Day 1: Airport – Cusco
Our staff will be waiting for you at the Cusco Airport, to take you to your hotel, just let us know your exact arrival time and flight number. Here, you will be welcomed with a hot cup of the famous coca tea. You will have a free afternoon to acclimatize, as the city of Cusco is at an altitude of 3,399 m (11,151 feet) IMPORTANT ADVICE ON ARRIVAL TO CUSCO Please be prepared for the fact that the high elevation, will make you feel more tired than normal on your arrival, so we recommend that you take the afternoon easy. If you are feeling fine, then have a cup of coca tea, which will help you acclimatize quicker. It is recommended to take a light walk, maybe to see The Plaza De Armas, to see the incredible colonial buildings, built on top of Inca foundations. It is important to drink a lot of water at high elevation, which will help you with the process of acclimatization. For the first few days at high elevation, it is also important toe at light meals as your digestion will be slower and later on you will have the opportunity to try the famous Guinea pig, a dish which was revered by the Incas and is still a national dish of The Andes and is eaten on special occasions and celebrations. One thing you must not miss on one of your free days is a visit to the “Centro QOSQO” of native art a show which demonstrates traditional dances, costume and music of the region. The show begins at 6pm, but we recommend that you arrive 40 minutes earlier and wait in line, as many people want to go to the see this unique spectacular. If you have the “boleta turistica” included in your package, you will have free access to this incredible show. IMPORTANT ADVICE Drink the coca tea on offer and each morning to help you acclimatize. Remember that it has a similar effect to caffeine so don´t drink it too late in the evening or you sleep will be affected. Bring a decent and comfortable pair of walking shoes. We suggest a visit to the Plaza de Armas with its colonial and Inca temples, The Regional History Museum, The Contemporary Art Museum, the Museum of The Qoricancha, and the Museum of popular art. These places will make your trip an even more unforgettable experience and give you the perfect insight into local culture. Overnight: Hotel in Cusco
Day 2: Cusco City Tour (The Cathedral, The Qoricancha, Sacsayhuaman, Qenqo, Puka Pukara and Tambomachay) – 5 hr tour
Today, we will visit some of the most interesting sites in Cusco and the surrounding area. We will begin with a visit to the Cusco cathedral found on the Plaza De Armas and is the principal church in this imperial city. It was built on the foundations of the temple of The Inca Wiracocha. The cathedral displays over 300 paintings belong to the Cusco school of art. We will then head on to the Qoricancha which is the Quechua Word for “Temple of Gold”. This was the first temple to be constructed by The Incas, and was originally covered with large amounts of silver and gold. We will next head out of Cusco City to the close by ruins of Saqsayhuaman, famous for its enormous megaliths and giant stones, that weigh over 150 tonnes. During Inca times, it was considered the “Temple of lightening”, in honour to the deity Illapa. We will then head to the nearby ruins of Q’enqo, a religious site dedicated to the Mother Earth where you can still see carved stones and constructions. There is also a sacrificial altar where the Incas were thought to make offerings and sacrifices to The Mother Earth. After this, we will visit the to the impressive Inca fortress of Puka Pukara, which means “Red Castle” in the ancient Inca language of Quechua. Our final visit will be to Tambomachay, where we can appreciate a sacred temple dedicated to an ancient water cult which probably also functioned as a purification bath for the Inca governors. We will then return to Cusco City, where we Will drop you off at your hotel or in the central “Plaza de Armas. IMPORTANT ADVICE The City Tour will begin in the afternoon. You will have a free morning to acclimatize and drink a coca tea with your breakfast. Wear comfortable walking shoes/boots. We suggest that you visit the Plaza de Armas with its colonial and Inca temples, The Regional History Museum, The Contemporary Art Museum, the Museum of The Qoricancha, and the Museum of popular art. These places will make your trip an even more unforgettable experience and give you the perfect insight into local culture. Overnight: Hotel in Cusco
Day 3: Cusco – Santa Maria – Yanay Mandor – Bike
We will collect you from your hotel at 5:30 am to 6:00 a.m. and we will set off in the direction of the Sacred Valley of The Incas, along the way appreciating the spectacular landscapes and natural attractions. After approximately one and a half hours, we will make a stop at the town of Ollantaytambo, where you will be able to enjoy breakfast (not included) and purchase some snacks for the rest of the journey. We will then continue by car along a paved road, zig zagging uphill, until we arrive at Abra Málaga (4,316 m. elevation). From here, we will begin our descent in car until we reach a place called “the airport” where we will receive a detailed explanation about the trip from our guide. We will then begin our descent on mountain bike (or if you prefer, you can stay in the car and drive down). After approximately 2 hours descending, (55 km) we will stop briefly HUAMANMARKA archaeological site, where the guide will inform us all about this magnificent place. This is the end of the cycling section and we will continue by private car, passing through villages and fruit orchards until we reach our destination of MANDOR, where we will have lunch. After a delicious lunch, we will head out to the 2 waterfalls of Yanay-Mandor, which have a drop of over 80 metres. We can enjoy these natural marvels, take in the scenery and take photos, before we head back to our bungalows. Here we can enjoy the swimming pool, the restaurant or bathe in the stream that comes from the Yanay-Mandor waterfalls. We will have dinner and get an early night in preparation for the following days activities. (Lunch, dinner and accommodation). Overnight: Posada de Mandor
Day 4: Mandor – Santa Teresa – Hiking
We will wake-up at 7:00 am and after breakfast, we will head out in our car for 45 minutes, to the trailhead. We will begin with an uphill hike with stops along the way, to appreciate the animals of the region, such as birds, parrots, hummingbirds and eagles, mountain cats, lizards, millipedes, medicinal plants and fruit trees such as banana, mango, orange, mandarin, cocoa, coconut and coffee plants and trees. During the hike, we will visit a local house who will show us some of their customs and traditions, then we will continue on our way until we arrive at the small village of Quellomayo, where we can rest and have our lunch. After lunch, we will walk for an hour or so, where a public transport will take us to Santa Teresa, arriving at 4:00 pm aprox. We will settle into our hotel, then head out for dinner. After our dinner, we will visit the hot springs in the town called Cocalmayo. (Breakfast, lunch, dinner and accommodation). Overnight: Hotel in Santa Teresa
Day 5: Santa Teresa – Hydro-electric – Aguas Calientes – Hike
Breakfast will be at approximately 8:00 am and with previous arrangement with the guide, we will head out on the Zip Line activity, with our trustworthy operator. This activity should take around 2 hours and is optional. The cost is $40 USD. After the zipline, we will head to the Hydro-electric station in our car to then begin our hike along the train tracks until we arrive in Aguas Calientes, also called Machu Picchu Pueblo. Along this route we will stop off for our lunch. On arrival to Aguas calientes, we will settle in to our hotel, then at the pre- arranged time, we will head out for dinner with our guide. In the evening we can take a stroll around the town and visit the thermal springs in Aguas Calientes (dinner and hotel included). Overnight: hotel in Aguas Calientes
Day 6: Machu Picchu – Cusco – 2:30hr tour
In the morning, our guide will wake us at 5:00 a.m.to set out for the most important archaeological site of Machu Picchu. We will take the first bus up to Machu Picchu which take approximately 25 minutes to arrive at the Machu Picchu entrance. We will have a guided tour for 2 hours of this impressive site, after which we will take the bus back down to Aguas Calientes. Our guide will be on hand to assist you all along the way and provide instructions and answer any questions. We will then take our train to Ollantaytambo where our transport will be waiting to take us to the Cusco Hotel. IMPORTANT : The time of the return train ticket can vary, depending on availability, at the time you confirm your trip. We also suggest a hotel in the centre so that we can pick you up and drop you off with ease. Overnight: Hotel in Cusco
Day 7: Hotel – Cusco Airport
Depending on the time of your flight, we will collect you from your hotel and take you to the Cusco airport. This marks the end of our services. <div class="gdlr-core-title-item gdlr-core-item-pdb clearfix gdlr-core-left-align gdlr-core-title-item-caption-bottom gdlr-core-item-pdlr" style="padding-bottom: 35px ;"
