8-Day Inca Empire Tour: Lima – Cusco – Sacred Valley – Machu Picchu

Join us for the ultimate 8-Day Inca Empire Tour Peru vacation package from Lima to Cusco, the Sacred Valley, and Machu Picchu. Travel to the Incan Empire on this semi-private classic adventure. Visit Cusco, the Inca Capital, the Sacred Valley of the Incas, and hike down the world-famous Inca Trail until you reach Machu Picchu, the Lost City of the Incas.

You will also see the freshly found beautiful Rainbow Mountain at the end of the journey. While in Cusco, you will engage in our Color Your Journey Experience to gain a greater cultural understanding of the city. While traveling with your tour guide, you will discover everything there is to know about Incan and Peruvian culture, both in the past and now. The expedition will culminate with a visit to the brilliant Rainbow Mountain at the end of the journey.

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Highlights

Travel to the most ancient temples in Peru
Discover the towering Inca citadel of Machu Picchu
Explore the historic cities of Cusco and Lima
Travel throughout the Sacred Valley of the Incas
Visit the Larco Museum, Temple of Pachacamac, and Sacsayhuaman

Itinerary

Day 1 Welcome to the Sacred Valley of the Incas

Sacred Valley of the Incas

Welcome to Perú. Once you arrive to Lima you will depart on your domestic flight to Cusco, the Capital of the Incas. Upon arrival in Cusco you will be met and get a warm welcome by the Cusco Unique Experience team. From Cusco you will be transferred to the Sacred Valley where you will have the rest of the day at your leisure.

Day 2 The Sacred Valley (B – L)

Pisac

The Sacred Valley of the Incas was important for the Incan Empire as it worked as an agricultural, spiritual and political center. This tour will take you through amazing scenic Andean landscapes to the interesting archaeological site of the town Pisac which were a former military base of the Incas and is where ancient Inca priests once existed.

Archaeological Park Ollantaytambo

Next stop will be at the town of Urubamba where we will enjoy a delicious lunch based on typical dishes from the exquisite Peruvian cuisine. Ollantaytambo is the most well-preserved town in Peru today considering the Incan architecture and is also the holder of a great archaeological site, where big monuments are located on the steep mountain hills and the faces of the surrounding mountains. After experiencing the most important towns in the Sacred Valley you will be transferred back to your hotel in Cusco.

Day 3 Cusco City & Color your Journey (B)

Qorikancha

Cusco City is not only the ancient capital of the Incas, but also the most popular tourist destination in South America. The city tour will take you to Qorikancha; the temple of the sun, which was the most important religious center of the Incas, where ancient temples are located and the history of the Spanish conquest and the Inca society will be found.

Cusco Cathedral

Later we will take you to the very interesting Cathedral located on Plaza de Armas in Cusco which is a very important place for the locals of Cusco, there you will find some very important paintings, art and histories.

Sacsayhuaman

The tour also goes to the amazing Inca fortress Sacsayhauman, where the Incas ones had a big war against the Spanish conquistadors.

Q’enqo

There next we will visit Qenqo, a religious Inca site. Duration: 30 minutes Admission Ticket Included Tambomachay On the way we will also stop by Tambomachay, an intelligent irrigation center.

Puka Pukara

At last we will enter the site of Puka Pukara, a military base of the Incas. After the visit you will be transferred back to your hotel. At the end of the day, be surprised with your choice of a detailed coffee or chocolate workshop, go relaxing in an Incan inspired spa session or take a Peruvian cooking class and learn all about the famous Peruvian Cuisine.

Day 4 Cusco – Wiñayhuayna – Aguas Calientes (B – L – D)

Inca Trail

On this day the your adventure on the Inca Trail begins. We left around 3.45am from Cusco by car to the town of Ollantaytambo, where you will take the train along the Vilcanota River until KM 104 (starting point of the hike). There you will meet your tour guide and cross the bridge where the main control is located, You have to show your original passport. From here the hike begins and the first path on the Inca Trail leads to the archaeological site of Chachabamba.

From there we descent until we get amazing views of the cedrobamba canyon. We can observe different species of orchids at this place. During the hike you will be provided with a box lunch. After 3 hours of hiking, we will reach the archaeological site of Wiñayhuayna which is perched on a rocky outcrop overlooking the valley of Urubamba and dominated by a broad set of terraces, it looks like a smaller version of Machu Picchu. We continue our journey and until we reach the Sun Gate around 14:00 pm, where we will have the first views of Machu Picchu.

Thereafter we descend to the archaeological site of Machu Picchu, which we will only pass by. After taking photos, we will continue by bus to the village of Aguas Calientes, where you will get settled in your hotel. Later in the night you will meet with the rest of the group and the tour guide to have a dinner and a briefing about the following days adventure.

Day 5 Machu Picchu & Train to Ollantaytambo (B)

Santuario Historico de Machu Picchu

Very early in the morning you and the tour guide will hike up to Machu Picchu. Once the gates to Machu Picchu open, your guide will take you through an amazing roundtrip in this amazing city, you will pass by all its temples, offering areas, Inca monuments and you will learn about the history and the culture of the Incas.

If you are an adventurous person and want to see more of the site, you can also take a hike to the magnificent mountain Huayna Picchu, located next to Machu Picchu. From there you can walk to the top of the mountain between Inca temples and houses and see Machu Picchu from many different angels.

You can also hike down behind Huayna Picchu Mountain to its cave, where the Incas once kept mummies and sacred treasures. This hike is not included in the tour package and it is much recommended to book this hike several months in advance, due to its high popularity and restricted availability. In the late afternoon your train will take you back to Ollantaytambo where you will walk to your hotel which is located very close to the train station.

Day 6 Maras Moray & Chinchero (B – L)

Salinas de Maras

Today you will visit some spectacular sites in the Sacred Valley of Cusco constructed by the Incas and the nature of Peru. This private tour will take you to the Salineras salt mine which includes over 3000 salt pools, close to the town of Maras.

Moray

This tour will also show you the spectacular agricultural labs of the Incas, which have shapes of aqueducts from the old Roman times. The tour guide will explain with more information the myths and ancient histories about these two wonders.

Complejo Arqueologico Chinchero

Arriving in the town of Chinchero, we will stop and have a delicious lunch in a touristic restaurant where some of the famous Peruvian food will be served. Chinchero is famous for its amazing textile market and you can have the opportunity to buy a beautiful textile souvenir home.

Its archaeological site is located beautifully together with the main church of the town and your tour guide will teach all about its history and myths. Before going back to your hotel in Cusco, you will get a demonstration of how the textiles in this area is hand made, colored and how the textile clothes is produced.

Day 7 The Rainbow Mountain (B – L)

Cerro Colorado Vinicunca

Find the rainbow in the mountain! This tour will take you through an amazing journey with undiscovered lands of typical Andean views where the culture is still intact. You’ll see the snow-capped mountain peaks, Andean animals and the highlight of the tour, the painted hills of Rainbow Mountain.

You will be picked up from your centrally located hotel in Cusco and be transferred to the restaurant where a solid breakfast is served so you can be ready and have the energy to start the hike. The drive takes around 2.5 hours. Throughout the hike you will pass through a vibrant green valley with the impressive Ausangate Mountain showing its majestic presence in the horizon.

You will experience how locals live in the mountains and even have a chance to speak with them. As you get closer to the Rainbow Mountain, you’ll begin to see the first signs of the colored minerals that formed the painted hills. The hike from the starting point to the Rainbow Mountain takes around 1.5 hours. Your guide will explain what makes up the existence of the Rainbow Mountain, and finally 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. Once you are back to the starting point of the hike, you will be provided a lunch buffet. At the end of the tour, you’ll return to Cusco.

Day 8 Farewell Cusco (B)

Cusco In time for your domestic flight to Lima you will be picked up at your hotel in Cusco and transferred to Cusco Airport. The Cusco Unique Experience team will say goodbye to you and wish you a great trip home. We hope that you had a unique experience with us!

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