Essential Cusco Tour Package

Day 1 Arrival in Cusco

1. 1

   10 min

   Arrival in Cusco and transfer, from the airport or bus station, to the hotel located in the city center. Rest of the day at leisure.

Day 2 City Tour Cusco and 4 nearby ruins

1. 1

   Qorikancha

   40 min Admission ticket included

   We will pick you up from the hotel and start the city tour visiting the Temple of the Sun, known as Koricancha. This symbolic place has a clear example of the fusion between Incan and Hispanic cultures and its base was used to build Santo Domingo’s Church and Convent.

2. 2

   Cusco Cathedral

   40 min Admission ticket included

   Then, we are going to visit the Cusco Cathedral located in Plaza de Armas, to appreciate beautiful religious paintings of the Art School of Cusco.

3. 3

   Sacsayhuaman

   40 min Admission ticket included

   The Cusco City Tour continues in the archaeological site of Sacsayhuaman, an amazing complex with huge carved stones which fit each other in a perfect way. It is said that it was built by more than 20 thousand men and took over 70 years to finish it.

4. 4

   Q'enqo

   30 min Admission ticket included

   Then we will visit the religious temple of Qenqo, place where the Incas worshiped their Gods like the Sun, the Moon and the Earth. You will have an incredible experience exploring through its underground galleries and admire a semicircular amphitheater.

5. 5

   Puka Pukara

   30 min Admission ticket included

   We will continue this fantastic tour in the military compound of Puca Pucara, which means “Red Fortress” for its reddish infrastructure.

6. 6

   Tambomachay

   30 min Admission ticket included

   Then, we will go the water’s worship center of Tambomachay, with aqueducts and waterfalls provided from nearby springs.
   At the end, we will drop you off at El Regocijo Square.

Day 3 Chinchero, Maras salt mines and Moray ruins

1. 1

   1 hour 30 min

   Early in the morning, we will pick you up from the hotel to start this fascinating tour to the Sacred Valley of the Incas. Our first stop will be at the town of Chinchero, located 17 miles from Cusco city. Here, we will visit a local workshop to appreciate the ancestral techniques to create amazing textiles.

2. 2

   40 min Admission ticket included

   Then, we will visit the salt mines of Maras located on an open hill in Urubamba’s valley. This place has an impressive process created by Incas, where a subterranean stream evaporates salty water and it emerges at a spring. The flow is then directed into an intricate system of tiny channels constructed so that the water runs gradually down onto the several hundred ancient terraced ponds. The water, which is exposed to the sun, leaves salt on the land.

3. 3

   Moray

   40 min Admission ticket included

   After visiting the salt mines near Maras, head to the Moray ruins, which are made up of three coliseums thought to have been used by the Incas as a sort of open air crop laboratory. The coliseums consist of several enormous terraced circular depressions, the largest of which is about 30 meters (98 feet) deep. Admire these terraces which are arranged in concentric circles and are reminiscent of an ancient Greek theater. The Sacred Valley of the Incas has extensive fertile lands perfect for cultivation, as well as impressive archaeological sites. This place will show us the lifestyle of the Inca Empire and its advanced construction techniques. After the tour, we will drop you off at El Regocijo Square.

Day 4 Pisac Market, Ollantaytambo Ruins and Train Expedition to Machu Picchu

1. 1

   Pisac Market

   45 min Admission ticket included

   Breakfast at the hotel. We will pick you up from the hotel in Cusco to start a 30 Km. journey until the town of Pisac. This fantastic place has an amazing colorful market and archaeological temples of stone, with incredible views to the valley and the magnificent Inca platforms.

2. 2

   1 hour

   Then, we will continue until Urubamba to enjoy a delicious buffet lunch and, later, we will reach the village of Ollantaytambo.

3. 3

   Archaeological Park Ollantaytambo

   1 hour Admission ticket included

   The Fortress of Ollantaytambo was the headquarter of Inca’s army, as well as a religious and agricultural place. It has stunning views to the Sacred Valley of the Incas and more than a hundred platforms with an advanced irrigation canal system for that time.

4. 4

   Aguas Calientes

   2 hours

   Later, you will be taken to the train station in Ollantaytambo to take the Train Expedition to Aguas Calientes. Arrival and transfer to the hotel. Short briefing with the guide before the tour to the citadel.

Day 5 Machu Picchu

1. 1

   Santuario Historico de Machu Picchu

   3 hours Admission ticket included

   Breakfast at the hotel. You will board the bus to go up the winding road to Machu Picchu, amid a spectacular view of the Urubamba River and its canyon. The Lost City of the Incas, Machu Picchu, will astonish us with its terraces, ceremonial shrines, steps and urban areas. Energy is all around us. After a guided visit, you will have time to take the bus to back to Aguas Calientes Town and have lunch (optional).

2. 2

   20 min

   At the arranged time, we will return to Cusco from Ollantaytambo train station by tourist bus.

3. 3

   Centro Historico De Cusco

   20 min

   You will be taken to your hotel located in the city of Cusco

Day 6 South Valley: Tipón, Pikillaqta and Andahuaylillas

1. 1

   Tipon

   40 min Admission ticket included

   Breakfast at the hotel. After picking you up at the hotel, we will go to the Cusco’s South Valley, starting the visit to the water temple of Tipón, a big area with 12 incredible terraces. Their irrigation system is even more impressive, because it’s still working and it continues to irrigate crops until today.

2. 2

   40 min Admission ticket included

   The next stop is Pikillaqta, an important pre-Inca urban Centre, and a significant place for Huari Empire development.

3. 3

   San Pedro Apostol de Andahuaylillas

   40 min Admission ticket included

   Then, we will continue to Andahuaylillas. This traditional Andean town has an amazing chapel, well-known as “The Sisitine Chapel of America” too. After the visit, we will drop you off at El Regocijo Square.

Day 7 Departure from Cusco

1. 1

   10 min

   Breakfast at the hotel. Pick up at the agreed time to transfer you to the bus station or airport in the city of Cusco.