The Cusco essential tours 7 day is an amazing touring option in the Southern part of Peru. It is unique opportunity to discover some of the most essential sites of Cusco city as: Qoricancha, Sacsayhuaman, Qenqo, Tambomachay, Pisac ruins Chinchero, Moray, Salt mine, Ollantaytambo, Machu Picchu, Wayna Picchu and the spectacular Rainbow Mountain Peru.
Ideal sightseeing tour to enjoy the best remains of the Inca culture. It will take you to breathtaking places, where you will be introduced to the real Peruvian culture. This tour combines most of the classic Inca sites in the area of Cusco region. To the end of your excursions the Rainbow Mountain will be the cherry of the cake, before you leave the magical Inca land.
At your arrival to Cusco airport, our representatives will welcome you and transfer to your selected hotel. The rest of the time you will take it free to rest and get acclimated to the altitude, or you can just go to explore some of the ancient Inca Streets in the downtown.
At the appropriatte time you will be picked up from the hotel, we will drive to the northern outskirts of Cusco, to visit the famous four ruins around Cusco. Sacsayhuaman is the most Impressive and outstanding Inca Temple just 20 minutes away from the Incas’ Capital. Where you will walk through huge Inca walls, built with massive lime rocks weighing up to 128 tons, amazingly well joined, with absolute perfection. Then, you will move onto another important Inca site called Qenqo, a strange place with subterranean passages, hiding in its interior perfect carved rock formation. Where the Incas probably mummify some of the very important people in their society. You will finish our tour visiting the spectacular Inca Baths of Tambomachay and the military lookout point of Pukapukara, and then we will get back to Cusco.
After a short break for lunch we will continue with Cusco tour visiting Qoricancha (Sun temple). Finally we end our Cusco tour in the always impressive San Pedro local market in Cusco.
We will pick you up from the hotel at 8:30am and then we will 40 minute drive to Chinchero the place for the best women weavers of the region, we stop here to visit the native people. We continue our excursion with another 40 minute drive to the Inca agricultural experimental center of Moray.
The site was apparently an Inca agricultural research station designed for experimenting with crops at various altitudes (many run down to depths of 100 meters). It is believed that the terraces were built over containing walls filled with fertile earth and watered by complex irrigation systems. This enabled the Incas to grow more than 250 different plant species.
On the way to the salt mine we will pass Maras a quaint little town with homes that boast out-standing Spanish doors and arches. Maras is famous for people who were spies due to its strategic location above The Sacred Valley. In the final part of the tour we will get down into The Sacred Valley of the Incas to see the phenomenal salt pans of Salinas. There are more than 3000 terraces are still in production. In the afternoon we will come back to Cusco.
We will drive toward the Sacred Valley of the Incas, taking the direct route to Pisac. On the way, we will visit the weaving center of Awana Cancha where we will have free time to interact with the local craftsmen and to purchase their hand-made textiles. We will stop at the Mirador of Taray to take in the view of the Urubamba valley. The valley has crops that dress the mountains like carpets. We will arrive in the town of Pisac to visit a fantastic local Market (optional to visit the Inca ruin of Pisac). Afterward, we will continue to the town of Urubamba to enjoy a lunch.
After lunch we will visit Ollantaytambo, an attractive town of Incan origin with remarkable water channels and stone streets. There is an impressive ceremonial center that pays homage to the water and a fortress that guarded the access to the interior part of the valley. In the evening we will take the expedition train to Aguas Calientes. Upon arrival, you will be transferred to your hotel. The journey by train takes approximately one hour and forty minutes.
In the morning, our guide will come to lead you to the bus station. After a short drive you will arrive to the entrance of Machu Picchu. At your arrival, you will have a guided excursion to the citadel. The guide will show you the Main Plaza, Sun Temple, Sacred Sun Dial, Temple of the Three Windows, Main Temple and sacred Rock. After the guided tour, you will have free time to explore the zone on your own.
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In the afternoon, at the scheduled time we will take the bus back down to Aguas Calientes, to catch the return train for the journey back to Ollantaytambo Station. Upon your arrival to Ollantaytambo station you will be transferred to your hotel in Cusco.
To start the Full day Rainbow Mountain trek, travelers will be picked up from hotels in Cusco at 4:30am and then we will drive through the south of Cusco to the trail head at Phullawasipata (4,650 m / 14,420 ft) for approx.3 hours. After we arrive to the parking place, our cook will prepare and serve us a delicious breakfast.
After a good breakfast, we take our essential things like a jacket, hat and gloves with us and start the uphill hike, following a beautiful path. You will be able to see Llamas and Alpacas, this region is home of some indigenous Andean people who herd those beautiful animals. Besides our group there will be a good number of people hiking like us to the Rainbow Mountains Cusco.
The hiking time to arrive to the famous Vinicunca Mountains is approx. 2 hours (5,100 m / 16,500 ft); after our arrival to the lookout point, there will be plenty of time to explore the area and admire this spectacular Mountain on the top of some other colorful hills.
After to enjoy a great moment at the Majestic Apu Vinicunca Peru, we will walk back down to the beginning of the trail. In the afternoon after a delicious lunch, there will be 3 hour drive to Cusco the same way we came, arriving to your hotel around 4pm.
Day 7: Cusco – flight back to Lima.
In the morning, we will pick you up from the hotel and transport you to the airport in Cusco.