Short Inca Trail & Titicaca Lake 9 days / 8 nights

Arrive in Cusco / PM City tour

Upon arrival at the Cusco airport you will be met and transferred to your hotel. The rest of the morning will be at your leisure. In the afternoon enjoy a half day tour of Cusco, visiting the Cathedral on the Plaza de Armas and the legendary Qoricancha, the most important religious center in the Inca time, a temple devoted to worshiping the Sun deity. Your tour includes also the visit to some nearby archaeological sites such as the impressive fortress of Sacsayhuaman; the religious site of Q’enqo; the ancient site of Puca Pucara and finally the water temple of Tambomachay.

Include: Transport, professional tour guide, entrance fees to all sites visited, chosen hotel.

Maras – Moray

In the morning you will be picked up from your hotel to start a half day tour, you will head out on the road that crosses the Sacred Valley of the Incas to reach the important Moray archeological site (3176m/10419ft), where enormous circular and Pre-Incan semi-circular agricultural terraces were constructed to be used as a botanical laboratory for experimenting on plant domestication and foreign crop acclimatization. The area is so large that at least 3000 plant varieties, including potatoes and corn, could have been grown. Next, Maras is located about 4 km from Moray, and is the site of pre-Inca salineras (salt ponds). Each terraced pond is polygonal in shape; salty water emerges from an underground spring, flows into the ponds, and evaporates with the sun. The Maras’ salt mines are still active today and maintained cooperatively by the Maras community. The white salt ponds contrast with the green hills and mountains that surround the mines and the views of the Sacred Valley from here are amazing. The tour will end in the early afternoon at your Cusco’s down town.

Include: Transport, professional tour guide, entrance fees to all sites visited, chosen hotel.

Cusco – Km 104 – Wiñayhuayna – Aguas Calientes

Early morning you will be picked up from your hotel and drive to the train station to board the train that will take you to km.104 on the Cusco – Machupicchu railroad (starting point of the hike).We start visiting the Chachabamba archaeological complex (2150m/7052ft), located very close to the control point, to then embark upon an 8 km (5 miles) ascending trail, which after four hours takes us to the archaeological complex of Wiñayhuayna (2650m/8692ft). This is an impressive complex made up of an agricultural center with numerous terraces, a religious sector and an urban sector. On the way up, we may enjoy magnificent views of the Urubamba River valley and the Choquesuysuy archaeological complex located on the other side of the river, and also of a beautiful waterfall located just a few minutes away from Wiñayhuayna. We then continue and climb to Intipunku, or The Sun Gate. This will take an hour of hiking along a trail of flat stones on the edges of cliffs in highland jungle. From this fabulous spot, we may contemplate the sacred citadel of Machupicchu. From Intipunku we descend to Machupicchu and then by bus to Aguas Calientes. We are then accommodated at the selected hotel/hostel.

Include: Transport Cusco – Ollantaytambo, expedition train ticket Ollantaytambo – km 104 professional tour guide, Inca Trail and Machupicchu entrance fee, bus ticket Machupicchu – Aguas Calientes, meals (01L, 01D), accommodation.

Aguas Calientes – Machupicchu – Ollantaytambo – Cusco

We wake up early and board a bus to Machupicchu where we begin a complete guided tour of the Inca citadel that will take approximately two hours. You will then have free time to walk around, climb up the Huaynapicchu Mountain, where one can experience spectacular views of all of Machupicchu, the valleys and mountains that surround it (please note that there are only 400 visitors allowed per day and also it has and additional cost), or visit the Temple of the Moon or the impressive Inca Bridge. In the afternoon, we meet in the town of Aguas Calientes where, if you like, you can visit and relax in its hot springs. From here we take the train back to Ollantaytambo where we expect our driver to take us back to Cusco.

Include: Professional tour guide, bus ticket Aguas Calientes – Machupicchu – Aguas Calientes, Inca Trail and Machupicchu entrance fee, meals (01B), Expedition train ticket from Aguas Calientes to Ollantaytambo, transport Ollantaytambo – Cusco, chosen hotel.

Bus Cusco – Puno

Early in the morning you will be collected from your hotel and transferred to the bus station to enjoy a trip to Puno. The service is provided in buses equipped purely for a touristic trip, looking for the best way to travel from Cusco to Puno, so you can enjoy different locations that hold magical charm and an ancestral history, such as, the Andahuaylillas Church, building during the 17th century and it is also known as “The Sistine Chapel of America” because of the beauty and profusion of its murals, the ornaments in gold leaf and paintings from the “Escuela Cusqueña de Arte”, you will continue to the Archaeological site of Raqchi, also known as the Temple of WIRACOCHA, named after Wiracocha, a supreme deity in the Inca civilization. In this location we will find the biggest number of barns (Colcas) and we will see magnificent constructions in stone and sun-dried bricks. Afterwards, you will enjoy a delicious buffet lunch in a local restaurant in Sicuani. Following, you will visit The Raya Pass; it is the border between the departments of Cusco and Puno, at a height of over 4.335 meters above the sea level. From that place you will be able to see the famous Chimboya Glacier where the Amazon River is born. There, you will be able to take pictures of the landscape. Finally, you will visit the Lithic Museum of Pukara. The Pukara culture was developed between the years 1600 B.C. and 400 A.D., on a high plateau located 106 kilometers north-east of the city of Puno. In this museum we can find pottery and sculptures representing zoomorphic figures, amongst which we can see the famous sculpture of the HATUNÑAQAC, meaning in our language “The Supreme Executioner”. Upon arrival in Puno bus station, you will be met and transferred to your hotel.

Include: Touristic bus ticket Cusco – Puno, professional tour guide, buffet lunch, entrance fees to all sites visited, chosen hotel.

Uros & Taquile Island (Lake Titicaca)

Travelling by semi-speed vessel, today’s tour begins in the morning by visiting the floating reed islands of Uros, where the locals continue to practice their traditional way of life, living by fishing. Situated four kilometers from Puno, the original inhabitants of these floating islands are said to descend from one of the most ancient peoples of the Americas. The Uros islands, as well as the houses on them and the boats used by their inhabitants, are all made from the Totora reeds that grow in Lake Titicaca. After spending an hour at the Island of Uros, you will proceed to the Island of Taquile, a place where time appears to have stood still. Around 350 Quechua-speaking families live here, operating a collective agricultural system dating from the 14th century and renowned for their textiles - beautifully woven chumpis (belts), chullos (caps) and ojotas (sandals). After typical lunch, the boat will take you back to Puno. At night (21:00h), transfer to the bus station to board your bus to return to Cusco.

Include: Transport (motorboat), professional tour guide, typical lunch, entrance fees to all sites visited, bus ticket Puno – Cusco.

Return to Cusco / Free Day.

Upon arrival at the Cusco (04:30am) you will be met and transferred to your hotel. The rest of the morning will be at your leisure.

Include: Transport bus station – hotel.

Important: Check-in at hotels is usually at 11:00 am, if the room is available at the passenger`s arrival time, you will be able to access to the room, otherwise you will have to wait at the reception until the time of entry.

Rainbow Mountain.

Very early in the morning (approx. 4:15 am) we will pass by your hotel in our private transport, then we will leave the city of Cusco towards the south valley, after traveling approximately 2 hours we will arrive at the Cusipata sector (Paucarpata), where we will enjoy a delicious breakfast (scrambled eggs, cheese, ham, fruit salad, hot drinks etc). After breakfast we will continue for approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes more until we reach the checkpoint, it is there that we will begin our walk. Previously, our guide will give us the instructions and recommendations of the route to finally begin. The walk will take approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes until you reach Vinincunca or The Rainbow Mountain (5,020 m / 16,466 ft.). On the way we will observe a large number of llamas and alpacas that are in the care of shepherds dressed in beautiful colorful costumes. Similarly along the way we can see snowy peaks that are part of the slope of the Andes Mountains, among which the Apu Ausangate (sacred mountain) stands out one of the highest mountains in southern Peru; almost upon reaching the top we will observe the change of landscape, at which point we can appreciate the mountain range of Vinincunca or Rainbow Mountain, reaching this point between 10:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Here our guide will explain us in detail aspects about the orography, ecosystem and color of the mountain, we will also have time for the most beautiful photos of the mountain of 7 colors, after a little free time we will take the way back to Llaqto, where our vehicle will be waiting. We will continue the return to the Cusipata sector where we will have our delicious buffet lunch. Finally, we will take the return route to the City of Cusco arriving at approximately 05:00 pm.

Include: Transport, professional tour guide, entrance fees to all sites visited, breakfast, lunch, chosen hotel.

Cusco – Lima.

You will be collected from your hotel and transferred to the airport for your flight to Lima or your next destination.

Include: Transport hotel – airport.