Cusco, the capital of the Inca Empire, is one of the main tourist destinations in Peru and the world. Cusco became the capital of one of the largest pre-Columbian empires and its name in Quechua means “Navel of the World.” The Inca Empire is famous for its road system, which connected to Cusco to the most remote villages of the empire.
Tour Itinerary:
Day 1 : Abra Malaga – Santa Maria
We pick you up early from your hotel, then drive for about 3 hours to Abra Malaga (4350 m). Here we have a brief chat with our guide and get ready for our adventure on bicycles. Throughout our route we will see the change in environment due to altitude levels, starting at a very cold point and descending to a tropical climate (1400 m). On the road we will be able to appreciate views of “Mount Veronica” and while descending will also see animals typical of the area and fruit trees. After about 5 hours we will reach the town of Santa Maria. Dinner and overnight here.
Day 2 : Santa Maria – Santa Teresa
We get up at 5:00 am and have breakfast, after that we begin the day by walking along the Vilcanota River and the Inca Trail. We will see much in the way of animals and birds like parrots, hummingbirds, and the Andean Cock-of-the-rock, Peru’s national bird. We will also see plants and fruits such as bananas, avocados, cassava, mango, coffee plantations, and the sacred coca leaf. We will come to a village called Qellomayo where we can rest and have lunch. After 2 hours we continue and will arrive at the medicinal thermal baths “Cocalmayo.” There we can relax a bit and then continue walking 30 minutes to get to Santa Teresa, where we will have dinner and overnight .
Day 3 : Santa Teresa – Aguas Calientes
We get up at 7.00am. After breakfast we continue our way along the Vilcanota River. We will see waterfalls, mountains, and fruit trees. When we reach the hydroelectric dam, a common place to journey to Machu Picchu, there is a small archaeological center of Intihuatana and Machu Picchu. We will rest and eat lunch here. We then continue our trek (8 km) to our destination, Aguas Calientes, arriving at around 4.00 pm. We head to the hotel and in the evening we have our last dinner and an optional visit to the hot springs.
Day 4 : Aguas Calientes – Machu Picchu – Cusco
We wake up at 5:00 am and have breakfast, then take a bus to the archaeological complex of Machu Picchu, where you can appreciate the spectacular sunrise. After this we have a 2 hour guided tour by a guide and the rest of the day free to relax, take pictures and hike up to Wayna Picchu (Young Mountain) if you wish. (You must buy the ticket in advance to Wayna Picchu, as a limited number of people can go per day.) We return to Aguas Calientes at around 2:00 PM to have lunch and take the train back from Aguas Calientes to Ollantaytambo. We return to Cusco by around 9:30 p.m.
Mountain bike.
Safety equipment (h
