Cusco Excursion – City Tour

Our service begins with your reception in the Cusco Airport and continues with the transfer to the Amaru Group Hostels. We recommend you to get an early flight so you can spend the morning relaxing and acclimatising to the altitude (in case you are arriving from sea level)!

The Cusco City Tour  will give you the opportunity to discover the enigma of this marvellous city and the surrounding archaeological sites! We will pick you up at 1:15 pm from your hotel and bring you to the main Plaza de Armas at 1:30 pm, where you will meet you travel mates (in case of shared service). We start our adventurous tour by visiting the Main Cathedral of Cusco. Here you can observe the colonial architecture and the amazing paintings of the Cusqueña School (well known for its religious iconography painted by Cusqueños). Afterwards, we will take you to the Qoricancha (golden palace) and Santo Domingo Convent, which is a perfect example for the fusion of the Inca and Christian culture.

After your city tour, we will take the bus and drive to the impressive Inca Fortress of Saqsaywoman. You will be amazed by the rocks used for construction, some of them weigh more than 300 tons!

The tour continues discovering the underground temple of Quenqo (labyrinth) and its impressive rock carvings and tunnels. This religious temple is dedicated to the worship of mother earth.
After a few minutes ride we will see another fortress called Puka Pucara (red fortress) which was used as a military control entrance gate to Cusco. Walking for a few minutes, we will arrive at Tambomachay (water temple), a temple which is dedicated to worship the water, fertility and longevity.

We return to Cusco around 06:00 or 07:00 pm. If you want, you can ask your tour guide to stop at one of the souvenir shops on your way back.

Accommodation: Amaru Group Hostels

Sacred Valley of the Incas

The Sacred Valley tour starts at 08:00 am from Cusco. We pick you up from your hotel and bring you to our tourist bus, where you will meet your tour guide and your travel mates (shared service).

We leave Cusco around 08:30 am in direction of Pisaq, descending to the sacred river Urubamba. With a few stops at various lookout points along the way, we will arrive at Pisaq where you can enjoy checking out the traditional handicraft market with plenty of time for local souvenir shopping. Afterwards, we drive up the mountain where we will find Pisaqs ruins. Our tour guide will take you around the temples, terraces and tunnels of this complex, including the famous Intihuatana (sun clock), while constantly enjoying the majestic view of the sacred river. Then we drive along the river Urubamba, passing by a colourful little town where you can observe the descendants of the Quechua people wearing colorful ponchos.

We stop in the town Urubamba for lunch (we recommend a lunch buffet of Peruvian food). After a short rest we keep going until we reach Ollantaytambo, one of the last living Inca towns. You will be amazed by the impressive Temple of the Sun with its intricate stone worked details, the terraces which are constructed to sustain the mountain and finally the temple in shape of a llama.

You will have a short time to explore this amazing complex with its beautiful water fountains by yourself. After exploring this magnificent complex, we take the road back to Urubamba and leave the river to go uphill to the beautiful fields of Chinchero. Here we will discover another amazing Spanish Inca complex and afterwards visit a weaving family who still uses natural minerals and organic ink to colour the wool. We will return to Cusco around 07:00 pm and leave you at beautiful Plaza Regocijo.

Accommodation: Amaru Group Hostels

Cusco – Quishuarani (Lares) – Hot Springs

Around 03:30 am, we will pick you up from your hotel and then leave Cusco at0 4:00 am in the direction to the Sacred Valley of the Incas. We will pass by the colorful town of Calca and then ride up the Cordillera Alto Urubamba to the town of Qushuarani, where we have our wake-up tea. From here, we start walking uphill for 1,5 hours until we reach a viewpoint (3850 m.a.s.l.). Here, we will have our main breakfast, accompanied by an amazing view of the Qeullacocha lagoon and the surrounding snow carpets. On our way, we will spot llamas and alpacas and if we are lucky we will see the majestic flight of the Condor as well.

Then, we keep hiking uphill for approximately 2 hours to reach the first high pass (Qolqe Crus) at 4400 meters, from where you can see beautiful lagoons produced by the melt water of the snow carpets. After this, we will descend to Cuncani, a small local community, from where we will observe a beautiful waterfall formed by cold waterstreams whose source originates from the melt water of the glaziers. Reaching Cuncani at noon, we will have our lunch (lunchbox). After a little rest we get ready to continue our 3-hour-hike downhill to Lares and its hot springs. While descending to 3400 meters, we will enjoy the changing scenery and climate. Finally, we will be amazed by the view over the Lares Valley, ending our day’s hike in the relaxing hot springs of Lares where we will camp and spend the night.

Meals: Lunch, Dinner – Snacks
Accommodation: Camping
Maximum Altitude: 4400m/714476ft
Minimum Altitude: 3800m/12502ft
Distance Travelled: approx. 14 km
Approximate Walking Time: 6-7 hours

Lares – Wakawasi – Mantanay

We wake up early to have a delicious breakfast, and then prepare ourselves for an amazing hiking day where we will reach the highest point of the trek (higher than the “death woman pass” on the Classic Inca Trail to Machu Picchu).
We first follow the slow ascending path for a few hours through the Lares Valley to its highest part (Urope Pass) at 4600 meters altitude. Stopping by some small local families on the way, we share some supplies, observe their way of living and get in contact with the Andean culture, costumes and traditions.

After this astonishing experience, we keep ascending for a short time until we reach Urope pass. Enjoying the great view,  we will be able to see the lagoon of the same name and great parts of the Sacred Valley, a large extension of the Lares Valley.

At this special place, we will have a short rest and afterwards start our descent to the camp site at Mantanay (3900 meters), where we will have our dinner and share a coca tea.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Snacks
Accommodation: Camping
Maximum Altitude: 4600 m./15134ft
Minimum Altitude: 3900 m./12831ft
Distance Travelled: approx. 16 km.
Approximate Walking Time: 7-8 hours

Mantanay – Yanahuara – Ollantaytambo – Aguas Calientes

We wake up early, have our delicious breakfast and then start our descending hike for 4 hours to Yanahuara in the Sacred Valley. On our way, we will observe the local flora and fauna including the famous Queuña, one of the greatest native trees of this area. We reach Yanahuara around noon and have our lunch. Afterwards, we transfer you to Ollantaytambo from where we take the train to Aguas Calientes. Arriving there in the afternoon, you will have some free time to explore the small city and if you like to, enjoy a dip in the hot springs.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Hostel Margarita’s house
Maximum Altitude: 3900 m./12831ft
Minimum Altitude: 2700 m./8883ft
Distance Travelled: approx. 12 km
Approximate Walking Time: 4 hours

Aguas Calientes – Machu Picchu – Aguas Calientes -Ollantaytambo – Cusco

The day you were waiting for!

Wake up very early in the morning to have your breakfast (at 04:00 am) and then take the path which is winding up the mountain to reach Machu Picchu.

Machu Picchu gate opens at 06:00, so arriving early you will be one of the first visitors of the day, avoiding the crowds. At 07:45 am, your bilingual tour guide will take you around the vast ruins for about 2.5 hours, comprehensively explaining the historical significance of Machu Picchu and its importance in the Inca Empire.

Machu Picchu is the best known of all the Inca Archaeological sites, as it is recognised worldwide as one of the new seven wonders, even though it’s not mentioned in any handwritten Chronicle of the Spanish Conquerors. Experts believe that Machu Picchu has been constructed around the mid-15th century by Inca Pachacuteq and was rediscovered in 1911 by American historian Hiram Bingham.

The guided tour of this fascinating site will be an unforgettable experience, visiting the Main Square, the Royal Quarters, The Temple of the Three Windows, the Circular Sun Tower, the Sacred Sun Dial (Intihuatana) and the Burial Grounds.

After the excursion, you can climb up the mountain Huayna Picchu from which you will have stunning views over the whole complex! However, there are only 400 entrance tickets per day. Therefore, please let us know in advance if you would like to do the hike when you do your tour reservation (extra cost of US$ 15.00).

Due Huayna Picchu is very fast oversold, we are offering Machu Picchu Mountain as a second climbing option. The advantage of this hike is that it is less crowed, but not less beautiful. The cost of this climb is also US$ 15.00 per entrance.

After this, you will have some free time to wander around. Optional you can do some unguided walks to Inti Punku, the Sun Gate, which is the traditional end of the Classic Inca Trail (1.30 hours hike both ways), or to the Inca Bridge (1 hour hike). Otherwise you can simply explore the ruins and enjoy the inspiring atmosphere and breathtaking views.

Later, you will walk down to Aguas Calientes through the jungle – it will take you roughly 45 minutes!
You will arrive to Aguas Calientes for a late lunch or to enjoy a dip in the hot springs (not included). In the afternoon late afternoon at 07:00 pm, you take the train back to Ollantaytambo and then a tourist transport to Cusco. If you want to return to Cusco in the early afternoon, please let us know so we can book an early train at 2:30 pm or 4:12 pm (according to the service, it will have an extra cost of US$ 30.00).

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation: Amaru Group Hostels

Free day in Cusco

According to your flight or bus schedule, we will give you a free walking tour around the city of Cusco so you can discover the enigma of this city and at the same time do some souvenir shopping. Afterwards, we will transfer you to the airport or bus station.