A fascinating journey through the natural beauty and culturally rich Sacred Valley of the Incas and the Anta Valley with it's magnificent Inca complexes of Pisaq, Ollantaytambo and Chinchero. Visit the engineering wonder of the Maras salt mines worked since the pre-Inca times and still in use today. Walk the city of Cuzco and retrace the history of the longest inhabited city in the Americas with its magnificent churches and Inca temples like Coricancha and Sacsayhuman. Submerge yourself for two unforgettable days in the cloud forest and Inca complex of Machu Picchu.

DAY 02
CHINCHERO - SALT MINES
After breakfast you will travel to Chinchero. This typical Andean village is located in one of the most spectacular high plateaus with tremendous views of the Cordillera Vilcabamba Mountain range as well as the majestic Salkantay Mountain (almost 20 00ft.) Later you will travel to the village of Maras.

From Chinchero, you will discover Las Salinas or Salt Mines, a true paradise and a must for photography. With its salt terraces on overhanging cliffs, these salt terraces have been worked since the Inca times. Overnight at hotel in the Sacred Valley. B

DAY 03
SACRED VALLEY - MACHU PICCHU
After a very early breakfast you will begin your journey to Machu Picchu - the "Lost City of the Incas". After a short drive to Ollantaytambo, you will board the train for the Putucusi Rail Station where upon arrival you will climb a final 2,000 feet by minibus to the site of Machu Picchu. Rediscovered by Hiram Bingham in 1911, Machu Picchu was unknown to the Spaniards. Its reason for existence remains under debate. Some argue it was built and populated by the family of one Inca ruler, Pachakkutek; others have proposed the principal function of Machu Picchu was to maintain a reliable supply of coca leaves for the priests and royals of Cuzco. Bingham fostered the school of thought that the city existed primarily for strategic and defensive purposes, but other findings support the hypothesis that Machu Picchu was a university where the children of the leaders of other Andean cultures conquered by the Incas were taken to be instructed and indoctrinated. You are free to wander through the maze of empty plazas, chambers and dwellings saddled atop steep mountainsides, and you will be unable to resist your own speculations at the impenetrable mystery of these stones. After lunch and having time to thoroughly explore the significance of a variety of stone structures and ruins, you will descend to the village of Aguas Calientes. Overnight at hotel in Aguas Calientes.
B,L

DAY 04
MACHU PICCHU - CUZCO
You will spend the morning around Aguas Calientes to photograph the market and town or return back to at Machu Picchu, continuing your exploration of the forests around the famous site. You will have the option of retracing the Inca Trail for as far as you like in order to photograph the cloud forest surrounding the ruins and the complex of Machu Picchu from a high vantage point. In the afternoon, you will retrace your route through the Urubamba Valley by train and travel by vehicle to the city of Cuzco. Overnight at hotel in Cuzco. B

DAY 05
CUZCO
Morning open to exploring and shopping. At 11,200 feet above sea level, Cuzco is the heart of Tahuantinsuyo, Peru's pre-Colombian Empire. Cuzco today is the oldest continuously inhabited city in South America, a fascinating and colorful paradox of the past and the present. In the afternoon you will have a guided city tour. You will visit the Inca temple of Coricancha or the Temple of the Sun with walls demonstrating some of the finest examples of Inca stonework in existence. The Santo Domingo church was built over this magnificent temple. During the Inca times its courtyards were filled with life-sized gold and silver representations of all the flora and fauna of the Empire. Pizarro's men looted the temple as part of Inca Atahualpa royal ransom who was held prisoner in Cajamarca by the Spaniards and later killed. An earthquake destroyed the Santo Domingo church in 1950 revealing the Inca walls that were hidden or plastered over.

You will visit the Cathedral located at the northeast side of the Plaza de Armas, which was built in 1550 and contains over four hundred XII century paintings done by the members of the renowned Cuzco School. In the cathedral you will see the Lord of the Earthquakes altar weighing over 52 pounds made of solid gold and studded with precious stones.

You will also explore Sacsayhuaman, located two kilometers from the city of Cuzco, an immense walled complex made up of huge stones distributed in a zigzag pattern in three platforms with an average of 1,181ft in length. These platforms are connected by flights of stairs and doorways also in stone; one of these is 29ft tall and 15ft wide and weighs more than 100 tons. The largest stone block found in Sacsayhuaman stands 27.88ft high and weighs 361 tons. Inca Pachacuti employed 20,000 men for the construction of the complex and it took approximately 50 years to complete. You will also visit the sites of Qenco and Tambomachay. Overnight at hotel in Cuzco. B

DAY 06
CUZCO - OUT
Morning transfer to airport for flight out. B


TRIP PRICING

Pricing below assumes double occupancy. Single supplement will apply for individuals not sharing accommodations. CALL US FOR GROUP PRICING!

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TRIP DIFFICULTY: Journey requires moderate walking at high altitude (11,000 feet). Travelers with health conditions such as heart disease and high blood pressure should consult their physician before traveling.

INCLUDES: All hotel accommodations based on double occupancy. Meals as specified in the itinerary, B=Breakfast; L= Lunch; D=Dinner. English speaking guide. Tickets on train to Machu Picchu, entrance into Machu Picchu and bus ticket. All transfers.

NOT INCLUDED: International or domestic airfares, airport departure taxes or visa fees, excess baggage charges, additional nights during the trip due to flight cancellations, alcoholic beverages or bottled water, snacks, insurance of any kind, laundry, phone calls, radio calls or messages, reconfirmation of flights and items of personal nature.