Peru in 7 Days: The Great Andean Trail To Machu Picchu

On the first day if this 7 day cusco itinerary.

Upon arriving to Cusco you will be assisted from the airport to your hotel.

Let us know what your flight schedule might be.

Meeting’s time at your hotel is usually at 3pm where our local and bilingual guide is going to meet you for brief explanation about the trip, let us know how this may fit your plans beforehand to avoid any unconveniences.

After the briefing explore the ‘city center walking tour’, the difference is that in this tour, you visit the places that are accessible by foot, so we will visit San Pedro market, the main square, the 12 Angled Stone and Regocijo Square as you learn more about local history and curiosities.

• Accommodation: Hotel (1 night).
• Included Activities: Cusco – Orientation Walk.
• Optional Activities: Cusco – Full Boleto Turistico Pass (access to 16 archaeological sites, transport & guides not included) – USD 50.00 per person. Cusco – Half Boleto Turistico Pass (access to selected archaeological sites, transport & guides not included) – USD 27.00 per person. Cusco – Cathedral Entrance Fee – USD 10.00 per person. Cusco – Coricancha Temple entrance fee – USD 6.00 per person. Cusco – Cooking Class – USD45 Cusco – Pre-Colombian Museum – USD 8.00 per person. Cusco – Inca Museum – USD 4.00 per person. Cusco – Machu Picchu Museum & Botanical Garden – USD 8.00 per person.
• Meals Included: There are no meals included on this day.
• Important Information: Cusco is located at 3’350 masl (11’000 fts) you should be acclimatized at least 2 days. As this tour doesn’t involve much time in Cusco, this will also give you a chance to choose some of the optional places available. The closer places to Cusco for stay and acclimatized are on Sacred Valley at 2’800 masl (9’186 fts) Please ask for a tailor made tour for our Hotel offers on the Sacred Valley if you wish your stay to be planned there.

We’ll begin by traveling for one hour to Pisaq.

The little streets of this quaint little village of Pisaq are filled with old colonial mansions and filled with stores which sell native arts and crafts.

Pisaq has a world renowned Incan marketplace and a very highly esteemed Incan historical site. Here you can witness amazing Incan structures, houses, temples, astronomical observatories, and the largest ancient cemetery in South America. Pisaq is located at 2950 meters or 9000 feet high, below Cusco.

Trip to Ollantaytambo (which takes 1.5 hours), with an awesome visit to the historical site of Ollantaytambo (2h). Ollantaytambo is on the opposite side of Pisaq, towards Machu Picchu, it is home to some of the most spectacular Incan sites of Peru, some would say only 2nd to Machu Picchu. The town itself is known as the living Incan village, as it conserves the most emblematic Incan architecture in Peru.

A choice hotel in the Sacred Valley.

Breakfast and lunch included

We will pick you up at 5:00 am from your hotel after breakfast.

We will drive for about 45 minutes to the site called ‘’Kilometer 82’’ or Piscacucho where we will begin the inca trail hike. Altitude is considerably lower than in Cusco (2,673 meters or 8,770 feet) so the first hours won’t be too hectic for this hike.

The first section of the inca trail to Machu Picchu is relatively flat, and we will trek for about 3 hours to our lunch spot, arriving in a green valley where we’ll visit the first archaeological site called Patallaqta, and here we will be able to look down and see more located in the valley. Then we will hike 20 minutes more until we arrive at our lunch site located at Tarayoc. After enjoying a big lunch, we will start the next stretch of the inca trail hike to our campsite, which will take 2 hours. This part of the inca trail machu picchu has small ascents and descents, and we will hike through a wooded valley until we reach our first campsite, Wayllabamba, which is at 3,000 meters, or 9,842 feet.

• Accommodation: Campsite (1 night)
• Meals Included: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner

The second day of the inca trail is the most challenging since we will climb over 1,200 meters (3,940 feet) to reach the highest pass and will hike 12 km (7 miles) in total. 5 hours of hiking are needed to reach the highest point of this path.

Many biospheres can be appreciated through this trail and you’ll get to experience this changes by going from the high rainforest to the Andean highlands were life is more difficult to find.

After passing Dead Woman’s Pass (13,828 feet), we’ll rest for a bit, this will be a perfect time to take some pictures and enjoy the scenery. Then, our descent to the campsite shall begin, this may take a bit less than 2 hours. We’ll eventually reach our campsite called Pacaymayo, at 11,910 feet. The rest of the day will be free for us to explore the surroundings after lunch and a dinner under the starry sky aswell.

• Accommodation: Campsite (1 night)
• Meals Included: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner

This day will be the most hectic out of the 4 days in the Inca Trail path, 10 miles wait for us this day as we visit several ruins. An ascent from the valley will last two hours approximately to reach Runkuracay.

After a historical overview, we continue to the second pass, Runkuracay, (12,800 feet). The subsequent two-hour descent leads us to our lunch site, with an optional visit to the Inca site, Sayaqmarka. Post-lunch, a four-hour hike takes us to the final campsite.

The trail involves slight ascents and descents until we reach the archaeological center, Phuyupatamarka, a potential campsite. Following the tour, we descend to visit the farming terraces at Intipata, continuing to our last campsite, Wiñaywayna, situated at 2,650 meters (8,694 feet). This marks our final night on the Inca Trail, and after supper, we express gratitude to our exceptional team for their dedicated efforts.

An early wake up call will demark our final day for this tour. After breakfast we’ll head to Inti Punku (Sun’s Gate) and the entrance of Machu Picchu. 4 miles will distance us from this stop.

Machu Picchu’s landscape will welcome us as the sun rises over us. Then, we’ll descent to the world wonder itself: Machu Picchu (7874 FASL.) After checking in the inca citadel, a private tour will begin for us, 2 hours will be more than enough to visit the citadel’s highlights.

After leaving the world wonder, we’ll be boarding a bus for a half-hour ride to Machu Picchu’s town (Aguas Calientes) to enjoy some time on our own in this picturesque location. By the time that our departing train reaches the train station, we’ll be ready to leave Machu Picchu and we’ll begin our return to Cusco.

• Accommodation: Hotel (1 night)
• Meals Included: Breakfast
• Optional Activities: Mountain Wayna Picchu USD 75.00 per person.Mountain Machu Picchu USD 75.00 per person. (Must be bought previously)

Time to say goodbye. Depending on your flight’s schedule we might be able to arrange an extra activity, however, this will be up to you, but for our services this day will demark their end.

• Optional Activities:Maras Salt and Moray Terraces  USD 31.00 per person. Rainbow Mountain Tour USD 55.00 per person.