Rainbow Mountain and Machu Picchu

A representative of Cusco Expeditions will be waiting for you at the Cusco Airport to take you directly to your hotel. Cusco is located at an altitude of 3,399 masl / 11,151 fasl so you may need some time to acclimatize.

After Lunch, we pick you up from your hotel to explore the city on an afternoon city tour.

Our tour begins in the fascinating Qorikancha or Temple of the Sun, probably the most important Inca place within the city of Cusco. While you marvel at the exquisite architecture of the place, our guide will share with you a bit of the history of the Incas. We’ll continue heading to the Plaza de Armas to visit the Cathedral that holds approximately 300 paintings from the famous Cusqueña School (the tour includes the entrance to the Cathedral). The Plaza de Armas itself is a wonderful place to sit and immerse yourself in the local atmosphere.

Later we’ll visit the impressive Inca fortress of Sacsayhuamán, located on top of a mountain above Cusco. It’s characterized by having been built with rocks of colossal sizes that weigh hundreds of tons. Ancient Inca architects cut and polished these giant rocks to build zig-zag walls that span hundreds of meters. Despite the fact that only a small portion of the original site remains, the cyclopean dimensions of Sacsayhuamán continue to inspire and surprise its visitors. We’ll continue with the Qenqo temple, carved from a single stone block. This temple has artificial tunnels, one of which forms an amphitheater. The original purpose of the amphitheater has been lost over time, but most agree that the area was used to worship the Sun, Moon, and Stars! We will also visit Puca Pucara, a site that the Incas used as a military control center.

Our tour ends in Tambomachay, an Inca archaeological site that shows a series of aqueducts, channels, and waterfalls that run spectacularly through rock terraces. The cost of admission to the site is included in the tour.

At the end of the day, we’ll take you to the door of your hotel to enjoy a relaxing night.

Today you’ll enjoy breakfast at your hotel and then we’ll pick you up to go to the beautiful town of Maras (3,300 masl / 10,827 fasl). There you’ll find not only beautiful architecture but also fine textile art. We will continue to the impressive Moray archaeological site (3,450 masl / 11,319 fasl) made up of a series of giant circular terraces and a complex irrigation system. Moray is known as the largest agricultural laboratory in the world because it was used to grow food that only grows in tropical climates. After feeling the energy of this intriguing site, we’ll continue with the salt mines, a set of more than 3,000 small white pools from which salt is extracted. These small pools are filled with water that evaporates, thus producing the salt that the residents collect and package to sell in different markets in the region. This salt has a pink hue and is well known for its healing properties and delicious flavour.

It’s time to head aboard our private transport to Ollantaytambo where the train that will take us to Aguas Calientes will wait for us. Once there you’ll check into a nice hotel (shared rooms) to cool off before dinner. You can also take advantage of your free time to enjoy the thermo-medicinal waters of the place. Go to bed early because tomorrow we will finally see the impressive Inca citadel of Machu Picchu.

After a well-deserved night of rest, the day you have waited for so long has arrived: today you’ll stroll through the mysterious streets of the Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu. Our day begins at dawn. We’ll board a bus that will take us for around 25 minutes to the entrance of the Inca citadel and we’ll enter just before the sun begins to paint this impressive place in gold. Take some time to watch the show of the day that begins on one of the 7 Wonders of the World and feel how its powerful energy vibrates. You’ll take a guided tour for 2 hours and then you’ll have plenty of time to explore Machu Picchu on your own. If you have the respective entry ticket, you can hike up to the imposing Huayna Picchu. At the end you can take the bus to Aguas Calientes or walk back through the middle of the dense vegetation that will surround you. Don't worry, the whole way is signposted. You’ll have the afternoon free to have lunch at the restaurant of your choice (food not included in the package) and take a look at the rest of this intense miniature city. Your train will leave for Ollantaytambo at sunset, don't forget to be at the station 30 minutes earlier than the departure time! Then we will take you back to your hotel in Cusco.

Our adventure begins at 4:00 am. We will pick you up from the door of your hotel to head for 3 hours towards the Southern Valley in our private transport. Remember that the starting point of our walk is at 4,638 masl / 15,216 fasl. Along the way we’ll observe picturesque Andean towns, agricultural platforms from the Inca period, fertile valleys, and beautiful rolling mountains. Even in the morning, the herds of llamas and alpacas will entertain you while you enjoy a delicious continental breakfast. We’ll continue our journey until we reach the starting point of the walk. There we’ll head down a meandering path in the middle of the Andean mountains following a beautiful stream. As you ascend, you’ll be rewarded with the impressive view of the Ausangate Mountain (6,300 masl / 20,900 fasl). Take a few minutes to try to understand why this mountain is a living deity for the Andean people. This whole area is home to many people and you’ll have the opportunity to see them working the land. You’ll surely also be surprised to see the traditional clothing they use that they make themselves thanks to the practice of textile art that they have inherited from their ancestors. In this way, an ancient culture is preserved that refuses to be submitted by the rules of the western world. Your guide will teach you about the meaning of some clothes and, if you want, you can ask him to teach you some words in Quechua. After 1.5 hours of walking, we will arrive at the amazing Rainbow Mountain of Cusco (5,050 masl / 16,564 fasl). Take time to admire the unique beauty of this impressive natural formation and feel the thrill of witnessing a unique natural spectacle. You will explore the surroundings a little while your guide explains the theories that exist regarding the origin of this mountain that seems to be taken from a colourful dream of the gods. Take photographs or simply immerse yourself in the landscape that also shows you the splendour of the great mountain Ausangate in the distance.

There we will take a break between 30 minutes and 1 hour, depending on the speed of your steps and the condition of the weather. If you want to stay longer, inform your guide. Later, there’s the possibility of walking through the Red Valley, if the climate and weather allow it. Don’t miss this valley of completely red mountains! We’ll take between 45 minutes and 1 hour to arrive again at the starting point where we’ll enjoy our box lunch. Once we have filled our stomachs, we’ll embark on our private transport back to the city of Cusco. At approximately 5:00 pm we’ll leave you at the door of your hotel.