8 Days Inca magic from Lima

Arrive at Lima Airport. A transportation service and a guide will pick you up from the airport at the scheduled time to transfer you to your hotel in Lima. The Peruvian capital is a modern metropolis full of history, currently undergoing an exciting process of cultural and economic changes.

Breakfast at the hotel. Explore Lima´s old town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site packed with fascinating historic buildings. Start with the Larco Museum, located in the traditional Pueblo Libre district, which is housed in a beautifully restored vice regal mansion built on a pre-Columbian pyramid from the VII century. The museum boasts the most complete pre-Hispanic collection of gold and silver objects, as well as pieces of erotic art. Then visit Casa Aliaga, a colonial mansion granted in 1535 by chief conquistador Francisco Pizarro to Jerónimo de Aliaga, one of his captains. This is the only house from that time that is still owned by the same family through the centuries. Continue to a scenic tour in the colonial downtown, which originates and spreads out from the Main Square, where you can appreciate the grandiose architecture of the Spanish Empire. Be amazed by Lima´s Cathedral, built during the 16th century and took over 80 years to complete. Finally, you are transferred back to the hotel.

After a tasty breakfast, enjoy a comfortable transfer from your hotel to Lima Airport to catch a flight to Cuzco. A representative will meet and greet you, and then transfer you to the selected hotel in Cuzco. In the afternoon, enjoy a guided tour of this charming city, which was the capital of the Inca Empire. The tour starts with a visit to Santo Domingo Convent, a large Renaissance-baroque complex, which was built over the Inca Coricancha temple. It was one of the most important temples dedicated to worshipping of the sun and its foundations are still prominent at the base of the convent. Ancient chronicles say the temple was covered in gold leaves and filled with golden representations of nature. Then, visit the Cathedral, the most imposing monument of the Main Square. Head to the hills above Cuzco to visit the remains of the fortress of Sacsayhuaman, whose imposing ramparts offer a stunning panoramic view of Cuzco, and the ruins of the temple and amphitheatre of Qenqo, where it is believed the Incas practised agricultural rituals. Admire Qenqo and then finally visit Puka Pukara (‘Red fortress’ in Quechua) an Inca military complex located on a prominent hill. Its dwellings squares, bathrooms, aqueducts, walls, and towers can still be appreciated. Afterwards, return to your hotel.

Depart after breakfast at the hotel, heading along the Sacred Valley towards the archaeological site of Moray, approximately an hour and a half away. As with many Inca ruins, its exact function remains a mystery though the design of ever-wider concentric circular terraces meant each level had a different microclimate. Continue to Maras, where the salt ponds create a dazzling scene. The thousands of small ponds give work to and help feed many local families. During Inca times, the salt deposits were an important economic centre and of great value to the imperial economy. After the tour, transfer back to your hotel. During the months of December to March (rainy season), visit Chinchero, town of Maras and chicherías, in place of the Salineras. In those months, you have the option to replace this tour with a visit to Valle Sur

Breakfast at the hotel. During the morning, you are picked up from your hotel in Cuzco to visit the town of Chinchero, a traditional Cuzco urban centre located at an elevated point with a beautiful view of the valley. The inhabitants of this area preserve the artisan traditions and the inherited knowledge of the Incas and display them in their clothes and customs. In Chinchero there are also archaeological remains and a beautiful seventeenth-century church, one of the first Catholic buildings in Peru. Then, you are transferred from Ollantaytambo to the Living Museum of Yucay, a centre Andean traditions interpretations, where demonstrations of the elaboration of textile work, adobe, pottery and silverware are carried out in the same way in which they used to in antiquity; an original recreation of Inca traditions. Also, residents of the museum include llamas, sheep and alpacas, and they can be fed! Later, have lunch in Ollantaytambo and live a superior Andean gastronomy experience in a restaurant, where the true spirit of the Sacred Valley is transmitted in a cosy atmosphere. Upon arriving in Ollantaytambo visit its town, inhabited uninterruptedly since Inca times, and climb the iconic fortress, built next to a mountain. At the end of this activity, you are transferred back to your hotel. *On Sundays, also visit the local market.

After a delicious breakfast at the hotel, transportation service will pick you up and transfer you to the Ollanta Sation to board the train to Aguas Calientes, the nearest town to Machu Picchu. Following a scenic journey through dramatic Andean landscapes, arrive at the station in Aguas Calientes. Here you board a coach for a 25-minute ride to Machu Picchu. The ‘Lost City of the Incas’ is believed to have been built in the 1450s by Inca emperor Pachacuti as a holiday retreat, yet within a century the city would be abandoned following the Spanish conquest. The Spaniards never found it, so it was spared the destruction they brought on other Inca sites. Instead, it was slowly swallowed up by the jungle and hidden from harm. A guided tour explains the origins behind this awe-inspiring citadel, presenting its most prominent landmarks such as the monumental Main Square, the Royal Quarters, the Temple of the Three Windows, the Circular Towers, the Sacred Sun Dial, and the Burial Grounds. Return to Aguas Calientes for a tasty lunch at the famous Café Inkaterra, a beautiful thatched-roof restaurant hemmed in between the railway and a mountain. Enjoy the rest of the day free at leisure.

The delicious breakfast at the hotel is followed by a relaxing morning at leisure. By your own, you can optionally return to Machu Picchu, we strongly recommend waking up early today to see the breathtaking sunrise over Machu Picchu. This is a must-have experience! The best views are from Huayna Picchu (subject to space availability), which is about 360 metres above Machu Picchu, boasting an underground temple complex, and from Inti Punku, which offers even better views from about 390 metres above the citadel. Another option is the Inca Bridge, a secret military trail, which controlled the access to the citadel. In the afternoon, transfer to the Aguas Calientes station and take the train back to Ollanta station. From here you will be transferred to your hotel in Cuzco. The second entrance to Machu Picchu is not included.

After breakfast, enjoy a pleasant transfer from the selected hotel to the airport. A representative will assist you along the way.