Short Inca Trail and Cusco 6D

Day 1: Welcome to Cusco!

Upon you arrival in Cusco airport (3,300 masl) you will be met by our local representative and then transferred to the hotel.

Day 2: Cusco City Tour

13:20pm guided visit to the city of Cusco; the Main Square, the Cathedral and the Koricancha or Temple of the Sun, continue to the four ruins nearby; the Sacsayhuaman Fortress overlooking the city of Cusco, an Inca architectural masterpiece; Qenqo, a rock sanctuary whose main attraction is the monolithic altar representing a puma, the red Fortress of Puca-Pucara and Tambomachay, a beautiful fountain fed by a spring forming a series of basins. Return to your hotel. Free evening.

Day 3: Awanacancha – Pisaq – Ollantaytambo – Urubamba

8:00am This morning we continue our drive to Awanacancha this is a weaving center with the goal to keep alive the traditional textile arts.
Here you can see four members of the cameloid family – llama, alpacas, vicunas and guanacos.  Alpacas have thick wool and is the most commonly used while the vicunas are small and delicate with fur considered the finest. You can meet these four cameloids, learn about the the harvesting of the different wools and the natural dying techniques and have a chance to see native weavers from different areas showing their different weaving styles and dress.
We continue our tour to the top of a switchback road leading to the ancient upper city of Pisac, the mythic ruins of which are situated in a spectacular location atop a buttress ridge, with agricultural terraces—constructed by the ancient Inca people—curling around the hill in graceful curves, and gorges on either side.
We take a short trek into the ancient city, where we explore its well-built stone dwellings and temples, and enjoy sweeping vistas both up- and downstream in the Urubamba Valley. Pisac’s highly defensible site guarded both the Valley and a high jungle pass to the northeast.
After buffet lunch at the Restaurant, we continue our visit to Ollantaytambo, the only Inca town which is still inhabited. From Ollantaytambo, we depart for our hotel in the Sacred Valley – Urubamba

Day 4: Short Inca Trail – Km104 – Aguas Calientes

We start our journey with the pick up from your hotel at 6:00am and transfer to the train station in Ollantaytambo. Along the way the train follows the Urubamba River until we reach Km104 where we´ll begin our trek. We will go along the most impressive stretch of the Inca Trail. We’ll visit beautiful Inca sites, see a variety of flora and fauna and get to take in the fantastic panoramas of the Andean mountains. Covering 10km of the trail our journey begins in the Sacred Valley and works it’s way up along an original Inca Trail to the Inca site of Winay Wayna before continuing on to Machu Picchu via the Sun Gate (Inti Punku).
As we make our way to Machu Picchu we’ll pass through the lush and verdant cloud forest that covers the mountain and get to see a variety of plants, flowers and birds along the way. We may also see some larger mammals such as Viscachas (rabbit-like Chinchillas) and Spectacled Bears (if we are very lucky).
After a full days trekking we’ll arrive to the Sun Gate (Inti Punku) in the late afternoon and get our first views of Machu Picchu spread out on the mountain below. The light at this time of day is great for photos and with fewer tourists in the site it’s a perfect time to take some pictures of the site. After we’ve passed through the Sun Gate we’ll carry on along the trail a little way before taking a side trail that leads us to Aguas Calientes in the valley below where we’ll check in to our hotel.

Day 5: Machupicchu – Cusco

Waking up early we’ll take the first bus back up to Machu Picchu to enter the site as it opens. We’ll have a 2 hour guided tour of the site during which you’ll learn about the Incas and visit all the most important areas of the citadel. After your tour you’ll have free time to explore the site by yourself and if you have permits to climb either Huayna Picchu or Machu Picchu mountain. In the afternoon you will take the train back to Ollantaytambo or Poroy from where you will carry on by bus back to Cusco. 

Day 6: Transfer Out

After breakfast, transfer to the airport.

– End of service –

What is Included:

• Welcome by our Representative at arrival.
• Private Tourist Transportation airport – hotel – airport
• City tour with bilingual guide and tourist transportation
• Sacred Valley tour with bilingual guide and tourist transportation
• Short Inka Trail: Pre-trek briefing with your Tour Guide; Transfer by private vehicle to the railway station at Ollantaytambo; Inca Trail Permit and entrance fee to Machu Picchu; experienced bilingual Tour Guide; A train round trip (Expedition Service) between Ollantaytambo/Km 104 and Aguas Calientes (Machupicchu)/Cusco; 3 Bus tickets from/to Machupicchu
• Hotel/Hostel: 3 nights in Cusco + 1 night in Urubamba + 1 night in Aguas Calientes
• Meals mentioned
• Personal assistance all your trip

What is not included:

• International & local flights, airport departure taxes. (Feel free to ask for flight tickets prices to info@localhost )
• Entrance fee for City tour and Sacred Valley tour: Koricancha 10 soles, Cathedral 25 soles, tourist ticket 130 soles (bring cash in soles).
• Ticket for Huaynapicchu $65 (upon request in advance) or Machupicchu Mountain $60
• Meals not mentioned.
• Travel Insurance.
• Tips and baggage portage to local staff (please note: It is a custom to give tips in Peru; however, it is not obligatory).
• Other extras not especified.

Creating unique, creative and personalized programs based on your goals, budget, expectations and schedule is our specialty. Discover the Peruvian wonders with us!

Type of Tours 

All of our tours are offered in both Group and Private services; however, as we like to maintain control of the quality of our tours, even our group tours include PRIVATE transfers.  This is important, as when you get picked up; you will go directly to your hotel without having to drive around the city to drop off other people in their hotels.  Transportation is just for you.

Accommodations 

We offer all level of accommodations.  When creating an itinerary it would be important to know which your preferred level of accommodation is.  Please be sure that at all levels our recommended hotels offer great service and nice comfortable rooms. Our team has personally tried all our recommended hotels.

We mostly work with accommodations that have availability for taking reservations in advance which include communities with home stays, B&B, guest houses, apartments to two and three star hotels as well as luxury all-inclusive facilities. We periodically inspect hotels we use for cleanliness, hygiene and safety to make sure that services are in line with pricing to guarantee customer satisfaction

STANDARD
A standard room is the cheapest in the hotel. The standard room has the basic amenities, usually a television, telephone, closet and private bathroom. Other offerings in the standard room depend on the hotel. For example, two-star hotels may offer little more than the basics. A five-star hotel’s standard room may have a Jacuzzi tub, flat-screen television, honor bar and designer interior decorating.

MODERATE
3-star Superior: These are 3-star that should really be considered has 4-star Hotels. Nice location, great rooms and charming decoration. Excellent service, with restaurant, room service, business centre, laundry, etc. Buffet breakfast. Best value. Perfect for someone looking for an inexpensive option and still have some superior services.
4-star Hotels: Good location, very nice rooms, great decoration and excellent service. This hotel includes more services such as room service, business center, laundry, spas, more room features, etc. Some have gourmet restaurants. Buffet breakfast. Perfect for someone looking for some luxury and special services and do not need a 5-star option.

LUXURY
4-star Suites: Some 4-star hotels have suites that offer the same room features of a 5-star option. Perfect for someone looking to upgrade from a 4-star standard room and get more space and features.
5-star Hotel: What you usually imagine a 5-star hotel is. Great location, luxury accommodations and excellent service. Gourmet restaurants, spas, room service, business center, etc. Perfect for someone looking for a 5-star service but do not need the 5-star Deluxe option.
5-star Deluxe: These 5-star deluxe hotels offer ultimate luxury with outstanding service, luxurious rooms with deluxe room features and “you ask-you will get” concierge service. Properties have privileged locations or particular history behind it. Gourmet restaurants and spas. Ideal for the luxurious traveler.

Trains 

Expedition: The least expensive tourist train, recently renovated offers nice seats and good train service.
Vistadome: A higher category of train service, with panoramic roof windows. It offers a snack and fashion show.
Hiram Bingham: Luxury train which offers lunch, tea-time and dinner service.
Andean Explorer: Train service from Cusco to Puno or Puno to Cusco. Departs only on certain days of the week, depending on the season.

Flights 

LOCAL AIRLINES
Peruvian Airlines: Peruvian owned airline that offer the least expensive prices but has few frequencies. Both Peruvian and Foreigners pay the same.
Star Peru: Peruvian owned airline. It flyes to many destinations and offers good value prices, but has few frequencies. Both Peruvian and Foreigners pay the same.

INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES
Avianca Airlines: Central American owned airline that offers great service but few frequencies to Cusco. It is moderately expensive. It offers sale prices for Peruvian Residents ONLY that cannot be purchased by tourists.
Latam Peru: Chilean owned airline.  It offers great service and many frequencies to Cusco (almost 13 flights per day).  Prices are the highest on the market. It offers sale prices for Peruvian Residents ONLY that cannot be purchased by tourists.

DOMESTIC TICKETS
Lima/Cusco/Lima: From US$350.00 per person. This is an example price, since prices depends on the airline, date and time of booking.