DAY 1: ARRIVAL TO LIMA
Meet the Peru host at the Airport of Lima, please look for your Private Machu Picchu host holding a sign with your name on it. We know you will be tired after a long journey from your home country, so our host will transfer you to your hotel.
DAY 2: CITY TOUR IN LIMA
Lima is the largest and the most populated city in Peru. You will visit the historic downtown area as the cathedral, San Francisco church, and Larco museum. After your visit, your private guide will bring you back to your Hotel. Lima is very well known, particularly for its excellent cuisines, like our traditional CEVICHE Food from the coast or our Pisco Sour, a Peruvian cocktail. Your travel designer can arrange any of these beautiful restaurants for you, as well. Depending on your interest and expectations, we can put together the best things to see and do in the city to make your journey more memorable.
DAY 3: FLIGHT TO CUSCO TRANSFER TO SACRED VALLEY. AWANAKANCHA VISIT LLAMA AND ALPACA FARM
After a good night’s sleep, we will bring your family directly to the airport for the morning flight to Cusco. It will be short to fly for one hour. At the airport in Cusco, you will meet your host and your private guide, who will be responsible for your stay. After, you will drive to Awanacancha, where you will see the llama and alpaca farm. After our visit, you will continue driving in the outstanding landscape. Along this drive, we will stop for family photos. Until we arrive at the restaurant HACIENDA HUAYOCCARI. Here we will have very nice organic Peruvian food, after lunch, we will drive you to your Hotel in the sacred valley. Driving time. Before lunch, two hours. After lunch for 30 minutes.
DAY 4: SALINERAS, MORAY AND ANDEAN CEREMONY
The sacred valley of the Incas is known for its beautiful, breathtaking views of the Urubamba mountain range. Today, your private guide will pick you up. And drive to Moray, experts today believe their grassy amphitheaters served as an agricultural research center, in the Inca times, for the circular architecture that provides a different microclimate for each terrace. After, we will drive to Salineras, the salt pans. Along this drive, we will pass true the town of Maras, a small colonial town, very well known as a provider of salt to the Cusco region back in Inca and colonial times. Salineras has over 3800 pans still in use nowadays by the local community of Maras and Pichinccoto. Here you will have the opportunity to try the salty water coming underground as well as test the salt, which has countless minerals. After you visit Salineras, you will continue driving for 30 minutes to continue your activity Andean ceremony. When you get to this place, you will meet an Andean priest who is responsible for leading this ceremony. To get an insight into the Peruvian culture of today and keep you and your families entertained, we are going to have a special moment to do the traditional offering devoted to Pachamama, meaning Mother Earth. This ceremony feels as though you have traveled back in time, with sacred medicines and pre-Hispanic instruments used during the devotional chanting. After this relaxing and meditating time, you will go to have a delicious picnic lunch. After lunch, we will drive back to your hotel.
DAY 5: PISAQ ARQUEOLOGICAL SITE, PISAQ MARKET LOCAL COMUNITY
Today, your private guide will pick you up. And drive for 45 minutes to Pisaq. In your family holiday in Peru. We will show you like world’s known Pisaq Market. This is the largest handicraft market in the Region. Located on the side of the Urubamba River. Open every day, but on Sundays, it is very busy because the local people who live in the area have to barter their products for a week. After exploring the local market, we will drive for 30 minutes to the Amaru community. Where you will experience the daily life of local people in the Andes of Perú. All of them have unique traditions and customs, and they speak the Quechua language, our Inca language. Your family will share lunch with the locals. After your visit, you will drive back to the Pisaq archeological site, then you will be back to your hotel.
DAY 6: MORNING TRAIN TO MACHU PICCHU AND VISIT MACHU PICCHU
Today, your private guide will pick you up. And drive to the train station. This train ride is beautiful, following the Urubamba river on both sides, you will enjoy the views and the lush green vegetation or the Cloud forest until Aguas Calientes town or Machu Picchu town. From here, you will take a short bus journey to the site’s entrance. Upon arrival, settle in for lunch at the Sanctuary Lodge. After lunch, you will have a private guided UNESCO World Heritage Site tour, Machu Picchu. Today you will have the opportunity to take a lot of pictures to the side, your guide will explain and show you the best spots. After exploring the citadel, you will return to Aguas Calientes. Your guide will take you to the hotel.
DAY 7: EXPLORE MACHU PICCHU BY YOUR ON AND OPTIONAL HIKE TO HUAYNAPICCHU OR MACHU PICCHU MOUNTAIN
Huaynapicchu and Machu Picchu are one of the coveted hikes during your visit to the world’s seven wonders. Today you have the option to hike two different trails. Huaynapicchu or Machu Picchu mountain is totally up to you on how you would like to finish your Machu Picchu luxury trip, please note that only a limited amount of hikers are allowed to climb both mountains each day, and tickets will need to be purchased in advance along with your Machu Picchu entrance. After the second day exploring Machu Picchu, you will return back to Aguas Calientes town and take the afternoon train to Poroy or Ollantaytambo. Where you will meet a Machu Picchu trails host who will bring you back to your Hotel Cusco.
DAY 8: EXPLORE CUSCO CITY
Cusco is located in the Peruvian Andes and is the most fascinating place in South America, which never fails to surprise visitors with its rich culture, art, history, and food. With its excellent Hotels, restaurants, bars, and local markets. Cusco City is a product of the fusion of pre – Inca, Inca, and Spanish cultures, and this beautiful city is UNESCO World Heritage Site. You will feel the magic of the impressive legacy of Inca culture as you walk through its narrow Stone streets as we visit its colonial buildings constructed over the Inca remains, an extraordinary city with more and its fair share of places brimming with mysticism and grandeur. Your local expert guide will collect you at your Hotel for a private tour of the city, starting in the San Blas neighborhood to the Santo Domingo Convent monastery. This monastery was previously the Koricancha temple. The most important temple dedicated to worship of the Sun God back in the Inca times. According to the chronicles, it was covered in gold leaf and filled with golden representations of nature. Your next stop will be the main plaza of Cusco and visit the Cathedral. After, you will drive to Sacsayhuaman. Here you will be impressed by the handmade Inca architecture with enormous carved stones joined together with the utmost precision. In the Inca times, it represented one of the most important temples to worship their deities. After, you will continue exploring other archeological sites, Quenko, Pukapukara, and Tambomachay. From here, you will drive back to the city center to enjoy your lunch. We will have a list of recommendations for the restaurants for you to go to. And if it’s needed, we will book for you. Let us know if you have any particular activity that you would like to do during your stay in Cusco or would like our recommendations that we can put together with your package. In the surrounding areas as Tipon, Pikillacta, San Pedro market, and chocolate museum, cooking class, and others.
Altitude: of Cusco is 3400 m. 10812 ft. Above sea level, dry, sunny days. Cold nights, Rainy season from November to March. Accessibility Air, Land, By Train.
DAY 9: DEPARTURE FROM CUSCO
Today, we will pick you up from your hotel and transfer you to the airport. After having a wonderful lifelong experience with us. Unless you keep traveling with us. In extension tours, we will get you to the destination. Please let us know of any changes, or we will make arrangements for any extra activities that you would like to do it.
PROFESSIONAL TOUR GUIDE
All of our guides of Private Machu Picchu hold a degree in tourism, they studied at Cusco National University. They are passionate about sharing our Peruvian History, culture, gastronomy, and others, they are fluent in English speaking and many of them speak our local language (Quechua) they will make sure your safety and lifelong memories.
HOTELS
On this tour, we will include a one-night Hotel in Aguas Calientes. We can easily add extra nights before or after the tour if needed, please let know our travel specialist. Upgrade Hotels are always possible. We can also book the tour without any Hotels if you prefer to book them on your own.
TRANSPORTATION
We provide private transportation through the sacred valley to the train station and back to your hotel. It is also included trip bus ticket from Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu.
TICKETS
The entrance fees are included to visit the sacred valley tour and Machu Picchu.
TRAIN TICKETS
Train tickets are in expeditions tourist class around trip from Ollantaytambo. If you would like to upgrade to Vistadome train, the fee is $75 one way and $100 round trip from Ollantaytambo.
CLIMATE AND WEATHER
The Cusco Region mainly presents two seasons, the rainy season, from November to April, with the heaviest rainfalls usually occurring between January, February, and March, and the dry season from May to October. The dry season is colder, so temperatures can drop to below 0 degrees at night.
Along the Inca Trail, the temperature ranges from 15-20°c during the day if it’s sunny, to 10-28°c during the day if not sunny, or 05-15°c at night in the first two campsites. At Wiñay Wayna and Machu Picchu, at a lower altitude, temperatures are usually warmer, though warm clothes are still recommended at night.
There are benefits and drawbacks to visiting Cusco and Machu Picchu during each season. The dry season is usually crowded at all the sites, and especially on the Inca Trail, you need to ensure your permit at least six months in advance.
The rainy season can be a very pleasant time for you who are looking to do cultural tours or for you who will design your vacations without trekking, including visiting Cusco and Machu Picchu with fewer people.
The altitude of Cusco city: 3400 meters
The population of Cusco: 1,300,000
MACHU PICCHU TICKETS
With the new regulations of the Peruvian government, the Machu Picchu entrance tickets go on sale from 6.00 am to 3.00 pm.
WAYNA PICCHU TICKETS
With the new regulations from the Peruvian government, the Wayna Picchu tickets go on sale from 7.00 am until 10:00 to 11:000 am. The hike Will take 45 minutes up and 30 minutes down all the way. The step is not recommendable for people who have vertigo.
Note: It’s essential to book in advance to ensure your entrance tickets to the sites.
MACHU PICCHU MOUNTAIN TICKETS
The hike will take you 1.45 hrs and 1:00 hrs down. The tickets go on sale in two windows of time from 6 to 7 a.m., and the second group is from 8 to 9 a.m. Takes longer, but it’s more beautiful.
STRIKES
It is the biggest problem in South America, not just in Peru. It can affect us on our tour treks. Roads are often blocked as well as trains stop their operations. Usually, the advice is two weeks in advance to prevent do not affect too much any of this country’s problems on our tours. In the worst-case, Private Machu Picchu Will let you know to cancel the tours or treks. Your health and safety are our top priorities.
ARRIVAL AT CUSCO
Cusco has an airport, mostly for domestic flights from inside the country. Our international airport is Jorge Chavez in Lima.
LATAM Airlines is the biggest company that operates in Peru and has connections all over the world. It is the only airline that doesn’t have too many cancellations in the weather conditions here in Cusco. The time flight from Lima to Cusco is one hour. You can always connect your flights to Puno, Arequipa, Puerto Maldonado Jungle, Iquitos, or the north of Peru, in our extension tours.
There is always a bus option from Lima to Cusco. The time will take you 22 hours.
FOOD
Peruvian cuisine is recognized for its biodiversity of products and continues conquering the whole world. Peruvian food is being awarded internationally for owning the most delicious food in the world.
The Cusco Region has unique gastronomy for the use of local products like potatoes, quinoa, corn, a variety of vegetables, and its exotic fruits, plus guinea pig and alpaca meat. Your travel expert will recommend restaurants that you can visit here in Peru and Cusco.
On our treks, we provide you with delicious food. You just need to make sure to let us know your dietary restrictions before departure on our treks, as well as our chefs are well-experienced in cooking in the mountains.
WHAT WE RECOMMEND TO BRING
- Backpack with a change of clothes for the whole period of the trek.
- Strong footwear and waterproof trekking boots are recommended.
- Sandals or jogging shoes for higher comfort while at camp.
- Warm clothes, including jackets and fleece. Thermal clothing is also recommended, especially for sleeping.
- Camera and batteries (batteries consume more quickly under cold conditions).
- Sun block or sun cream.
- Hydrating cream for face and body.
- Insect repellent – minimum recommended 20% deet – no malaria risk has been reported.
- Toilet paper and tissues.
- Snacks: biscuits, energy bars, chocolate, dried fruits, etc. Please note that we provide a snack, and our meal service is complete and well-supplied. This recommendation applies to all clients being used to a specific snack, as it may happen that it’s not included in our selection.
- Water container and water for the first morning. Important notice: plastic water bottles are no longer allowed on the Inca trail. Plastic water containers or camelback or metal ones are recommended.
- Optionally water sterilizing tablets in case you pick up water from streams or rivers along the route; otherwise, we provide filtered, boiled water, which is safe to drink and has not reported any health problems so far.
- Small towel.
- Swimsuit (If you have an extra day in Aguas Calientes town, you can go to the hot springs).
- Cash in soles or in Dollars.
- Original Passport, travel insurance, and any important health document you may have to follow any restrictions.
- Original international student identity card (In case you have applied for a student discount).
- Optional, walking sticks or hiking poles (rubber covers necessary to avoid damaging the Inca Trail). If not, we have some here for rent.
OPTIONAL SERVICES TO BE HIRED
An extra hotel night in Aguas Calientes can be booked for you at an additional cost depending on the Hotel you choose. Please note that the additional entrance fee cost is not included if you wish to revisit Machu Picchu the following day.
Massage sessions: us$50 per 1-hour session. Our massage therapists have the highest recognition in Cusco.
RECOMMENDED PACKING LIST FOR TREKS
- Passport.
- Valid student card in case you booked as a student.
- Immigration stamp.
- 25L or 30L day pack.
- Water bottle or camelback with 2L of storage.
- Footwear, waterproof hiking boots.
- 4 or 5 hiking t-shirts, three hiking pants considering one nice outfit for Machu Picchu, five sets of undergarments, four pairs of socks, one fleece and down jacket for cold nights, a set of rain gears jacket, pants, a sun hat, wool hat, headlamp, warm waterproof gloves, shoes for camp, quick-dry small towel.
- Battery charger. There is no place to plug in while trekking.
- Sunscreen, face moisturizer, insect repellent, hand sanitizer, wet wipes, toothbrush and paste, toilet paper, personal medication, band-aids, moleskin, and others.
- Camera, phone, music player.
