SACRED VALLEY – OLLANTAYTAMBO
At approximately 8 in the morning, our guide will pass by in our private transport to begin our visit to the Sacred Valley of the Incas where we will visit the town of Pisac, famous for its craft market and its archaeological center that is located in the upper part of the town. and inside you can see buildings from the Inca era and also one of the largest cemeteries from the pre-colonial era, we will continue the trip through the valley passing through different towns that Coya, Huayllabamba that are mostly producers of white corn which is considered the largest in the world.
Approximately at noon we will arrive in the city of Urubamba, which is considered the capital of the Sacred Valley of the Incas, it is here where we will take the opportunity to have a buffet lunch and enjoy all the local and Peruvian cuisine in general.
In the afternoon we will continue our trip until we reach the living Inca city popularly known as Ollantaytambo, this place still maintains many evidences of its ancient inhabitants, the Incas, since its streets, squares, and irrigation canals are still considered original from that time. precolonial. We will ascend to the top of the hill to explore its archaeological site where the temple of the sun stands out and is an excellent place to appreciate the beauty of the sacred valley and the Patacancha valley.
At the end of our tour our guide will leave us at the hotel where if you wish you can take the opportunity to continue exploring the town on your own since its streets are quite picturesque.
Day 3: OLLANTAYTAMBO – KM 104 – MACHU PICCHU – AGUAS CALIENTES
We start this exciting day leaving the hotel towards the train station of the town to board our wagon bound for km 104 at 6:10 in the morning, the trip lasts approximately 1 hour, along the train journey we will be able to see how the climate and the ecosystem is changing and is becoming a much more tropical and humid landscape.
Arriving at km 104 we will prepare our backpacks and get off the train to cross the bridge to the other end where the control point is located where it will be necessary to show our passports together with the documentation issued by the Peruvian government, before starting the walk we will have the opportunity to use the restrooms.
The distance of our walk in total will be approximately 12 km, a large part of which is uphill, however we will have rest points along the way where we will take the opportunity to enjoy the landscape that surrounds us. Just 5 minutes from the checkpoint we will find the first center archaeological site to visit called Chachabamba where our guide will make a brief stop to tell us part of the history of the place, then we will continue the ascent crossing some small streams and appreciating some varieties of orchids, the most well-known and famous being the Wiñayhuayna orchid.
After about 3 hours of walking we will arrive at a waterfall where we will have the option to have lunch if desired and in the same way take the opportunity to take the necessary photos of the place while little by little we will see the second archaeological complex called Wiñay Wayna or also known As "forever young", this place is much larger in dimension than the first one we visited, therefore, accompanied by our guide, we will do a broad exploration in each of the sectors of the place and we will see how the architecture work was like in the past than in the past. Despite the years, today it survives without being altered.
We will continue our walk to the second control point and then continue along the path in the direction of the "Puerta del Sol" from where we can already have a view of the Inca city since in the past this was the original entrance to the city and that today in day is maintained but only for all those who do the classic or short Inca trail.
After resting a bit at the Puerta del Sol, we will continue the descent to the guardian's house in the same Inca city of Machu Picchu, it is here where we will take the opportunity to take the classic photos of the place since in the afternoon you have greater chances to find the city without a lot of visitors.
We will leave Machu Picchu to board the bus that will take us to the town of Aguas Calientes where we can have dinner and spend the night in a comfortable hotel in the town.
Day 4: AGUAS CALIENTES – MACHU PICCHU – CUSCO
Early in the morning after breakfast together with our guide we will board the bus that will take us to the main gate of Machu Picchu for 30 minutes, where we will pass the control points to start During our visit, we will go up to the top of the city and be able to have a privileged view of the place and in the same way take advantage of the classic photographs, then our guide will show us each place in the city, we will visit temples, squares and enclosures for approximately 3 hours.
After our tour we will leave the Inca city to board our bus down to Aguas Calientes where you will have time to have lunch and finally board the return train to Ollantaytambo where our driver will be waiting to bring you back to the city of Cusco.
Day 5: CUSCO – AIRPORT
Depending on the departure of your return flight to your country or if you continue your trip to another city or destination, our transport will take you to the terminal so that you can continue your trip.
WHAT IS INCLUDED?
- Free transfer Airport / Hotel / Airport
- City tour + Entrance Tickets + Private Tourist Transportation + Professional Guide
- Sacred Valley + Entrance Tickets + Buffet Lunch + Private Tourist Transportation + Professional Guide
- Short Inca Trail + Entrance Ticket to the Trail + Box Lunch + Dinner + Machu Picchu tour + Entrance Tickets to Machu Picchu + Bus Tickets Machu Picchu / Aguas Calientes / Machu Picchu / Aguas Calientes + Train Ticket Ollantaytambo / km 104 / Aguas Calientes / Ollantaytambo + English Tour Guide
- Return transportation Ollantaytambo / Cusco
- 1 Night hotel in Ollantaytambo + 1 Night Hotel in Aguas Calientes
WHAT IS NOT INCLUDED?
- Drinks
- Meals not mentioned
- Tips
- Travel insurance
BENEFITS OF TRAVELING WITH TERRA PERU AVENTURAS
- Assistance 24/7 a week in English.
- Qualified professionals on all tours
- Professional Guides in English on all tours
- Free transfer from the bus station to the hotel
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Please read the following information carefully. This will help you resolve your doubts and/or questions about our services
ARRIVAL IN CUSCO
All our services start at the airport of the city of Cusco where our driver will be waiting for the arrival of your flight to be able to drive you to the hotel of your choice, this service has no additional cost.
For which it is necessary that you provide us with your flight details and confirmation 1 or 2 days before your arrival in the city, our staff will be waiting with the Terra Peru Aventuras sign which you have to locate.
THE BRIEFING
The briefing is the information that is provided to our clients prior to a trip, this will be done one night before the selected activity at the hotel of their stay. In general, the schedule will depend on the other activities that you have planned to carry out, but many times it usually takes place between 6 and 7 at night.
HOW CAN I BOOK THE TOURS?
To start a reservation, the first thing we request is your personal data along with the details of the date you would like to do the walk, or trip then we will request an advance payment of 40% of the total value of the walk in order to generate the purchase of the necessary tickets for the tour.
After the deposit, our reservation staff will send you the confirmation of the reservation of the Tour which will include the DATE, NAME OF THE TOUR, PERSONAL DATA OF THE CLIENT, AMOUNT DEPOSITED AND AMOUNT PENDING PAYABLE UPON ARRIVAL IN THE CITY.
Terra Peru Aventuras offers you different payment methods depending on your needs, from bank deposits, transfers via Wester Union, as well as PayPal (consider +8% to the deposit to be made for reasons of bank commissions)
WHEN DO I MAKE THE FINAL PAYMENT OF THE TOUR?
In general, the total payment must be made upon arrival, we recommend making the payment in cash, due to commission issues from international banks that may be unfavorable to you in case you want to make a payment with your credit card. Our staff gives you more details about it.
CAN I CHANGE THE DEPARTURE DATE AFTER I HAVE PURCHASED THE TICKETS?
For all our tours with the exception of Machu Picchu, Inca Trail, Salkantay, yes! is possible to modify the date without any cost, this must be communicated to our staff as soon as possible in order to carry out the procedures for the modification with a new date.
WHAT HAPPENS WITH ALTITUDE SICKNESS?
Any good experience will depend on a good physical condition, if you practice any physical activity regularly you should not worry about a possible altitude sickness, however as an additional recommendation we suggest acclimatizing, in this sense you should consider spending at least 3 days to do some walk and 1 day to be able to carry out some activity or cultural tour.
There are medications that could achieve better acclimatization, but since we are not doctors, we suggest you drink plenty of water and coca infusions to achieve better acclimatization.
WHEN THE TOUR ENDS, DO YOU TAKE US TO THE HOTEL?
Everything will depend on the style of travel that you chose. Our clients who travel in a private service have the option of ending the tours at their hotel. However, those who opt for a group tour, our tour ends in the Plaza Regocijo or close to it so that you can walk without any worries to your hotel.
WHAT DO YOU NEED TO BRING?
- Personal documents
- 30 liter backpack to carry only what is necessary for the 2 days of the tour
- Comfortable clothes
- Raincoat
- Long pants
- T-shirts or long-sleeved shirts
- Comfortable walking shoes
- Water
- Snacks
- Hat for the sun
- Sunscreen
- Insect repellent
- Personal hygiene items
- Ziploc bags or similar (to wrap your clothes and avoid soaking them in case of rain)
- Extra money for expenses not included in the tour