Cusco, Sacred Valley, Maras Moray and Machu Picchu Tour 5 Days

Reception at the airport and free morning. City Tour: from 1:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. It begins with hotel pickup, followed by a visit to the Koricancha Temple and a tour of the 4 ruins ⎼Sacsayhuamán, Qenqo, PucaPucara and Tabomachay⎼, which are 8 km from the city. Optional: Qosqo Native Art Center: typical and ethnic dances from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The day ends with the trip back to Cusco and drop-off at the hotel. Meals are not included.
The city of Cusco is one of the most visited places in the world. Cusco and its surroundings are home to important archaeological centers, Inca walls, colonial churches built on ruins of the Inca empire and legendary paths that lead to citadels lost in the heights of the Andes. Furthermore, the ancient cultures of Peru are kept alive in its people, the colorful costumes, the gastronomy and in the vestiges of the beauty of a glorious past that surrounds visitors who arrive at the imperial city of the Incas.
Cusco is the sacred city of the Incas and Archaeological Capital of the Americas. This is why we have prepared this one-day tour for you, which we will begin after lunch. During our walk we will visit the most representative places of the ancient capital of the Inca empire.

Koricancha: We will discover the religious center known as the “Temple of the Sun”, where the impressive engineering used in its construction stands out.

Sacsayhuaman: We were impressed by a fortress of monumental stones and excellent architecture, located 3 k.m. of the city of Cusco.

Qenqo: We will continue our tour with a visit to this ceremonial and ritual center, where sacrifices were made and tributes were paid to ancient forces.

PucaPucara: Formerly known as Tambo, it is a lookout post along the Inca roads.

Tambomachay: This ceremonial center of the cult of water is located 7 km from the city of Cusco and is traditionally known as “the place of waters.” Definitely a must-see place on our tour.

It begins at 8:00 with transportation to the Sacred Valley aboard the tourist bus. After a one-hour drive, we will find the archaeological site of Pisaq. Guided tour of the Inca site, we will walk to the small city of Pisaq, where we will visit the typical crafts market. Lunch in Urubamba. Visit to the Inca city of Ollantaytambo. Return to the city of Cusco, visit Chinchero along the way.
Pisac: At the entrance to the Urubamba Valley is Pisac, a magnificent mestizo town where you can distinguish the old neighborhood (archaeological site) from the modern part with its colonial characteristics. The main attraction of Pisac is the traditional indigenous market, where we will find a wide variety of typical objects from the region, made of fabric or ceramics. We also admire the typical costumes of the region, quite colorful and worn by local residents. Additionally, we can visit the old colonial church of Pisac, where masses are still celebrated in Quechua on Sundays, attended by local residents and the “varayocs” (local authorities from different cities). We finish our visit to Pisac with a look at the interesting irrigation system of the crop fields and the fabulous astronomical observatory dating back to Inca times.
Urubamba: To head to Urubamba we will pass through the towns of Coya, Lamay, Calca and Yucay, observing beautiful flora and fauna during a 45-minute tour. At the end of the trip we will arrive at the city of Urubamba, located in the heart of the Sacred Valley, in the middle of a quite comfortable and fertile area that constitutes an important pre-Hispanic agricultural center. We will take advantage of this pleasant atmosphere to have lunch in a cozy typical restaurant.
Ollantaytambo: In the afternoon we will go to the Ollantaytambo region, also known as “Tambo Valley”. This is the only “living” Inca city, that is, the only inhabited one, and it extends along the Vilcanota River, reaching Machu Picchu. We will visit the famous fortress of Ollantaytambo, which stands out in the valley, where we will see some of the most imposing buildings of the Inca empire.

We will start this tour very early, picking you up from the hotel around 4:00 a.m. to go by tourist transport to the train station and take a captivating trip of three and a half hours to the Historical Sanctuary of Machu Picchu, also known as “The Lost City of the Incas.”
We will arrive at the “Machu Picchu Pueblo” station (formerly “Aguas Calientes” at 2000 meters above sea level), and we will immediately get on a bus that will take us on a 30-minute trip, ascending a zigzag path, where we will finally arrive. to the incredible Machu Picchu. The excursion includes a guided tour of approximately 2 hours in the citadel. During the visit we will visit the most important sites such as the Main Plaza, the Circular Tower, the Sacred Sundial, the royal quarters, the temple of the Three Windows and the cemeteries. Afterwards we will have free time to take a walk around the citadel, take photos and film, and when finished we return to “Machu Picchu Pueblo” to have lunch before boarding our return train. In the afternoon, at approximately 6:30 p.m. We will board our train heading to the town of Ollantaytambo, where a bus will wait for us to return to the City of Cusco, which we will arrive at approximately. 11:00 p.m.

Breakfast at the hotel. – Departure 08:40 a.m. by bus to Maras and Moray. – Visit to the archaeological center of Maras, Maras and Moray salt flats. – Return to Cusco approx. 2:00 p.m. – Lunch and free afternoon. Not included: Lunch and dinner.
Moray, at first glance, seems like a kind of amphitheater made up of several circular platforms, but in reality it is an agricultural experimentation center from the Inca era. Next to Moray we have the impressive salt exploitation complex. From Maras we will visit the salt mines along a bridle path where there are animals carrying bags of salt.
Moray Ruins: Discovered in 1930, they are located at 3,450 meters above sea level and in them we can find testimonies of pre-Hispanic settlements, including Inca vestiges. The ruins of Moray are made up of circular platforms that correspond to agricultural embankments with a complex irrigation system, which reached the three sectors that make up the complex. The Quechuas call these areas “muyus” and in its largest basin the depth is 150 meters. The average height of the platforms is 1.80 m. Moray was built during the height of the Inca empire and was then a center for agricultural experimentation, on whose platforms various microclimates were obtained.
Maras Town: This friendly town still preserves much of its colonial architectural beauty. Extraordinary portals with fine stone carving can be seen, as well as structures with low-relief sculptures.
Las Salineras: It is a small brine spring worked with very basic means by a fraction of the population of “Maras” and “Pichingoto”. These archaeological remains reveal that this resource was already known and used in pre-Hispanic times, and may have been one of the many sources of salt supply for the Inca population. The current technique for salt extraction is very similar to that used for nine hundred years or more. During all these centuries this technology has been preserved, which consists of a true work of hydraulic engineering, but in miniature, since the pools have relatively small dimensions, built as platforms on one of the slopes of the ravine. The extraction is seasonal, it is only carried out during the dry season from May to November orbeginning of december. Ownership of the pools occurs mainly by inheritance.

We will enjoy a delicious breakfast at the hotel, after which we will depart to the airport for your departure from Cusco.