Sacred Valley to Machu Picchu Tour

Sacred Valley to Machu Picchu Tour

Tour the Sacred Valley on your way to spending a day at Machu Picchu
Activity Level: 2 ⓘ | Duration: 2 days, 1 night | Group Size: 2-16 | Price: $495
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Overview

This 2-day trip allows you to travel through the Sacred Valley on your way to visiting the iconic Machu Picchu. 

On the first day, you will take a private van through the Sacred Valley with stops along the way at El Mirador, the Pisac ruins, Pisac Market, Urubamba and the Ollantaytambo Fortress.

Enjoy a beautiful train ride to Aguas Calientes where you will spend the night in a quaint hotel. 

On the second day, you will have a professionally guided tour of Machu Picchu, one of the Seven Wonders of the World!  You will experience the majesty of these iconic ruins before taking a train back to Cusco. 

Trip Highlights

  • Professionally guided tour of several Inca Archaeological Sites 
  • Private van ride from Cusco City into the Sacred Valley
  • Visit Písac market, an outdoor market in the Sacred Valley
  • Tour museums, temples and ruins in Cusco
  • Explore the valley that connects Cusco and Machu Picchu
  • Tour of the Ollantaytambo Fortress and its ruins
  • Best option to experience as much as possible in 3 days
  • No hiking or camping

Activities

  • Light - Moderate Walking
  • Scenery
  • Wildlife
  • Culture
  • History
  • Great company

Accommodations

  • 1 night in a 3-star hotel in Aguas Calientes

WHAT'S INCLUDED:

TRANSPORTATION
All transportation for the trek.
This includes:
   - Pickup from your hotel in Cusco in a private van
   - Train ride from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes
   - Bus ticket to Machu Picchu
   - Train ride from Machu Picchu back to Cusco
   - Private van pickup from train station and drop-off at your hotel in Cusco
SOME MEALS
We provide the following meals: 
   - Day 1: breakfast (at hotel), lunch and dinner
   - Day 2: breakfast (at hotel)

NOTE: Please notify our staff of any food allergies or restrictions, and we will ensure that the food is prepared properly.
PROFESSIONAL GUIDES
Kusa Treks strives for greatness and this begins and ends with our people. All of our Lead and Assistant Guides are locals to this region and studied Tourism and/or Archaeology in University. They are all fluent in English and are passionate about their work.

Trust us when we say, there is no better person to be on a trip with than a Kusa Treks guide. You will be in incredible hands!
PERMITS AND TICKETS
Once you pay the trip deposit, we will purchase your hiking permits as well as your entrance tickets for Machu Picchu. The government issues this permit in your name, under your passport number, and for a specific time-frame; they cannot be changed once confirmed, which is why the initial deposit is non-refundable after 24 hours.

We will also secure your train ticket back to Cusco at this time.
HOTEL
1 night in a 3-star hotel

WHAT'S NOT INCLUDED:

SOME MEALS
The following meals are not provided: 
   - Day 2: Lunch and dinner
HUYANA PICCHU PERMIT
Huayna Picchu is the pointy, tall mountain in the background of all the pictures of Machu Picchu. Tickets to climb it are available for travelers who wish to hike up an ancient staircase to the top of Machu Picchu's sister mountain.

Hiking to the top of it provides adventurers with incredible, unique views of Machu Picchu. This secondary hike will have a 1-hour ascent, 15 minutes to take selfies and high-five at the top of the mountain, and then a 45-minute descent.

The ascent and descent are pretty steep, but totally worth it!

Price: $75USD per person

NOTE: Tickets to ascend Huayna Picchu are limited and sold on a first-come-first-serve basis. We cannot guarantee permit availability less than 6 months before a trip start date.
VISTA DOME TRAIN
For your trip back from Machu Picchu to Cusco, we will book tickets on a "regular" train called the Expedition Train. However, there are several train upgrade options available, the most popular of which is known as the "Vista Dome Train".

The Vista Dome train has glass walls and a glass ceiling, which provide panoramic views of the surrounding beautiful Andes mountain-side. Tickets include in-trip meals and entertainment.

Price: $70 USD per ticket
INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS
This tour begins and ends in Cusco, Peru. You are responsible for getting to Cusco.

We do offer a flight booking service. The price for international flights will depend on origin city, time of travel and preferred class of cabin. If you are interested in having us book your flights, please inform our team at the time of booking.
HOTEL(S) IN CUSCO
We include accommodations that you will need for the 2 days and 1 night of this tour. We highly recommend that you arrive to Cusco at least 2 full days before starting a trek to ensure proper acclimation to the high elevation.

You are responsible for booking your own hotels in Cusco before and after the tour.

As with flights, we do offer a hotel booking service. The price for hotels in Cusco will depend on your preferred class of hotel. If you are interested in having us book your hotels, please inform our team at the time of booking.
TOURIST TICKET
In order to enter the majority of archaeological sites in Cusco and the Sacred Valley, you will need the Boleto Turistico (Tourist Ticket). These Tickets are sold as a one-day pass or a ten-day pass and grant access to several areas.

The one day pass is 70 Soles and the ten day pass is 130 Soles. A valid Student ID allows for a discount, which makes the 10-day pass 70 soles.

The ticket must be purchased in person with Soles and a valid passport. You will be able to purchase the ticket directly at the first site.

Pricing:

We offer Private service for this tour.

PRICE: $495 USD per person. We require a minimum of 2 people to book this trip on a unique start date.

NOTE: Based on the time of year, and with your permission, we are sometimes able to combine multiple private groups into one larger group, which allows us to provide you with a discount. Please inform your booking agent if you are open to being paired with other groups.

PRICES ARE IN USD ($)
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Itinerary:

SACRED VALLEY TO MACHU PICCHU TOUR ITINERARY:

High Level Itinerary:

DAY 1: 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 2: 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: 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 will be by 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 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 2: 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 is rising 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 Huyana Picchu, your official guided tour of Machu Picchu will begin at 8AM and end at 10:30AM. If you chose not to climb Huyana Picchu, your tour will 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 walking, 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 Huyana Picchu or Machu Picchu Mountain will have ~4 hours to spend inside the park, and those with permits to climb either Huyana 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 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):

  • 14:55, 15:20, 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 Huyana Picchu hike

All trains that depart from Aguas Calientes will arrive at one of two stations:

  1. Ollantaytambo station, 2 hour drive back to Cusco
  2. 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.

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One of the best tours I have ever been on. Our guide made this a trip of a lifetime. His knowledge and passion for the Inca culture is amazing. He is really patient and makes sure the entire group is well taken care of. Another great feature of Kusa Treks is how great they treat their porters/staff. You could tell that they really care about the community and the locals in that area. The food was also top notch! The courses were plentiful and also amazingly decorated/garnished. I did a lot of research before this trip and Kusa Treks blew away all my expectations.
Daniel H  •  Trip Advisor Review