Connecting with the people of the Peruvian Andes | 10d/9n

Three hours before your domestic flight to Cusco, a transfer will take you from your hotel to Lima airport. After a 60-minute flight, you’ll arrive in Cusco (3,310 m / 10,860 ft), where a driver will be waiting to transfer you to your hotel in the historic center.
In the afternoon, around 1:40 p.m., your guide will meet you to begin the city tour. Start by visiting the Temple of the Sun, Coricancha, dedicated to the Sun and Moon, where you’ll be amazed by the Incan architecture—no mortar, just perfectly fitted stones.
Then, drive to Sacsayhuaman (3,700 m / 12,140 ft), a massive ceremonial fortress with megalithic stone walls.
Continue to visit Qenqo, Pucapucara, and Tambomachay, a site dedicated to water worship. After the tour, return to your hotel or stay in the main square to explore or dine.

Included:

• Breakfast at your Lima hotel (Box breakfast available if departing early)
• Transportation from hotel to Lima airport
• Domestic flight tickets from Lima to Cusco
• Transfer from Cusco airport to your hotel
• Professional guide
• Entrance tickets to Coricancha + the 4 ruins (Sacsayhuaman, Qenqo, Pucapucara, Tambomachay)
• Overnight stay in Cusco

Not Included:

• Meals: Lunch and Dinner
• Extra expenses or delays beyond our control
• Travel insurance

After breakfast, around 7:40 a.m., your guide will pick you up for a full-day tour through the Sacred Valley. Your first stop will be the Taray viewpoint, offering sweeping views of the valley surrounded by mountains and farmland.
Continue to Pisac (2,972 m / 9,751 ft), built on a mountaintop with impressive terraces and watchtowers. Then, visit the Pisac artisan market.
Head to Urubamba for a buffet lunch made with local products.
In the afternoon, visit Ollantaytambo, known as the “living Inca town” for its preserved culture and identity. Tour its impressive archaeological complex, including terraces, aqueducts, and enormous stone doors.
On the return to Cusco, stop at Chinchero, famous for its terraces and vibrant textile traditions that reflect Andean cosmology. Then return to your hotel in Cusco.

Included:

• Breakfast at your Cusco hotel
• Private tourist transportation
• Professional guide
• Entrance to Pisac, Ollantaytambo, and Chinchero archaeological sites
• Buffet lunch in Urubamba
• Overnight stay in Cusco

Not Included:

• Dinner
• Delays or extra costs beyond our control
• Travel insurance

After breakfast, at an agreed time, you’ll be transferred to Poroy Station to board the Vistadome Observatory train to Aguas Calientes. The 4-hour journey offers spectacular scenery, including lush vegetation and the roaring Urubamba River, and features live music and traditional dance performances.
Upon arrival, a representative will assist you to your hotel in Aguas Calientes (2,040 m / 6,693 ft).
The afternoon is free to explore the town, enjoy a meal at a local restaurant, or relax at the hotel.

Included:

• Breakfast at your Cusco hotel
• Transfer from Cusco to Poroy Station
• Vistadome Observatory train tickets to Aguas Calientes
• Overnight stay in Aguas Calientes

Not Included:

• Lunch and Dinner
• Travel insurance
• Additional expenses
• Delays beyond our control

Today we rise early to be among the first to enter Machu Picchu. Don’t forget your passport!
Board one of the first buses up to the archaeological site (35–40 min ride through lush, winding paths).
At the entrance (2,430 m / 7,972 ft), use the restroom if needed—there are none inside the sanctuary.
With your private guide, begin your tour through the site, where you’ll be immersed in the mystical energy and astonishing Inca engineering. See temples, plazas, terraces, and water systems in a 2.5-hour guided visit.
Afterward, descend by bus to Aguas Calientes. You’ll have free time for lunch and to stroll through the car-free town.

Later, head to the train station at least 30 minutes before departure. Take the train to Ollantaytambo, where a transfer will be waiting to take you back to your hotel in Cusco (2,871 m / 9,420 ft).

Included:

• Breakfast at your hotel in Aguas Calientes
• Private guide for Machu Picchu tour
• Entrance ticket to Machu Picchu
• Bus tickets to/from Machu Picchu
• Train tickets from Aguas Calientes to Ollantaytambo
• Transfer from Ollantaytambo station to your hotel in Cusco
• Overnight stay in Cusco

Not Included:

• Lunch and Dinner
• Entrance to Huayna Picchu Mountain (optional – check availability)
• Entrance to Machu Picchu Mountain (optional – check availability)
• Return on Vistadome Observatory train (optional upgrade)
• Travel insurance
• Additional expenses or delays beyond our control

After enjoying a delicious breakfast at your hotel in Cusco, your guide will pick you and your family up at 8:00 a.m. and head toward the Maras Salt Mines (10,499 ft / 3,200 m). The journey takes approximately one hour along a paved road, with a short stretch of dirt road near the site. Don’t worry—your transport is well-suited for the trip.

Along the way, you’ll see fields of wheat, potatoes, barley, and other crops. During the rainy season, the landscape turns vibrant green. The locals in this area mainly engage in agriculture and animal herding. At the salt mines, there are over 3,000 salt pools carved into the mountain slope. From the top, the view is stunning. Researchers say this salt was historically used to preserve food. Today, locals still extract and layer the salt by hand, using it for cooking, therapeutic purposes, and even animal consumption. The salt pools are naturally fed by mountain spring water.

Next, you’ll visit the Moray archaeological site (11,483 ft / 3,500 m), believed to be an agricultural laboratory where ancient people grew crops in circular terraces at various altitudes.

After this, you’ll participate in a traditional Pachamanca experience—an ancestral Andean cooking technique where meats, potatoes, and vegetables are layered with aromatic herbs, buried under hot stones, and cooked underground. The fusion of flavors is both unique and delicious.

After lunch, you’ll return to Cusco and be dropped off at your hotel or in the city center.

Included:

• Breakfast at the hotel in Cusco
• Private tourist transportation
• Tour guide
• Entrance tickets to Maras Salt Mines and Moray
• Pachamanca cooking experience
• Pachamanca lunch
• Hotel night in Cusco

Not included:

• Dinner
• Travel insurance
• Personal expenses
• Delays or costs beyond our control

Early in the morning, at around 3:30 a.m., your guide will pick you up from your hotel. After a 2-hour drive, you’ll arrive in Cusipata (10,860 ft / 3,310 m) for a buffet breakfast made with local ingredients. Then continue for another 40 minutes to the trailhead.

You’ll begin your hike from Llacto, where all vehicles must stop. After receiving trekking poles and a short briefing from your guide, you’ll start the walk. The trail is moderate for the first hour and becomes more challenging for the final 30 minutes due to the altitude. At the top (16,732 ft / 5,100 m), you’ll reach a stunning viewpoint with sweeping views of the colorful mountain range and the distant Red Valley.

After a brief explanation about the mountain’s formation, you’ll hike back down to the parking lot and head to a local restaurant for a buffet lunch. In the afternoon, continue for another 2 hours to the town of Raqchi (11,319 ft / 3,450 m), declared one of the best tourist villages by the UNWTO (World Tourism Organization).

You’ll be welcomed by a host family and shown to your room. After settling in, enjoy a homemade dinner and participate in a fun bonfire night with music and stories, creating memories with your local hosts.

Included:

• Tourist transportation
• Expert trekking guide
• Breakfast and buffet lunch in Cusipata
• Entrance ticket to Rainbow Mountain
• Trekking poles
• Dinner with a host family in Raqchi
• Overnight stay at a family home in Raqchi

Not included:

• Travel insurance
• Personal expenses
• Delays or costs beyond our control

Wake up in the beautiful village of Raqchi, surrounded by green fields and the Quimsachata Volcano. Enjoy breakfast with your host family, freshen up, and prepare for the day’s activities.

Start with a short walk along a preserved section of the Qhapaq Ñan (the ancient Inca Trail) leading to the Temple of Wiracocha, an awe-inspiring structure attributed to the Inca god Wiracocha. The temple, standing about 14 meters tall, was built with a combination of stone and adobe. The site also includes storage houses (Qolqas) and water fountains used in rituals.

After the visit, return to the host home for a ceramic workshop. Learn about the traditional pottery techniques used to create clay vessels, ceremonial dishes, aríbalos, and keros. Most of Raqchi’s residents are skilled artisans who preserve these ancestral techniques, blending volcanic sand and clay to create the perfect ceramic base. The village is recognized as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Peru.

Enjoy your final lunch with the host family. You may also purchase local handicrafts before heading back to Cusco.

Included:

• Breakfast and lunch with the host family
• Tourist transportation
• Short hike on the Qhapaq Ñan & visit to the Temple of Wiracocha
• Entrance ticket to the temple
• Tour guide
• Ceramic workshop

Not included:

• Dinner
• Travel insurance
• Personal expenses

Delays or costs beyond our control

Enjoy a day at your leisure. Relax at the hotel or go shopping in Cusco’s traditional markets.

Included:

• Breakfast at the hotel
• Overnight stay in Cusco

Not included:

• Lunch and dinner
• Optional activity: Trekking to Humantay Lake (ask your travel agent for pricing)
• Travel insurance
• Personal expenses
• Delays or costs beyond our control

Time to say goodbye! Two hours before your flight, we’ll transfer you to the airport in Cusco for your flight to Lima. From there, you’ll connect to your international flight.

Included:

• Hotel–Airport transfer in Cusco
• Airport assistance
• Domestic flight from Cusco to Lima

Not included:

• Hotel in Lima
• Meals: Lunch and Dinner
• Travel insurance
• Personal expenses
• Delays or costs beyond our control