Itinerary

Day 1

Cusco: Upon your Arrival in Cusco, the ancient capital of the Incas, we greet you at the airport and transfer you to the hotel, brief orientation and a cup of traditional coca tea to assist in the acclimation to the 11300 ft. in the Inca Capital of Cusco. In the afternoon City tour of Cusco, This tour include: the Colonial and Inca sites of The Cathedral, Qoricancha (temple of the Sun, the most important of Inca ceremonial sites). Later you will continue to the most important site of Sacsayhuaman, Tambomachay, Qenqo and Puca Pucara. We return to the hotel.

Day 2

Sacred Valley: After breakfast we travel by bus through the Sacred Valley of the Inca. where life has remained almost unchanged for 500 years. Upon decent into the Sacred Valley you will know that you've arrived in the area the Inca revered for its lush fertile soils. The scenery is unsurpassable, close and distant snow peaks glistening in the Sun. Later on, you will have the opportunity of visiting the lively local Ancient Pisac market where many of the local Indians sell their hand made textiles. It is here that many fine Andean garments are for sale and you can test your haggling powers as you bargain for trinkets and souvenirs. For lunch you will have the chance to eat a buffet lunch at the local hacienda restaurant with traditional Andean foods and music. We continue to Ollantaytambo the major Inca fortress. Probably built by the great Inca ruler, Pachacuti in the 1460s, it was the site of Hernando Pizzaro's defeat by Manco Inca in 1536. Constructed of finely cut polygonal stones and rhyolite blocks, the fortress and nearby town represent the best of Inca architecture and construction. Large worked blocks, some weighting as much as 100 tons were quarried from a site more than a thousand vertical feet above the valley floor using a technique of pecking with hammer stones, then skidded down and across the Urubamba river several kilometers to the temple site. Inclined ramps were built to raise the blocks several hundred feet up hill to the construction area. Return to the hotel (Breakfast and Lunch)

Day 3

Machu Picchu: Early in the morning after breakfast we pick you up at your hotel and take you to the railway station for the tourist class train to Machu Pichu. The 3 hour train for one of the world's great railway journeys. This climbs out of Cusco on an amazing switchback track, then passes through traditional villages on the high plain, passes through picturesque Andean scenery, traditional villages, Inca ruins and rushing rivers. We'll descend 1300 meters through the Sacred Valley of the Incas and follow the Urubamba river until the final stop at Aguas Calientes. Afterward we'll take the 20 minute bus ride up to Machu Picchu, perched 600 meters above the river. Our guide will explain you the history and the myths that surround this archeological wonder Machu Picchu, the famous lost city of the Inca is one of the most magical and mysterious places on Earth! Stand 2,430m above sea-level in the middle of a tropical mountain forest. In an extraordinarily beautiful setting, it was probably most amazing urban creation of the Inca Empire at its height, its giant walls, terraces and ramps seen as, if they have been cut naturally in the continuous rock escarpments. The natural setting on the eastern slopes of the Andes, encompasses the upper Amazon basin with its rich diversity of flora and fauna. Constructed from precisely sculptured granite blocks carefully joined with the projecting exposed stone of the surrounding mountain, the site may well be the finest architectural achievement of the new world. Afterwards we take the bus for your return to the Aguas Calientes for lunch. Then we will take the train back to return to Cusco. After your arrival in to the Cusco train station transfer to the hotel (Breakfast and Lunch)

Day 4

Cusco: Today our staff will transfer you to the airport for you departing flight out. (Breakfast)

Extra Information

Inclusions -

Accommodation

Exclusions -

international flights