Machu Picchu and Cusco: 5 Days

Pickup from the Cusco airport or bus terminal and transfer to your hotel for check-in. In the afternoon, a city tour through the archaeological heart of the city: the Qorikancha (Temple of the Sun, a visit of about 45 minutes), and the sites in the upper part of Cusco: Sacsayhuaman, Q'enqo, Puka Pukara and Tambomachay. The day ends at approximately 7:00 pm, with the evening free to acclimatize to Cusco's altitude (3,400 masl).

Pickup is at 8:00 am, with a trip of about 1.5 hours to the Pisac ruins, where an energizing breakfast is served before touring the archaeological complex and its agricultural terraces. The route continues along the Urubamba River to the town of Urubamba, the capital of the Sacred Valley, where a buffet lunch with typical Andean food is served.

The last stop of the day is Ollantaytambo, with a guided visit of about 1 hour covering the Temple of the Sun, the Intihuatana, the Princess Baths and the Inca terraces. From there, the group boards the scenic train to Aguas Calientes, where you spend the night before visiting Machu Picchu.

Breakfast at the hotel and bus transfer up to the Machu Picchu citadel (about 20 minutes along a zigzag road). After presenting your entrance ticket, the guided excursion begins, lasting 2 hours and 30 minutes through the citadel's main sectors. The group returns to Aguas Calientes for lunch on your own, and in the afternoon boards the return train to Cusco via Ollantaytambo, with a final transfer to your hotel.

Pickup is at 8:00 am. The first stop is Chinchero, where you learn about traditional weaving techniques using alpaca fiber and natural dyes. The route continues to the Maras Salt Mines: more than 3,000 salt pools terraced along a hillside in the Urubamba valley, fed by a salt water spring that has flowed naturally from the ground since pre-Inca times.

After the Salt Mines, a short distance leads to Moray: terraced circular depressions up to 30 meters deep that the Incas used as an open-air agricultural laboratory, where the temperature difference of up to 15°C between the top and bottom terraces allowed them to experiment with crops in different microclimates. The group returns to Cusco at approximately 2:00 pm.