Machu Picchu - 2 Day Tour

Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product

Pass By: Vicuna Adventures, Cusco - peru Avenida Pachacutec 424, Cusco 08002 Peru

After an early breakfast at your hotel, you will be picked up by your guide and driven to the Sacred Valley town of Urubamba to visit the bustling local market. Here we will see local families selling an eclectic mix of fruits, vegetables, flowers and natural medicinal plants. If you’ve never visited a South American market before, then the variety of smells from the many different styles of cooking can be quite intoxicating. You will also get a lesson on the ingredients involved in making Chicha, a corn beer that has been an important part of Peruvian culture since Inca times.

Next we drive 20 minutes to visit a working farm in the Sacred Valley. Touring the farm lands, we will cut Alfafa to feed the guinea pigs and see first hand how Chicha is made. After such a busy morning you will be ready for the delicious picnic lunch that the family will have prepared, and we eat outside with views of the Sacred Valley all around us. After lunch we drive to Ollantaytambo where we will visit the Inca ruins. Once the lodging of the Inca emperor Pachacutec this site later served as a military checkpoint for the Incas trying to protect the roads to Machu Picchu from the invading Spaniards. You will enjoy a guided tour of the terraced ruins, fountains and aqueducts and see storage houses that were used by the Incas to maximize winds to keep crops cool and preserved. After visiting the ruins we will have time to wander the streets of one of the oldest towns in Peru, where many 15th century Inca buildings still stand today. Arriving in Aguas Calientes your guide will accompany to your hotel to check-in for a good nights sleep before our early start for Machu Picchu.

DAY 2

MACHU PICCHU AND RETURN TO SACRED VALLEY OR CUSCO

Our 2nd day starts early, as we want to arrive at the gates of Machu Picchu in time for the majestic sunrise over the Andes. This in itself is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Your hotel will provide an early breakfast and your guide will pick you up to walk with you to the bus station where we catch the bus together to Machu Picchu. Driving for 45 minutes on a winding road upwards, you will see and feel the day beginning to break across the mountains. There will be plenty of time to take photos before your guide begins a 2-3 hour guided tour. Experts in the history of the site, our guides and their stories provide the perfect complement to the magnificent ruins that surround you. Taking a short break to rest and maybe enjoy a snack, there is an option to hike up to the Inka Bridge or to Inti Punku, the Sun Gate, which used to be the main entrance to Machu Picchu and offers spectacular views of the entire site. You will then have two hours of free time to explore on your own before taking the bus back down to Aguas Calientes. We will have lunch together before taking a mid afternoon train back to Ollantaytambo or Poroy where you will have a private transfer back to your hotel in the Sacred Valley or Cusco.