Sacred Adventure Tour Itinerary
LIMA-SACRED VALLEY-MACHU PICCHU-MORAY/CUSCO
Day 1 – LIMA. . . read more about Lima here
Lima, the Pearl of the Pacific, with a mix of modernism and tradition. The Peruvian Capital today is the product of a rich fusion of customs and cultures that reflect the eccentricities of the citizens and the regions that make up Peru along with the foreigners who have settled in our country.
Upon your arrival in Lima you will be contacted and assisted by our English-representative, who will accompany you to the hotel. We recommend that our guests spend the night at Costa Ramada Hotel in the airport because next day you will fly to Cusco where you will have plenty of time to rest and recover your energy. (We have other hotels alternatives). Overnight in Lima
Day 2 – LIMA/CUZCO/SACRED VALLEY . . . read more about Cusco here
Breakfast in the hotel.
Our representative will be waiting for you in the hotel lobby to accompany and transfer you back to the airport for your flight to Cusco.
Upon your arrival in Cusco you will be contact by our transfer who will provide all the information and assistance that you will require. Transfer to the hotel located in the Urubamba or Sacred Valley of the Inkas. The Valley is located 60 km/37 miles and 500 meters/1,700 feet below the city of Cuzco. This lower elevation, plus the Valley humidity and warm climate are easier to adapt to in the high altitude. On the way to the Valley, we visit the nearby ruins of Sacsahuaman and Tambomachay.
We visit the Awana Kancha visitor’s center ( Quechua name which means “Knitting Palace”) where you admire the beauty of the Peruvian Andes and its South American “camels”. View and handle the goods produced by the traditional techniques (tinting process, threading, warping and weaving) and also the modern ones, including the materials woven by locals.
You will walk along a covered path and learn about the four different kinds of South American camels: guanaco, llama, alpaca and vicuña. At the end of the path you will find weavers from over 12 communities from southern Peru who demonstrate their skills of threading, tinting and weaving traditional Andean textiles in order to preserve their local traditions. Finally, you will be able to purchase these high quality traditional and industrial textiles from the local people themselves.
Along the way, we also visit the colorful Indian Market of Pisac, famous for its Mass and market. The Mass is attended by the ‘mayors’ of the neighboring villages, complete in typical dress and carrying their traditional ‘varayoc’ or staff of office. You will also enjoy the colorful Indian market where the local people come to purchase fresh vegetables and spices. Overnight in the Urubamba Valley
Day 3 – SACRED VALLEY/AGUAS CALIENTES/MACHU PICCHU
Breakfast in the hotel.
Tour the remarkable Inca fortress of Ollantaytambo with its magnificent mountain stairway. Among other things, you will be intrigued by six enormous pink stones, each weighing some 50 tons. These came from the other side of the river, but nobody knows how they were transported, since, at the time, the Incas did not use the wheel.
In the afternoon, Transfer to Ollantaytambo train station and departure to Machu Picchu. Overnight in Aguas Calientes
Day 4 – MACHU PICCHU
After breakfast, you will have an early morning private guided tour of the archaeological complex of Machu Picchu. Machu Picchu is the best-known Inca site of the modern world and was discovered in 1911 by the American explorer Hiram Bingham. This citadel is considered to be one of the most extraordinary examples of landscape architecture in the world. The citadel is situated over 2,300 meters above sea level in the province of Urubamba on a remote mountain top. From the ruins, there is a magnificent view of the deep gorge of the Urubamba River, surrounded by the steep mountain sides covered in tropical jungle.
After a complete overview of the site with your guide, you will enjoy lunch at the Sanctuary Lodge and then have the remainder of the day to further explore the site either alone or with your guide. Overnight in Aguas Calientes
Day 5 – MACHU PICCHU/MARAS/MORAY/CUSCO
After breakfast, transfer to the train station and departure to Ollantaytambo where you will met with your private guide.
Our guide will start with a visit to Moray which is located 11,106 feet above sea level. Moray is a unique group of archaeological remains with three large natural depressions of terraced concentric circles used for agriculture purposes and irrigation. What is interesting is how the temperature varies from the top to the bottom of the gigantic circled terraces – as much as 5ºC. The biggest terraced depression has a depth of 150 meters and the average of the platforms is of 1.80 meters, from one side to the other.
Day 5 – Continued . . . .
The structures that one finds in this region are Inca, although some say that a few of the inferior platforms were made from times before the Incas. The natural base of these depressions is made of very porous rock which makes it easy for the water to filter away in the bottom of the depressions so there is no flooding during heavy rain.
Continuing your journey, we visit Maras which is located 11,090 feet above sea level. In the town of Maras, you will have a wonderful view of the glaciers and the Vilcabamba valley. Even today, the district maintains its charm from the Pre-Hispanic period. In the town you can still see the arch from the colonial times during the XVI and XX centuries. There is a church made of adobe brick, a typical form of architecture for religious buildings in small towns. At the altar there is a cross made out of granite and the interior of the church features paintings from the school of art of Cusco representing all of the apostles. The painter was Don Antonio Sinchi Roqa Inka, who was born in Maras and painted all of this with much love for his church.
Another important place to see here are the Salt mines of Maras. These mines have been in existence since Inca times, using salt as a way to exchange for goods and services. You will visit the salt mines through a narrow path, where mules still carry salt that is extracted from the natural salt mines. Overnight in Cuzco
Day 6 – CUSCO
Breakfast at the hotel.
During our private walking tour of Cusco, we first visit the privately owned Pre Columbian Art Museum (MAP), an important place for understanding our history, both present and past. Next we will visit San Blas, a neighborhood of artists and artisans with narrow stone streets and a charming bohemian atmosphere. Here, you will see the typical Indian walls of Hatunrumiyoc and seven Culebras and the stone with 12 corners. We also visit Koricancha or Temple of the Sun, which was built to honour the sun god and was an important complex during Inca times. Finally, we visit the Main Plaza of Cuzco, where the Cathedral is located.
Afterwards you can enjoy a free afternoon in the Inca Capital to explore on your own. Overnight in Cusco
Day 7 – CUSCO/LIMA
Breakfast at the hotel.
Transfer to the airport and flight to Lima.
You will be met and assisted upon arrival at Lima and transferred to Mariflores, the principal shopping district of Lima. Here, you will have a car at your disposal in case you would like to explore more of Peru’s capital.
Transfer back to Jorge Chavez Airport for your international flight home while be arranged according to your travel plans.
Travel Connections provide all transfers during this tour.