Cusco Tours 8 Days with Machu Picchu and Rainbow Mountain

Day 01: Arrival in Cusco – City Tour

We pick you up at Cusco airport and take you to your hotel. You have free time for a first look around Cusco: the San Blas neighborhood, known for its craft shops and art galleries, and the historic center, with its Inca stone walls, narrow streets, colonial buildings, churches and museums. San Blas and the center have many local restaurants and small cafés where you can have a typical Peruvian lunch.

At around 1:00 p.m. we pick you up at your hotel for a guided tour of Cusco, the former Inca capital, with a local guide. You start at the cathedral on the Plaza de Armas, then walk through some of Cusco’s oldest Inca streets to Qoricancha, the Temple of the Sun. Here the Spanish built a Catholic monastery on top of the Inca temple, a clear example of the clash between Inca and colonial cultures.

From Qoricancha a small bus takes you to the archaeological sites above the city: Sacsayhuamán, a large complex with huge stone walls; the ceremonial center of Qenqo; the small site of Puka Pukara; and Tambomachay, the water temple. You return to the city center in the late afternoon or early evening.

Day 02: Sacred Valley – Chinchero – Moray – Maras – Ollantaytambo – Aguas Calientes

We pick you up at around 8:00 a.m. and drive into the Sacred Valley, a valley of countryside and small villages between Cusco and Machu Picchu. The first stop is Chinchero, with its archaeological complex on top of a hill and its colorful market, where people from the valley sell handmade textiles, pottery, paintings, jewelry and food.

Next you visit Moray, the Inca farming terraces known as an agricultural laboratory, and the Maras salt mines. Lunch is a buffet in the town of Urubamba.

After lunch it is about a 1-hour drive to Ollantaytambo, a traditional village with Inca ruins. At the end of the tour you walk about 10 minutes to Ollantaytambo train station and take the train to Aguas Calientes (Machu Picchu town), a ride of about 1.5 hours. We meet you at the station in Aguas Calientes, take you to your hotel and give you a short briefing for your Machu Picchu tour the next day.

Meals: Breakfast and lunch.

Day 03: Machu Picchu – Aguas Calientes – Ollantaytambo – Cusco

Today you visit Machu Picchu. We recommend the first guided tour at 6:00 a.m. (subject to availability), which means starting the walk up to the main entrance at around 4:30 a.m. You can also take the first bus up at 5:30 a.m., but you will still need to line up at around 4:30 a.m. If you prefer not to get up so early, you can choose a later tour; we arrange this at the briefing the evening before.

With your local guide you explore the Inca city built on top of the mountain: its terraces, temples, houses and palaces. You learn about Machu Picchu’s history, the life of the Incas who lived here and the discovery of the site. The guided tour takes about 2 to 2.5 hours, and afterwards you have some time to explore on your own.

In the afternoon you walk down or take the bus back to Aguas Calientes, pick up your luggage at the hotel, have something to eat and take the train back to Ollantaytambo in the Sacred Valley. There we pick you up and drive you back to Cusco in a small tourist van, arriving at night.

Meals: Breakfast.

Day 04: Cusco – Cusipata – Rainbow Mountain (Vinicunca) – Cusco

Between 3:30 and 4:00 a.m. we pick you up at your hotel and drive south of Cusco toward the Qollasuyu area. After about 1.5 hours we stop for 20 minutes in the district of Cusipata, 3,310 m (10,860 ft), for breakfast at the Tonceca restaurant.

Another hour’s drive takes you to Fulawasipata, 4,660 m (15,290 ft), at the foot of the sacred Ausangate mountain, where your guide explains the route. From here you hike uphill for about 2 hours to Rainbow Mountain, or Vinicunca, 5,200 m (17,060 ft). Along the way you can see alpacas, llamas and vicuñas.

At the red hill (colina roja) you have time to rest, take in the landscape and photograph the mountain’s red, pink, turquoise and yellow colors. On the way back you walk about 1 hour downhill to level ground, then uphill again to Fulawasipata.

Our transport takes you back to the Tonceca restaurant for lunch, and you return to Cusco at around 4:30 to 5:00 p.m.

Meals: Breakfast and lunch.

Day 05: Cusco – Tinki – Pacchanta – Ausangate 7 Lakes – Cusco

We pick you up at your hotel at 5:00 a.m. for a 3-hour drive through the South Valley, with views of Inca farming terraces, traditional villages, valleys and high Andean peaks. Breakfast comes with views of the snow-capped mountain.

On this trek you pass isolated communities that keep their traditional Quechua culture. You can learn about their clothing and the meaning of the different hats the men wear, and ask your guide to teach you a few words of Quechua.

The hike starts with about 1.5 hours of gentle uphill walking to the first lake, where you have time to enjoy the 360-degree views. The other six lakes are close by, and from here the trail is mostly downhill or flat. The lakes are green, turquoise and other colors, surrounded by glaciers and mountains, and there is plenty of time for photos.

After lunch the day ends at the natural hot springs, where you can relax before the 3-hour drive back to Cusco. We usually drop you at your hotel at around 5:30 p.m.; the exact time depends on how long you want to spend at Ausangate.

Meals: Breakfast and lunch.

Day 06: Cusco – Andahuaylillas – Piquillacta – Tipón – Cusco (Half Day)

We pick you up at your hotel at 8:00 a.m. and drive to Andahuaylillas to visit the church of San Pedro, known as the “Sistine Chapel of the Americas.” The Jesuits built it between the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Like other colonial buildings, it has thick walls of sun-dried mud brick (adobe). Its facade is decorated with murals and has two large stone columns at the main entrance, and its mural paintings date from the 17th century.

Next is Piquillacta, a pre-Inca site where you explore the large-scale urban planning of the Wari culture, surrounded by mountains and lakes.

Then you visit Tipón, an Inca site known for its hydraulic engineering and irrigation system. Finally you stop in the village of Tipón, known for its oven-roasted guinea pig (cuy), a traditional Cusco dish, before driving back to Cusco.

Meals: Breakfast.

Day 07: Cusco – Waqrapukara Trek – Cusco

Waqrapukara, translated as the Fortress of the Horns, is a pre-Inca site on the edge of the Apurímac River canyon. Its horn-shaped rock formations rise to 4,300 m (14,110 ft), and the area is dotted with small glacial lakes.

We pick you up between 4:00 and 4:30 a.m. for a 2.5-hour drive to the town of Marcaconga, then continue to the Pitumarca district for breakfast. A 30-minute drive takes you to Punta Carretera, where you get ready for the hike.

The trail takes about 2 hours, past small glacial lakes, to the Waqrapukara viewpoint, where you take your first photos of the fortress on the edge of the canyon. From there a steep path along the cliff edge descends for about 40 minutes to the archaeological site, with the Apurímac River below.

The guided tour of the site takes about 1.5 hours. You walk through the remains of a temple, platforms and plazas, see the stone formations that look like giants watching over the landscape, and rest in the shade of the stone walls. The walk back to the vehicle takes about 3 hours, and you arrive in Cusco at around 6:00 p.m.

Meals: Breakfast and lunch.

Day 08: Free Time in Cusco – Airport Transfer

Enjoy your last day in Cusco. Today we transfer you to the airport; the pickup time is confirmed with your travel advisor.

Meals: Breakfast.