Machu Picchu Quest

1. Day 1 · Cusco

   Guided tour of Cusco & ruins of Sacsayhuaman and Puka Pukara

   Cusco sits at 11,150 feet, so the first few hours are yours to settle in and the sightseeing waits until afternoon. It starts at Qoricancha, where the Spanish built a church straight onto the Temple of the Sun, then climbs to Sacsayhuaman, the fortress above the old capital, with the whole city open below. Last is the little lookout fort at Puka Pukara, out where the road turns down toward the Sacred Valley.

   Overnight in Cusco

2. Day 2 · Cusco

   Sacred Valley: Pisac Market and Ollantaytambo

   A full day down into the Sacred Valley, which runs lower and warmer than Cusco. The morning is Pisac, market stalls filling the square and Inca terraces curving around the hillside above it. Then the stone stairs at Ollantaytambo, the one place the Inca turned back Spanish cavalry, by flooding the plain below the fortress. Back in Cusco by evening.

   Overnight in Cusco (Breakfast, Lunch)

3. Day 3 · Cusco to Machu Picchu

   Guided visit to Machu Picchu

   The train follows the Urubamba down into the gorge, where the mountains close in and the cloud forest starts. The bus climbs the switchbacks above the town, and the whole site is suddenly in front of you: temples, plazas and terraces cut into the ridge between two peaks. Machu Picchu was built as a country estate for a single emperor and stood empty within a century of his death. The night is spent at the foot of the mountain, because tomorrow starts with a climb high above the ruins.

   Overnight in Machu Picchu Town (Breakfast)

4. Day 4 · Machu Picchu to Cusco

   Huayna Picchu or Machu Picchu Mountain hike

   A self-guided climb, on whichever of the two peaks your dates allow. Huayna Picchu is the peak standing behind the ruins in every photograph of them: a steep hour of Inca stairs to 8,920 ft, looking straight down on the city. Machu Picchu Mountain is the longer, steadier climb to 10,111 ft, with the whole valley below. The afternoon is the train back to Cusco, running up the valley beside the river most of the way.

   Overnight in Cusco (Breakfast)

5. Day 5 · Cusco

   Departure

   If the flight out is late enough, there is a last morning in Cusco: the steep lanes of San Blas, the artisan workshops, the market stalls off the main square. Then the transfer to the airport and your onward connection.

   Meals: Breakfast

End of the adventure. Until the next one, bon voyage!

• ·Cusco (3 nights)
• ·Machu Picchu Town (1 night)

• -
  Flights in and out of Cusco (CUZ)

Season, hotel standard, and train class move the price most. Peak dates (Inti Raymi, Fiestas Patrias, Christmas and New Year) carry supplements.

Prices shown are for 2026-2028. Inquire to check rates for future years.