9 Day Inca Trail to Machu Picchu + Titicaca Lake (Land Only)

Once you get to Cusco airport, we will pick you up and take you to your hotel and give you a briefing about the places you will be visiting during the tour.

This tour will start visiting Cusco's colonial heritages mixed with its mystical Inca background.  Your guide will provide you all the information on the places you will be visiting. Later on, you will have the late afternoon at your own leisure to carry on exploring Cusco's nightlife or trying some of its many typical restaurants. We will very happy to suggest you places according to your taste

Your other option for this first part of your Inca Trail to Machu Picchu and Titicaca Lake 9 Days tour, is to get onto a half day tour at an additional (Consult). The  half day city tour starting at 13:00 hrs and cover the following places:

• The Koricancha: Temple of the sun.

• The Cathedral: Marvel of the religious art.

• Sacsayhuaman: Majestic place with impressive works in stone, some up to 120 tons.

• Q´enqo: (Labyrinth) a religious center dedicated to the adoration of the Earth.

• Puca Pucara: (reddish place) that was used as a military control center.

• Tambomachay: (Temple of the Water) a center of adoration and worship of water.

Included:

• Transportation

• Professional English speaking guide.

Not included:

• Tourist ticket for entrance to attractions (extra USD 33)

• Dinner

• Gratuity

Optional: Full day sacred valley tour  (Extra Cost - Consult us).

Our private transport will come to your hotel around 08:30 am and pick you up. We will be heading to the Sacred Valley. Our first stop will be in Pisac village and visit its fantastic artisans market as well as the temple and architecture of Pisac dated from Inca times.

At the artisans market, there is a wide variety of hand made crafts and textiles all of it done with natural organic resources and superb colors.

Pisac village is well known for its Inca ruins and we will go to the top of the hills to get a panoramic view of this impressive ruins at the Sacred Valley like homes, altars, carvings, tunnels, caves, and the famous Intihuatana, "The hitching post of the sun".

In any case, you want to stay in the Pisac market or around Pisac village instead of touring the Inca ruins, please let your guide known your wishes, so he will organize a time and place to pick you up when returning through the market.

Once we have finished visiting Pisac, then will continue to Urubamba to our next stop at Ollantaytambo. Before that, we will stop on the route to have a lunch break (not included) this place is famously known for its magnificent structure which is worthy to explore.

We also visit the temple of the sun, enormous blocks of rock perfectly carved and polished, stone water fountains, stairs and terraces.

Local people of Ollantaytambo are keeping their traditions and do wearing beautifully typical dresses.  As most village in this valley, they are surrounded by their sacred mountains and in this case the valley of Patacancha and Willoq.

From Ollantaytambo, we will travel to Chinchero and visit the famous church and archaeological site in Chincheros, enjoy the landscapes in place and later on return to Cusco at about 18:30-19:00 hours.

Included:

• Transportation

• Professional English speaking guide.

Not included:

• Tourist ticket (extra USD 25 - Please consult)

• Meals

• Gratuity.

P.S: Tonight we will have the Inca trail briefing at 7:00pm at the hotel lobby.

The total distance to be covered today is 12 km (5 to 6 hours approx.) Breakfast: is not included on this day.

The meeting point will be at Regocijo square in Cusco between 4:00 and 4:30 am unless we tell you any change in the briefing, we will be there to leave on time Cusco.

We will be heading to ‘Piscacucho’ but before that our first stop will be at Ollantaytambo on the way to the Sacred Valley and get there our breakfast.  Finished our first stop, we will continue until we get to ‘Piscacucho’ and get our check-in. We will need to show our passport, student ID, tickets, etc at the control point.  Remember to enter the Inca Trail we need permits.

This is the perfect time to use restrooms and check anything you may need on the trail used by the great Inca master himself and its royal courtship, to get to Machu Picchu.  Now, you are so lucky in tracing the Inca steps all the way as it was for them a meaningful sacred journey.

The Trail begins at 2,720m / 8,923 ft and we will be heading across the Vilcanota River on the right side. But the path soon begins to get abruptly lean through the cloud forest. In time will spot the great views of an Inca Fortress called 'Huillca Raccay', as well as the vast and incredible Inca site of 'Patallacta'.  Also, we will see the Urubamba mountain range that divides the jungle, the Andes and the beautiful snow-capped peak of 'W'akay Willca' at 5, 860m /19,225 ft, known as Veronica.

There was so much beauty to admire on this first day,  an incredible encounter with the Andean nature. Now we will set up our first campsite near the small village of Wayllabamba 3, 000m / 9, 842ft in the temperate valley of the same name. Temperatures at night are around 5ºC (depending on the month).

Total distance to be covered on day 2: 16 km (about 8 to 9 hours).

After you have finished your breakfast we will get ready for the day ahead of us.  It is 5:30 am but we will need most of the daylight and strength for what it comes next on our trek.

We will climb a steep ascent which it will take us some hours to achieve. For the Inca, this was part of pilgrimage trial, a sacred one, to become one with the Apus (mountains) or the gods protecting the Andes.

After some hours we have reached the highest pass at Abra de Warrmihuañusca or 'Dead Woman's Pass' at 4,200 m / 13,779 ft. This was not an easy task, and you should be proud of yourself because is not easy to get to this point.

After a rest, we begin the descent to our lunch stop which is located at Pacaymayu at 3, 550m /11,646 ft. As we are passing, we will be able to see lots of hummingbirds as well as other birds species. Also, we will appreciate an incredible variety of native plants, trees such as the ´Polylepis´ which only grow in the cloud forest located at 3,650m /11,972ft.

After lunch, we will take another 2 hours steep climb to Runkurakay pass at almost 4,000m and set up our campsite by 5 pm.

Temperatures at this campsite are around 4ºC during the night.

Camping surrounded by incredible landscapes and seeing a unique Andean flora and fauna must be one of your great memories.

Total distance to be covered on day 3: 10km (5 hours more or less).

Once you got all the energy you need by finishing your breakfast, we will get ready to follow our trail.   A gentle climb will lead us to our first stop at the archaeological site of 'Phuyupatamarca' meaning 'Town in the Clouds' and reach the third highest point on the trail 3, 680 m.

The views of the mountains, canyons, and surrounding areas are spectacular!

As we are walking to third pass the Inca site of 'Phuyupatamarca'. Then we continue walking 3,000 steps through the cloud forest at the impressive agricultural Inca site of 'Intipata'.  Later on, during our trail, we will arrive at our third campsite Wiñay Wayna at 2,680m/8, 792 ft.

We have walked so far between 4 to 5 hours and will arrive at camp by lunchtime.  A short distance from our campsite is located the Inca site of the same name 'Wiñay Wayna' or 'Forever Young' which is a must to visit and now we are close to complete the Inca Trail hike.

Temperatures during the night are about 12º.

Total distance to be covered: 5km or 3mi. (2 hours more or less).

You can imagine when the Inca and its crown was reaching his royal settlements. First living the meaning of it on this spiritual journey, then entering the temple and to be welcome by a selected group of servants of 750 people. The Inca was considered son of 'Inti' (The Sun) and only him and its royal crown was allowed to use this part of the trail. This final part of the trail represents the glory and enjoyment of his royal house, Machu Picchu.

It is 5:30 am and after your final breakfast, we are ready to leave the campsite. On this early start, we have need to get to 'Inti Punku' ('Sun gate') (2,730 m / 8,792 ft) before sunrise. This spot, you will have your first fantastic view of Machu Picchu (2,400m / 7,873 ft with the sun rising over it. We will spend some time here to take in the impressive views of the ancient city.

You will free a couple of hours to tour and show you the most important parts of this ancient city. Afterward, you will have some time to explore this mystic city by yourselves and meet your guide in Aguas Calientes once you finish exploring Machu Picchu.

We will have lunch in Aguas Calientes, and check in at our hotel to pass the night. You can also relax at the hot springs

We will depart from Cusco. This morning we will pick you up from your hotel heading to the bus station.  

Puno is a southeastern town of Peru, located on the shore of Titicaca lake. The trip is full of valleys with fabulous landscapes which indeed it will captivate your full attention.

During our travel to Puno, we will stop at different locations, until we get to this altiplano city:

Andahuaylillas: Sistine Chapel of South America this church is one of the most beautiful examples of Andean popular religious art.

Raqchi (Wiracocha God Temple): This was an Inca church of monumental dimensions; 100 meters long, 26 meters wide and 14 meters high. The temple is divided into two naves and each nave shows 11 giant columns.

La Raya: This is the halfway point between Cusco and Puno and also the highest point (4,335 meters above sea level). The landscapes here are stunning and typical Andean animals like the llama, alpaca and vicuña are common. It is also the geographic border between the two cultures - Quechua and Aymara.

Pukara: This is the most important and oldest ceremonial center of the altiplano. There are interesting lite-sculptures and tombs.

At Punto town,  we will pass the overnight in Puno.

As soon as you finish your early breakfast, we will pick you up from the hotel and get to the Titicaca lake port between 07:40 am and 08:00 am.  At this port, we will board a boat to sail to the legendary Uros Islands.

At the moment, while you are sailing the lake, you will realize the really enormous size of it. The Urus people do live in a traditional way, living from fishing, and handmade crafts, you will observe on this handmade floating reed islands. The Urus will show you around the floating village and also their hand made boats which are been used as their way of transporting their goods to the mainland or visiting nearby islands.  

After our visit to the Uros island, we will continue in a beautiful 3-hour boat ride and reach Taquile Island.   There, we will split into smaller groups to share some time with the local families. They will offer us lunch and will entertain us with a traditional performance for the occasion of your visit.

There is also the opportunity to trek to the top of the island local mountain (4,150 m.a.s.l) to see the Temples of the Pachamama and Pachatata.

Later in the afternoon, we will say goodbye to the local families and sail back to the mainland, to Puno’s port.

This morning after you have finished your breakfast, our private transport will take you to the airport according to your flight itinerary.