Classic Cusco 5D/4N
Machu Picchu and the Andes in five days

Your trip begins in Cusco, at 3,399 m, the city the Incas considered the navel of the world. We meet you at the airport and take you to your hotel; it's best if your flight arrives before noon so you can rest for a few hours, have a coca tea and let your body get used to the altitude. In the afternoon we start at the Plaza de Armas with the Cathedral, which holds hundreds of Cusco School paintings, and continue to the Coricancha, the temple the Incas dedicated to the Sun.

Then we head to the heights around the city. At Sacsayhuamán you'll be amazed by stone blocks that fit together like puzzle pieces; at Q'enqo you walk through passages carved into the rock; Puca Pucara guarded the Inca road and Tambomachay honored water with its fountains. We walk slowly, since some spots are above 3,700 m. At the end, we return to the hotel.

We devote the day to the Sacred Valley, the farming valley that fed the empire. We start in Chinchero, where weaving families show how they wash, dye and spin wool with techniques inherited from their grandparents. Then we head down to the Maras Salt Pans, a white landscape of terraced pools worked by hand since before the Incas, and to Moray, a set of circular terraces that served as an agricultural testing center. A buffet lunch awaits us in Urubamba.

In the afternoon we reach Ollantaytambo, a living town that keeps its Inca layout at the foot of a fortress of huge terraces and stone temples. The last stop is Pisac, with its archaeological complex high on the mountain and its well-known craft market. Being lower than Cusco, the valley is ideal for continuing to acclimatize. We return to the city at nightfall.

We leave your hotel very early and drive through the Sacred Valley to Ollantaytambo station. There you board the Vistadome Observatory, a panoramic train with a glass ceiling and an observatory car from which you watch the mountain landscape turn into cloud forest along the Urubamba River. In Aguas Calientes the bus awaits to climb the Hiram Bingham road to the entrance of Machu Picchu, at 2,430 m.

Your official guide leads you through the citadel's main sectors along one of the authorized circuits; remember that entry is by circuits and subject to availability. After the guided visit you have some free time for photos. Then you ride the bus down to town, take the Expedition train back to Ollantaytambo and we drive you to your hotel in Cusco.

We pick you up very early to travel south of Cusco. In Cusipata we stop for breakfast and continue to the trailhead, at about 4,600 m, in a puna landscape where llamas and alpacas graze. The hike to the Vinicunca viewpoint, at 5,036 m, takes 1.5 to 2 hours; it's demanding because of the altitude, so you go at your own pace, and if you prefer, horses are available for much of the climb.

At the top the mountain opens up in stripes of red, turquoise, ochre and gold, colors left by minerals once exposed, with the snowy Ausangate rising ahead. After photos we head down the same path and enjoy a buffet lunch before returning to Cusco. The tour carries trekking poles and an oxygen tank for support.

On the last day we leave Cusco very early heading northwest. We have breakfast on the way and reach Soraypampa, at about 3,900 m, a valley surrounded by snowy peaks where the hike begins. In 1.5 to 2 hours of climbing you reach Humantay Lake, at about 4,200 m, whose turquoise waters come from glacier meltwater and reflect the surrounding peaks, with Salkantay to one side.

After enjoying the scenery, you head down to Soraypampa for the buffet lunch and return to Cusco in the afternoon. From there we take you to the airport; we suggest booking your departure flight as late as possible or staying an extra night in Cusco. So ends your Classic Cusco 5D/4N: five days with the Inca city, the Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu and two of the most beautiful hikes in the Andes.