CUSCO, SACRED VALLEY AND MACHU PICCHU TOUR ITINERARY:
High Level Itinerary:
DAY 1: Cusco Tour
Pick up from your hotel in Cusco at 1PM. Tour of cathedral and archaeological sites in Cusco. Bus ride to several Inca sites just outside of the city.
DAY 2: Sacred Valley Tour
Pick up from your hotel in Cusco at 8AM. Private transportation through parts of the Sacred Valley, view of the valley from El Mirador, or The Lookout Point. Tour of Pisac Valley and Ollantaytambo. Train ride and hotel in Aguas Calientes.
DAY 3: Machu Picchu!
Early wake up. 20-minute bus ride to Machu Picchu. Full day tour of the world famous Machu Picchu. Train ride back to Cusco, arrival between 7-8pm.
Details For Each Day
DAY 1: Cusco Tour
- Meals: Breakfast
- Accommodations: Hotel in Cusco
- Walking Time: 3-4 hours
AFTERNOON
A Kusa Treks van will pick you up at 1PM from your hotel lobby. The tour starts with a quick drive to the Plaza de Armas, which is located right in the heart of the historic city! After being dropped off, you will have a 2 minute walk to the Catholic Cathedral where you will enjoy a guided tour (entrance fee is 25 Soles).
After visiting the cathedral, you will walk down the Avenida El Sol to the very center of the Inca Empire, Coricancha (Q’oricancha) known as the Temple of the Sun. At this incredible site, you will witness a stark contrast between the Inca and Spanish methods of construction. This temple was the spiritual center of the Incas and the point from which their entire empire spread from.
After touring Coricancha, you will take a 20-25 minute van ride to the outskirts of Cusco, where you will use your Tourist Ticket to visit 4 Inca archaeological sites. The first site you will visit is Sacsayhuaman, which is covered in 200 ton monoliths. This incredible site will challenge your imagination as you ponder how it was possible for the Incas to build such a city over 500 years ago. Your guide will provide several explanations and interesting facts, after which you will have time to explore this vast site on your own.
From Sacsayhuaman, you will take a five minute van ride to the Q’enqo Inca site, which is famous for being home to several Inca Alters. You will not spend as much time here as you did at Sacsayhuaman but enough time to receive a guided tour.
Your next sites is another five minute drive to Puca Pucara: a small, circular Inca post built as a lookout.
The final stop on this tour is Tambomachay, which was built by the Incas as a Water Temple. It has several impressive water fountains, which are thought to have been used by the Incas for bathing.
The tour ends with a drive back down to your hotel in Cusco.
DAY 2: Sacred Valley Tour
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
- Accommodations: Hotel in Ollantaytambo
- Walking Time: 5-6 hours
MORNING
A Kusa Treks guide will pick you up from your hotel lobby in Cusco at 8AM. Your tour today will be in a private van as you drive from Cusco to the Sacred Valley. The first stop on the tour will be at a famous point called El Mirador (the Lookout Point). From this vantage point, you will be able to see the majority of the Sacred Valley as it stretches out below you. It’s an incredible site! Your guide will tell you about the importance of the Sacred Valley to the Inca Empire along with some of its history.
The Sacred Valley was one of the main areas the Incas settled, as it provided an incredible abundance of fertile plains in the high-lands of the Andes.
After this beautiful site, you drive to the ruins of Pisac, where you learn about Inca culture. In Pisac you will see amazing works of stone art and impressive agricultural terraces. After touring this site, you will drive down below the ruins of Pisac to the actual town of Pisac to visit a bustling handicraft market. Your guide will show some good booths where you can sharpen your bargaining skills with the local merchants.
AFTERNOON/EVENING
Following your visit in Pisac, you will take a quick drive to the town of Urubamba, where you will enjoy lunch at a local Andean restaurant. If you prefer a different restaurant, please let your guide know.
After lunch the tour will continue with a drive along the Urubamba River towards the town of Ollantaytambo. Upon reaching Ollantaytambo, you will visit a massive set of Inca ruins known as the Ollantaytambo Fortress. This site was built during the height of the Inca empire and is an incredible example of Inca ingenuity and construction.
The next stop on the tour is the train station, where you will take a 2-hour ride to Aguas Calientes, the city right below Machu Picchu. The trip to Aguas Calientes includes breathtaking views of the Sacred Valley, including: glaciers, mountains, lush valleys, Inca terraces, rivers and much more. A Kusa Treks guide will meet you at the train station and take you to your hotel for the evening.
DAY 3: Machu Picchu!
- Meals: Breakfast
- Walking Time: 3-4 hours
MORNING
Today you will discover Machu Picchu, the world-famous Sacred City of the Incas. It is entirely up to you when you would like to start this exciting day, but the majority of travelers choose to wake up around 4:30AM. This allows you to eat a quick breakfast and head over the bus station where you will attempt to catch the first bus from Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu.
The drive to reach Machu Picchu Park is 25 minutes uphill on a road full of switchbacks. The gates to Machu Picchu open at 6AM as the sun rises over the lost city. It is truly magical to experience a sunrise over these ruins, as the mists part and the city rises from the clouds stone by stone. If you have permits to climb Huayna Picchu, your official guided tour of Machu Picchu will begin at 8AM and end at 10:30AM. If you chose not to climb Huayna Picchu, your tour will begin between 6 and 7AM and end between 9 and 10AM.
All of our guides have been to Machu Picchu hundreds of times and know this site incredibly well! Your guided tour will start with the impressive Temple of the Sun. You will see several iconic areas of Machu Picchu including: The Citadel, The Royal Tomb, the Main Plaza, the Condor Temple and much more.
NOTE: Due to new regulations (effective Jan 1. 2019), the paths that lead through Machu Picchu are all “one-way”, meaning you are not able to backtrack during your visit to Machu Picchu. Each visitor without a permit to climb Huayna Picchu or Machu Picchu Mountain will have ~4 hours to spend inside the park and those with permits to climb either Huayna Picchu or Machu Picchu Mountain will have 6 total hours to spend inside the park (including the 2 hour climb).
AFTERNOON/EVENING
After touring Machu Picchu, your guide will take you to the bus stop just outside the gates of Machu Picchu Park. You will take this bus back to to Aguas Calientes. Depending on your train departure time (see below), you will either need to head straight to the train station, or you can go to one of the many fantastic restaurants in Aguas Calientes for lunch (not included).
There are several train class options for the ride back to Cusco. The main two trains are the “Expedition Train” (included in the price) and the “Vista Dome Train” (additional $70 USD per ticket). We usually try to get tickets for a train leaving in the 15:00 (3PM) hour, which will have you back to your hotel in Cusco around 19:00 (7PM).
If you have a preference for departure/arrival time, and provide us with 4+ months notice, we are able to book tickets for the following departures: Expedition train departure times (train ticket included in price):
- 15:20, 15:55, 16:20, 18:10
Vista Dome train departure times (additional $70 USD per ticket):
- 15:20, 16:20, 17:10, 18:20
- 13:37, $25 USD only available for those who do not do the Huayna Picchu hike
All trains that depart from Aguas Calientes will arrive at one of two stations:
- Ollantaytambo station, 2 hour drive back to Cusco
- Poray station, 30 minute drive back to Cusco
Your arrival station will depend on the time of year of your trip, departure time and class of train. Once you arrive to either station, a Kusa Treks van and driver will be waiting for you at the station to take you back to your hotel.
NOTE: Train times depend on: the number of people in your group, the time of year of your trip and the class of train you prefer.
