Overland to Machu Picchu - Single

DAY ONE:  Arica – Cusco

 

Departing Arica, take a transfer of approximately 4 hours to Tacna airport in Peru. Fly to Lima and enjoy lunch in a local restaurant before boarding you flight to Cusco. Transfer and check-in at your Hotel to  have dinner. 

 

DAY TWO:  Cusco – Sacred Valley – Cusco

 

Make your way to an Andean Village of Flowers for a personal encounter with the Quechua-speaking locals. After a warm welcome, this rural community of farmers and weavers will share their rich culture and traditions with you. They’ll invite you into their colourful kitchens and demonstrate their textile techniques, which have been an essential feature of Peruvian life for millennia.

 

They’ll also welcome you to the heart of the Andean agricultural cycle, and demonstrate how they hand-turn the soil on the mountainsides. Join them in celebrating their Inca past, as they bless their earth, animals and the newly ploughed land.

 

Enjoy lunch at a local restaurant and an afternoon at leisure before dinner at your hotel.

 

DAY THREE: Cusco – Machu Picchu – Cusco

 

Board your train to Machu Picchu, where your adventure begins, as you hop aboard your stately railcar and trundle through narrow, winding valleys with rugged gorges, spectacular snow-capped peaks and countless archaeological ruins.

Indulge in lunch at a local restaurant.

The highlight of your day, however, is sure to be the timeless wonder and grandeur of Machu Picchu – the ‘Lost City of the Incas’. Soaring over 600 metres above the rumbling Urubamba River, this misty haven is filled with remarkably preserved palaces, baths and temples, as well as some 150 houses.

Your guided exploration will cover the terraces and aqueducts leading to the Temple of the Three Windows. You’ll also see the sun's rays pass through the temple, to light the Sacred Plaza, and make a visit to the ‘solar clock’.

Afterwards, return to Aguas Calientes by road, then hop on the train for your return journey to the Sacred Valley. Upon arrival, transfer to your hotel for dinner and overnight.

DAY FOUR:  Cusco – Lima

 

After breakfast, you’ll leave the hotel for a tour of this captivating city. Explore the mysterious fortress of Sacsayhuaman, which was constructed using boulders weighing up to 120 tons. Visit the sacred site of Koricancha to see the lovely Dominican Convent of Santo Domingo, which was built on the foundations of the Inca Empire’s most important temple. Then continue to the main square and the splendid Baroque-style Cusco Cathedral, built in the mid-1500s on the foundations of an Inca palace.

Lunch will be served in a local restaurant before you head to the airport for the flight from Cusco to Lima to rejoin your waiting ship.