Welcome to Cusco- touch down, collect your luggage and meet your guide, then drive twenty minutes through the colourful South American streets to your hotel.

Meet in the Coffee Museum at 1pm to enjoy a tasty lunch and learn about the story and people behind this popular drink.

After lunch step out into the Cusco streets and explore with one of our carefully chosen guides. They are not only very knowledgeable but also great fun to be with. You do not want to cram too much in on your first day at altitude, so relax and get used to being up high with a gentle walk around this old Inca capital.

Visit the Plaza de Armas, the Cathedral and the Qoricancha temple of the sun and perhaps take in the sights, sounds and smells of San Pedro food market too. If you normally shop in supermarkets and farmers markets, you are in for a surprise. Stands full of juicy exotic fruits, counters heaving with cow heads and sheep hooves and cheerful local women selling handmade cheeses, local breads, healthy juices and even toad soup.
The evening is free to relax and wander around the UNESCO World Heritage Site city centre.

Overnight in Cusco: Hotel Quinta San Blas or similar
Meals Included: Lunch

DAY 2: Raft the Urubamba River to Pisac

Today the fun really begins as you challenge the Grade II-III rapids of the Upper Urubamba river. Our expert guides will give you a thorough safety briefing and the best equipment in the country. Fully prepared you launch from the bank and off down the finest one day section of whitewater in Peru. Whether you are a beginner or expert you are sure to finish with a grin from ear to ear.

Once you have changed into dry clothes you can enjoy a delicious picnic lunch on the banks of the river before the short drive to Pisac. Here you can explore this famous handicraft market with the help of your guide. Perhaps you can try one of the tasty empanadas fresh from the old town oven.

Overnight in Pisac: Pisac Inn or similar
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Snacks

DAY 3: Sacred Valley Biking

This ride is perfect for anyone who enjoys getting out on a bike: its versatility means it can be easily adapted to suit every level and age. It’s an incredibly scenic ride, combining Andean mountain passes, gentle descents and a lovely amble through the heart of the Sacred Valley of the Incas.

We begin with a visit to Pisac. At this small town based in the Sacred Valley of the Incas we can stop for a stroll around the lovely plaza and artisan market stalls.

Here we unload the bikes, kit up and begin the dirt track ride down into the Andean village of Taray and the start of the alternative Sacred Valley descent. This lovely dirt track undulates between local villages and haciendas, where we can see traditional farming methods still in use against the beautiful backdrop of glaciated mountains and Inca ruins. We stop for a picnic lunch en-route. The support vehicle will be on hand for the final section, allowing us to carry on through the villages of Qoya, Lamay and Calca. If feeling strong we can then continue to Urubamba or even Ollantaytambo itself.

Overnight in Ollantaytambo: Hotel Pakaritampu or similar
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Snacks

Note: If the Inca Trail permits are sold out for your dates, you can do the Lares Valley Trek for Days 4 through 7. Days 7 & 8 the same for both the Inca Trail and the Lares Valley Trek. Please see the Lares Valley Trek itinerary for this trip below.

DAY 4: Ollantaytambo & Begin Inca Trail Trek

Your Inca Trail trek is carefully tailored to avoid the crowds. By leaving later than everyone else and allowing an extra day, you are out of sync with other tourists and literally have the trail to yourself.

This morning you visit the old Inca town of Ollantaytambo. After a look around and some lunch you take a short drive to the trailhead at Piscacucho (km 82). Here you meet the porters and cooks that will support your journey to Machu Picchu. With the crowds now long gone, you hike an undulating trail above the Urubamba River to camp beside the spectacular ruins of Llactapata (2,788 meters/9,146 feet). All you will carry is a daypack, as your luggage is carried by the porters who will also put up your tents for you and prepare the meals. With nothing but a daypack to shoulder, you are unburdened and free to enjoy the walking.

Total distance: 5km (3.1mi)
Estimated walking time: 2.5 – 3 hours
Maximum altitude point: 2,650m (8,690ft)
Campsite altitude: 2,650m (8,690ft)
Overnight: Comfortable tent camping
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

DAY 5: Inca Trail: Llactapata to Llulluchapampa

After a hearty breakfast you climb a gentle slope to the Cusichaca valley to the small hamlet of Huayllabamba. This is the last inhabited place on the trail. A little steeper now, you head up the beautiful Inca path, past hummingbirds and stunted cloud forest to your camp at Llulluchapampa (3,680 meters/12,073 feet). This beautiful grassy area has outstanding views, and you may be even see the Andean deer that come to feed here.

Total distance: 12km (7.5mi)
Estimated walking time: 5 – 6 hours
Maximum altitude point: 3,850m (12,590ft)
Campsite altitude: 3,850m (12,590ft)
Overnight: Comfortable tent camping
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

DAY 6: Inca Trail: Llulluchapampa to Phuyupatamarca

Today is the most challenging day but also the most exhilarating. You climb to Dead Woman’s Pass (4,212 meters/13,819 feet) the high point of the trail before dropping into the Pacasmayo Valley. Climbing once more you pass the Inca control post of Runkuracay to the second pass of the day (3,998 meters/13,117 feet). On a clear day there are spectacular views toward Pumahuanca Mountain in the Vilcabamba range. You continue on the well-preserved Inca Trail to Sayacmarca. Located at the junction of two old Inca roads, historians still argue over its exact purpose. A few more gentle ups and downs and you arrive at Phuyupatamarca, or “the place above the clouds,” the location of your campsite (3,650 meters/11,975 feet).

Total distance: 15km (9.3mi)
Estimated walking time: 8 hours
Maximum altitude point: 4,200m (13,780ft)
Campsite altitude: 3,600m (12,030ft)
Overnight: Comfortable tent camping
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

DAY 7: Inca Trail: Phuyupatamarca to Machu Picchu

On your final morning before reaching Machu Picchu, you step out of your tent where you are greeted with stunning views of the landscape. Perhaps you will see the sun rising over the snow-capped mountains of Salkantay (6,200 meters/20,341feet) and Veronica (5,800 meters/19,029 feet). Or perhaps you will have a cloud inversion, with the clouds filling the valleys beneath your feet. After saying a fond farewell to your porters, you pull on your boots and head to Machu Picchu.

You descend through the cloud forest on beautiful Inca stairways, to Winay Wayna, another interesting ruin full of swallows and orchids. Finally you contour the hillside to arrive at Inti Punku, the gateway of the Sun. As you step through the old stone gateway Machu Picchu appears laid out before your eyes. After plenty of photos you carry on past this wonder of the world to catch the bus down to the colorful town of Machu Picchu Pueblo and a well-deserved hotel and shower.

Total distance: 11km (6.8mi)
Estimated walking time: 5 hours
Maximum altitude point: 3,600m (11,770ft)
Hotel altitude: 2,400m (7,870ft)
Overnight in Aguas Calientes: El MaPi by Inkaterra or similar
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

DAY 8: Machu Picchu Ruins Tour & Return to Cusco

Today you explore the pinnacle of Inca engineering – Machu Picchu.

For years it was lost to the jungle. Rediscovered in 1911 by the Yale professor Hiram Bingham, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 and one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in 2007, Machu Picchu exceeds all expectations.

This astounding site lies in an even more astonishing location. Perched high on an inaccessible hilltop it is protected by huge cliffs and the raging Urubamba river. Things are slightly easier now than in the time of the Incas and so you start your day with a twenty minute bus ride up to the site.

You will arrive early, allowing you to explore the ruins in the company of your guide, before they get too busy. The guided tour takes around two hours leaving you a few hours free to wander amongst the old Inca walls and just sit and take in the scale of the place on your own. For those who want to walk a bit more, you could take the hour long trail up to the Sun Gate, or a shorter trail to visit the Inca Bridge which once spanned a sheer cliff face.

Eventually the time comes to catch the bus down to Machu Picchu Pueblo and board your train back along the Urubamba River. The scenery is beautiful and the train jolts softly along, allowing you to sit, stare out the window and reflect on a wonderful week.

Overnight in Cusco: Hotel Quinta San Blas or similar
Meals Included: Breakfast

DAY 9: Free Morning & Depart Cusco

Back once more in the old Inca capital you have time to enjoy all that this city has to offer. Coffee museums, cooking classes, chocolate making, souvenir hunting or even just sitting in one of the many cafes and watching the world go by. The new late flights out of Cusco allow you to really maximise your time and get the most out of this holiday of a lifetime.

Meals Included: Breakfast

For those with more time we can offer you extensions to the Amazon rainforest, Lake Titicaca, Colca Canyon and Arequipa or even to the little visited northern Peru.

DAY 4: Begin Lares Trek: Totora Canyon to Quishuarani

A scenic two-hour drive through the Sacred Valley of the Incas takes you to the start of your trek, at the small village of Totora. You follow an ancient Inca trail into a narrow canyon, where Inca tombs perch in the cliffs. Emerging from the canyon you pass through tiny rural communities before emerging to a delicious picnic lunch. Your bus then takes you to the small and very traditional community of Quishuarani, your camp for the night (3,700 meters/12,140 feet).

Overnight: Comfortable tent camping
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

DAY 5: Lares Trek: Quishuarani to Huacahuasi

This is a stunning day of hiking. You leave camp behind and climb past colorfully dressed locals, and up toward the native forests that Amazonas Explorer has been heavily involved in re-planting. These forests harbor Andean deer, vizcachas and several rare species of birds and are essential to the future of this area.

A further push and you reach the stunning views from your highest pass of the trek, the Huchayccasa pass (4,450 meters/14,600 feet). A chain of emerald-blue lakes fills the hillside below you, and in the distance rise the snow-clad Urubamba mountains. Descending through hand turned potato fields you come to the ancient community of Cuncani at (3,800 meters/12,460 feet).

Fueled by a hearty lunch you carry on along the valley floor to reach the once notorious village of Huacahuasi. Once home to bandits and cattle rustlers it is now a peaceful place to spend the night. You are sure to be visited by local women selling the hand woven textiles for which the area is famous and entertained by the cheery local children who accompany you as you walk.

Overnight: Comfortable tent camping
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

DAY 6: Lares Trek: Huacahuasi to Patacancha Valley

Another great day awaits you. After a hearty breakfast you begin to climb gently towards your final pass. This is a day filled with encounters with locals. Strong legged men head off to work in the potato fields, wooden ploughs slung over their shoulder. Rough handed women sit, legs outstretched weaving their traditional clothes on wooden looms. And small children sit motionless guarding herds of alpaca and llama, their ever faithful dog by their side.

From your camp you begin towards the final pass. Lying at 4,200m/13,780ft the Ipsaycocha pass marks the border between Lares and the Patacancha Valley. You start gently and then climb one final steep section to gain the summit. If you are lucky, you will have spectacular views of Mount Veronica. You take lunch by the beautiful Ipsay lake then follow an ancient trail to the Patacancha Valley and the village of Patacancha where the trek ends. Our waiting vehicle takes us onto our hotel for the night.

Overnight in the Sacred Valley: Hotel Pakaritampu or similar
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

DAY 7: Royal Inca Trail (km 104) trek to Machu Picchu Pueblo

You start the day with an early transfer to catch the train towards Machu Picchu. Jumping off at km104 you pass through the control point and begin your Inca Trail trek.

First you visit the recently restored ruins of Chachabamba before gradually ascending through tropical cloud forest up towards the the base of Wiñay Wayna. Here you climb more steeply on old Inca stairways through these beautiful terraces, stopping to explore the various buildings and water features.

Here we can enjoy our packed lunch, with a great view. You then continue on perhaps the loveliest part of the whole Inca Trail.  Lush vegetation flanks you on either side, the scent of wild orchids fills the air, and all around you brightly coloured tropical songbirds fill your ears with song.

Soon you will reach a final set of stairs to arrive at Inti Punku, the gateway of the Sun. As you step through the old stone gate-way, Machu Picchu appears laid out before your eyes. After plenty of photos you carry on past this wonder of the world to catch the bus down to the lively town of Machu Picchu Pueblo and a well-deserved hotel and shower.

Whilst walking all you need is your daypack as your over-night luggage will be transferred to your hotel in Machu Picchu town to await your arrival.

Overnight in Aguas Calientes: El MaPi by Inkaterra or similar
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

End Lares Valley Trek alternate itinerary.