Our "Bucket list" 9 days in Peru itinerary offers up the highlights of Peru. Taking you on the classic 4 day Inca Trail trek to Machu Picchu, as well as the Sacred Valley and Cusco, and testing your adrenaline on some high altitude trekking to the Rainbow Mountain.
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Fly from Lima to Cusco
Upon arrival to Cusco you will be greeted outside the Cusco airport by a FlashpackerConnect representative who will transfer you to your hotel.
Cusco City tour: (4-5 hours)
We begin with the guide meeting you at your hotel for pick up and then heading to Cusco’s Plaza de Armas, where you will visit the famous cathedral (25 soles entrance fee). Following, you will continue on foot through an ancient Inca-built street from the Plaza de Armas to the Q’oricancha (15 soles entrance fee), the Temple of the Sun. At the Q’oricancha you will be able to compare and contrast the building methods of the Incan culture and Catholicism. This was the key spiritual center of the Incas, which leads to all four quarters of the Inca Empire. There is also a bronze, high altar to be seen.
From Q’oricancha, your group will walk down Avenida El Sol, where you will take your bus 25 minutes outside of the city. You will be taken to the majestic Inca site, Sacsayhuaman, with its enigmatic, 200 ton monoliths, you will be able to hear from your guide and then, explore on your own.
From Sacsayhuaman, you will take a five minute bus ride to the Q’enqo Inca site to see its fascinating Incan altars. Following, you will take another five minute drive to Puca Pucara, a small, circular Inca site. The final stop on our tour is Tambomachay, a water temple with impressive water fountains, thought to be used by the Inca for bathing. We’ll then drive back down to Cusco where the tour ends in the main square.
*Overnight in Cusco
You will be picked up from your hotel in Cusco in the morning for the start of your tour. We will take the road that leads to Pisac which is located just north of Cusco. The Sacred Valley is one of the most popular tours in the Cusco region as it was an important area for the Inca civilization and worked as both an agricultural and political center for them. Throughout your tour you visit 3 main sites, Pisac, Chinchero, and Ollantaytambo. You will appreciate the best works of craftsmanship that the Incas produced and enjoy the beautiful landscape of the Sacred Valley.
Pre Trek Briefing: In the evening you will meet with our guide to go over your upcoming 4 day Inca trail trek.
*Overnight in Cusco
Cusco - Huayllabamba
After breakfast we transfer you from your hotel in Cusco or the Sacred Valley to Piscaycucho (first check point and the start of the trail). Here you start hiking through the Urubamba river valley. After two hours, you will reach the first archaeological site called Patallacta, where you can appreciate the impressive landscapes and see the importance of this valley in the context of Incan history, later you stop at Tarachayoq for lunch and then continue up the Cusichaca Valley passing houses of settlers to finally reach the Andean community of Huayllabamba, the first campsite.
(L, D)
Huayllabamba - Pacaymayu
After breakfast, you start hiking early in the morning. The trail ascends steeply to a large Pampa below the first pass. Here there is a breathtaking view of the valley and Mt. Huayanay. The trail skirts a narrow hanging valley and begins to open up to a cloud forest below with abundant vegetation of various types of trees including the Queuña tree (polilepis), a rare forest to be found in the Andes. From here you continue on a steady ascent to the Warmiwañusqa pass (Dead Woman’s Pass) at 4,200m (13,692ft) which affords a magnificent view of your ascent and the trail ahead. Here you have a well-deserved break and observe the beauty of the deep valleys. After the break the group descends on a restored Inca Trail down to the Pacaymayo River, the 2nd campsite.
(B, L, D)
Pacaymayu – Wiñaywayna
Today you ascend again to a second pass, about halfway up lies an Inca ruin of Runkuraqay (small, round, roofless stone building and thought to have been an astrological site and a sort of checkpoint for couriers following the trail to Machupicchu), after a short tour, you continue up the pass at 4,050m (13,200ft). From here the group walks down on the original Inca Trail, passing a small lake and the first signs of the cloud forest. Soon after you will arrive at a second, larger Inca site called Sayacmarca “Town in a Steep Place” at 3,850m (12,551ft) This Incan ruin was built on a rock overlooking the trail and is accessible only via a single narrow stone staircase- a beautiful location overlooking the Aobamba Valley. After touring you continue along the ridge through amazing landscapes, viewing Mt. Salkantay from the western side and Mt. Pumasillo, a silhouette to the north on the horizon, your lunch stop. After lunch you continue walking through a rolling flag stoned trail and a tunnel before arriving to yet another Incan site called Phuyupatamarca “the village on the edge of the clouds.” From here the trail winds sharply down into the cloud forest to the ruins of Wiñay Wayna “Forever Young”- a well restored Inca Ruin.
(B, L, D)
Wiñay Wayna - Cusco
On the last day of the trek, you wake up early and follow a relatively flat path. After about an hour walk through a cloud forest covered Inca Trail you arrive to Intipunku “the sun gate,” have a break watching the magnificent citadel of Machu Picchu, your final destination. From here you continue hiking for one more hour to finally arrive at Machu Picchu in the same way the Incas used to come. Once you get there you will have a guided tour as well as time to explore city on your own, take pictures, or take any of the extra hikes. Later in the mid-afternoon you take the bus down to Aguas Calientes town to take the train back to Ollantaytambo then transfer to your hotel.
(B)
*Overnight in Cusco
Today you have a free day to enjoy Cusco or an optional activity
*Overnight in Cusco
Your day starts in Cusco where you are picked up from your hotel at 2:15am for a 3.5 hour trip via private van to the start of the trail. You will be given a local Peruvian style breakfast prepared by our chef and fuel up for the hike ahead of you.
The hike to the rainbow mountain will take around 2 hours and is a distance of 4 kilometers (2.5 miles). Throughout your journey you will pass through a vibrant green valley with the snow capped peak of Ausangate towering in the distance. You will see hundreds of roaming alpaca, and have the chance to truly see how Quechua people live. As you get closer to the Rainbow Mountain you will begin to see the first signs of the colored minerals that formed the painted hills. Your guide will explain what makes up the existence of the Rainbow Mountain and how it was formed, and finally with one last push you will hike up to a vantage point that gives you a 360 degree view of the beautiful landscape that makes up the sacred land.
We will have snacks on top and take a relaxing break to soak up the vistas, where you can enjoy the beauty that surrounds you. At this time you can also enjoy some coca tea that the locals prepare for visitors. After about an hour we will continue on to the red valley, another awe inspiring area not to be missed by trekkers but seldom visited. From here, we continue our hike back to the trailhead (1 hour), where you will have a gourmet lunch prepared by our chef in a traditional mud-house and depart back to Cusco. Arriving in Cusco around 4pm.
*Overnight in Cusco
**Optional extension to Rainbow mountain 2 - 6 day trek!
In the morning (or afternoon) we will transfer you back to the Cusco airport for your departure back to Lima. Itinerary ends at the Lima International Airport.
