7 Days/6 Nights The Incan Empire Of Cusco-Machu Picchu

Activities: : THE INCAN EMPIRE OF CUSCO-MACHU PICCHU	Duration: 7Days/6Nights	Departures: Daily
Nº Min. Passengers: 1	Months Operation: All Year	Type Tour: Traditional
Type Service: Private/Shared

The Incan Empire Of Cusco-Machu Picchu

Itinerary

Day 1: City Tour of Cusco

We will give you full assistance upon your arrival to Cusco and take you from the airport to your hotel. Then in the morning you will have free time to acclimate the altitude. In the afternoon we will begin our tour of Cusco, we will pick you up from your hotel at 1:30pm and we will first visit the Templo de Sol o Qorikancha (today known as the Santo Domingo Temple). Then we will continue our tour to the outskirts of Cusco to visit the Incan archeological sites of Qenko, Tambomachay, Puku Pukará and the largest temple of the Incas Sacsayhuaman. Which was strategically built on the top of the hill that overlooks the entire Cusco area, and is know for its large stones and astonishing precision. Some of the stone are as large as 30 feet high and a weigh more that 120 tons. We will return to your hotel at 6:30pm.

Day Two: Cusco to the Sacred Valley of the Incas:

We will pick you up from your hotel at 8:30am to drive to the Sacred Valley. First we will stop in the town of Pisac and visit the outdoor markets and visit the incredible archeological site that of Pisac. Then we will drive through the valley to the town of Urubamba to eat a buffet lunch consisting of traditional Peruvian food.

In the afternoon we will visit the fortress and city of Ollantaytambo, this town was built to guard the entrance of the Valley from the jungle tribes that would invade Sacred Valley. There we will get the opportunity to walk up the large terraces and understand the military, religious and cultural importance of this magical place. On our way back to Cusco we will visit the small town of Chinchero were we find the remains of Tupac Inca Yupanqui’s property and visit a textile market.

Nota: The trip to Chinchero is only possible if we have time, for we like to return you to your hotel by 7:30pm.

Day 3: Ollantaytambo – Machu Picchu

We will pick you up at 10:00am in the morning and drive you to the train station in Ollantaytambo, where you will board a train to Aguas Calientes at 12:58pm. During your train ride you enjoy the incredible beauty of the Andes and geography of the Sacred Valley, while following the Willcamayo (Vilcanota) river towards Aguas Calientes train station, where we will be waiting to take you to your hotel.

In the afternoon you will have time to discover the small yet charming town of Aguas Calientes, which is known for its incredible hot springs that you can soak in for only 10soles/$3USD. However at 8:00pm your guide will meet you at your hotel to give a quick debrief the day ahead of you in Machu Picchu.

Day 4: Machu Picchu – Cusco:

We will wake up very early and have breakfast at 6:00am, then you will take you to the bus station called the CONSETTUR, from where you will take a bus 25 minutes up a zigzag road to the Lost Incan city of Machu Picchu. Upon your arrival at the city, you will have a 2h 30m guided tour of the principal sections of the city such as: the main plaza, the circular tower, the sacred sundial, the royal rooms, the temple of the three rooms and the cemeteries. The tour usually lasts two hours, but after the tour you will have free time to walk the city by yourselves, or your can return to the town of Aguas Calientes where you will board the train at 6:45pm that will take you Ollantaytambo; from where we will be waiting to take you back to your hotel in Cusco, arriving back at 8:10pm.

This tour is known for its rich combination of beautiful country side, Incan architecture in Tipón and pre inca Wari architecture in Pikillacta. It is also know for the stunning chapel in Andahuaylillas, which is known as the sixteenth chapel of the Americas. Also, we don’t want to forget the delicious food that can be found and enjoyed in Saylla and Huasao… so come with us and enjoy this amazing excursion.

Description of South Valley Tour

We come to pick you up at your hotel at 9:15am to have a guided tour of the southern valley of Cusco, where we visit the following places.

Tipón:

This is a magnificent agriculture area that contains 12 terraces that are still used to grow food today; the walls of these terraces are constructed with finely detailed stones. Even more impressive though is the irrigation system that still feeds the crops, and in the spring months appears a fresh water spring.

Pikillaqta:

This places is a marvelous representation of the great urban center in the times of development of the Wari Empire; for it contains over one thousand different buildings and constructions from plazas, fields, houses, temples large streets and large buildings that had up to 4 stories.

Andahuaylillas:

This is an incredible representation of Andean architecture and culture during the colonial era. The main attraction of Adahuaylillas is the catholic temple that was built during the colonial era that has incredible decoration and a painted mural for the 18th and 19th centuries, know as the Sixteenth Chapel of Cusco. On the return to Cusco we will pass by Saylla, which is a typical Cusqueñen town where you can enjoy the delicious Chicharron (fried pork). We will return to Cusco at approximately 3:00pm.

Day 6: Cusco – Maras, Moray and The Salt Flats

Maras:

Maras is small town located on the occident of Cusco at 3300 meters (aprox 10,000 feet), from there you can see the Urubamba Mountain range containing the snowy peaks of La Verónica (5682 M) and El Chikón (5530 M). These small towns such as Maras became very important to the Incans when noble Cusqueños (people from Cusco) were expelled from their palaces in Cusco and were forced to establish small towns in the mountainous surroundings. There we will visit a small adobe church called the Posee, this church is a strong representation of religious architecture in small towns, and the interior of this church is filled with paintings of The Cusqueña School.

Moray:

This town is only 7km to the southwest of Maras, it is archeological site that carries its own uniqueness to the other sites in the region. This archeological site was built in what seems like a massive crater or hole in the ground, and the Incans used the perimeter of the large depression to build circular agricultural terraces. The terraces were each built with their own respective irrigational systems, in its era this type of agricultural innovation was something highly advanced for any civilization in the world. This type of irrigational system helped people throughout the Incan Empire to increase their harvests by up to 60%, for the Andean populations relied on and consumed over 1000 verities of potatoes, 100 different kinds of corn and many other types of vegetables.

Salt Flats:

Located to the northeast of the town of Marras, there are over 3000 small wells with an average size of 5sq meters. During the dry season each well is filled every 3 days with salt water that flows from a natural well at the top of the salt flats. In the wells the water evaporates and leaves large “plates” of salt at the bottom of the wells. The “plates” are then broken up and granulated in small pieces of salt. The salt is then bagged up in plastic bags and dispersed to the markets all around Peru, today the salt is iodized, therefore it is not harmful to consume. After the salt flats we will return back to Cusco at approximately 3 o’clock in the afternoon. Duration: 6 hours.