Cusco Complete

Upon arrival in Cusco we will pick you up from the bus terminal or the airport and then take you to your hostel, so you can rest and acclimatize.

The tour starts at 1:30pm in a tourism bus. The city tour will start at Cathedral that is located at the Main Square – “Plaza de Armas”, it was built on the Inca Palace known as “Sunturwasi” in more than 100 years with huge stone blocks brought from Sacsayhuaman. It is the most beautiful and impressive church in Peru, it has; an important collection of paintings from the Cusquenian School , splendid altars like the pulpit and choir made of both Renaissance and Baroque style.

The tour continues with a visit to the Qoricancha where you can see the differences between Inca and Spaniards architecture. It was the main and most important religious site of the Incas and you can see smaller temples dedicated to the sun, moon, stars, etc. inside the temple.

Continuing on, you will head outside the city to visit the 4 archaeological circuits:

Saqsaywaman, here you can see an amazing architectural works made with huge stones.

Qenqo, was dedicated to religious rituals and it has a subterranean passageways.

Pucapucara, this complex was built for military purposes, to protect the city of Cusco.

Tambomachay, was a temple for water. In this place you can see waterfalls, canals and aqueducts made of stone that are still fully operational.

The tour finishes at approximately 6:30pm when we arrive back in Cusco city.

We will pick you up from your hotel in a private bus around 8:40 and we will meet up with the rest of the group. The first place you going to visit is the Pisac Archaeological Complex on the top of the mountain, where you will also appreciate the breadth of the Sacred Valley. At first glance the groups of terraces and Inca structures stand out on the mountain side, the perfect cuts in the rock dazzle and show the impeccable constructions.

Then you will continue your journey through several small villages that are along the Vilcanota river valley. Afterwards, you will continue heading to Urubamba Town where you have a buffet lunch. This city is at a lower altitude 2871 m.s.n.m. or 9420 f.a.s.l, so you will feel better.

In the afternoon, you will visit the Inca ruins known as Ollantaytambo (Inca palace). This site was built with pink granite rocks and this town was in the Inca times the most important for its archaeological wealth, military, religious, administrative and agricultural. The Fortress and Citadel of Ollantaytambo protected the entire Incas valley from the invasions of the jungle so its importance was very high. At present, Ollantaytambo remains intact as it was in the time of the Incas; their houses are still used as homes for local residents, who communicate through their native language: Quechua. When you walk through its streets it is like being inside a living museum!!

At approximately 4:00pm you will arrive at Chincheros which is our last place of visit. In the Main Square you can see an Inca wall that is decorated with several niches that have a trapezoidal shape. You can also find a colonial temple that was built in the 17^th century on the foundations of an Inca palace.

Then you will start the trip back to Cusco and finally at 7:00pm you will arrive to the city of Cusco.

Note.-  If you prefer to spend the night in Machu Picchu (Aguas Calientes), please tell us in advance to make the reservation of the train and the hostel in Machu Picchu.

This day we will leave very early towards the station of Poroy or Ollantaytambo, the specific schedule will depend on the train schedule available for this day. You will board the train that will go to Machu Picchu Pueblo known as “Aguas Calientes Town”

Once you reach the picturesque village of “Aguas Calientes”, you will board a bus that will take you to the mysterious ruins of Machu Picchu. There will be a guided tour of two hours during which the guide will explain the history and meaning of some of the most impressive components of Machu Picchu, you will finish this guided tour in the Intihuatana temple. After that you will have free time to walk around the place and take some photos on your own. Then you will descend by bus to “Aguas Calientes” to have a lunch. After that you will take the train back to Cusco where we will be waiting to take you to your hostel in Cusco.

We will start the adventure by picking you up from the hotel at 8:30am and then you will board our private transportation to Maras, where you will pass through communities like Cachimayo and Chinchero. You will walk the streets of Maras and you will be able to appreciate some colonial gates that are in use until today. You will continue our journey to Moray where you will see the terraces or platforms which were used as agricultural laboratories during the Inca era. Each terrace has a different temperature for each product and its growing condition.

Then you will head to the salt mines where you will find 3000 salt extraction wells, where you will observe different colors and textures in each of the wells. You will stay in Maras for about an hour, then you will start the return trip Cusco, arriving at approximately 02:00pm.

You will have the rest of the afternoon free to walk and enjoy the Cusco city.

Depending on the flight schedule of each traveler, they will be transferred to the airport to board the flight back to Lima or to the next stop on their trip.