The Empire of the Sun with Inca Trail

Welcome to Peru! On arrival in Lima, you will be transferred to your hotel. We recommend an early arriving flight so we can show you around Lima. Today we will have a tour of ancestral, colonial and modern Lima, making you familiar with the city, its history and present.

Welcome to Peru! On arrival in Lima, you will be transferred to your hotel. We recommend an early arriving flight so we can show you around Lima. Today we will have a tour of ancestral, colonial and modern Lima, making you familiar with the city, its history and present.

We make an excursion along the Sacred Valley of the Incas. We will visit the impressive ruins of Pisac and its famous Indian market where you can find a variety of jewellery, handicrafts, musical instruments and textiles between other curiosities. After lunch we will drive down the Sacred Valley with our local guide and visit Quechua towns on the way to Ollantaytambo, an original and inhabited Inca town. We will visit the impressive ruins of this fortress and spend the night here.

Second option: Sacred Valley and Urubamba River rafting / Ollantaytambo
For the ones who would like to try rafting we have the option of doing a half day raft (rapid class 2, 3 and 4) in the Urubamba River (in the Sacred Valley) in the afternoon we will meet back up with the others of the group in the Inca town of Ollantaytambo. Here we will spend the night.

Today we will depart early. A bus with our team of porters, cook and guide will pick us up from the hotel in Ollantaytambo and take us to the starting point of the Inca trail. As we begin the hike we will be passing smaller ruin sites the first of which is Llactapata. We will camp near the town of “Huallabamba” at about 3000 meters (9000 ft).

Today we will climb the long steep path to Warmiwañusca, or Dead Woman? Pass. At 4198 m (13769 ft) above sea level, this pass is the highest point of the trek. The second pass (Runkurukay) of the hike is at 3998 m (13113 ft), where on clear days, we enjoy super views of the snow-capped Cordillera Vilcabamba. The trail goes through some beautiful cloud forest on the gentle climb to the third pass, where you will walk through a causeway and a tunnel, both original lnca constructions.

The highest point of the third pass is at 3700m (12136 ft). From here you can get beautiful views of the Urubamba Valley below (on clear days). Soon you will reach the serene looking ruins of Phuyupatamarca, or the “Town above the Clouds”, at about 3650 m (11972 ft) above sea level. We will camp for the final night close to Wiñay Wayna (Forever Young) ruins, a grandiose terraced hillside site, with panoramic views of the valley below and just a short hike from Machu Picchu.

Today our steep ascends over mountain passes will be rewarded as the mist rises off the mountains revealing the forgotten city of Machu Picchu. Here we will meet up with the rest of the group who decided to take the train instead of the hike.

We´ll have a guided tour of the site, and then you will have time for yourselves to wander around Machu Picchu. Around midday we take the bus down to Aguas Calientes where our buffet lunch will be waiting for us. In the afternoon we will all take the train back to Cusco to enjoy the night life!

A morning flight will take us back to the colonial city of Lima, last chance to get your souvenirs and enjoy our final night out in Peru.