Peru: Sacred Valley Exploration

Suggested Itinerary

Take a morning flight from Lima to Cusco. Once in Cusco your guide and transport will be waiting for you. Have lunch at a local restaurant and then head the beautiful rural region of the Sacred Valley. The Valley is located 1600 feet lower than Cusco City, therefore allowing a gentle acclimatization process to increasing altitude.

Your guide and transportation will be available in case you would like to keep exploring the area.

Overnight El Abergue 

In the heights of the Sacred Valley there are humble and hospitable people who maintain traditions that have survived for thousands of years. They live in community and know how to read the signs of nature. Many of the women still create intricate and skilled textiles, weaving in impressive iconography, unique flora and fauna, and all from handspun, hand dyed wool and alpaca. Typical cuisine is made from diverse roots, tubers, grains products, and vegetable – many of which share a common past linked to pre-Hispanic cultures.

This morning your guide and transport take you visit this authentic Quechua Andean Community. After a warm welcome, the community members will invite you to participate in their daily activities. Weaving and agriculture are two of the most important skills performed by this community since pre-Columbian times, so you will have the chance to walk through the field crops, learning not only about the native products, but also about the different plants used to dye their textiles. Then you will learn about the entire dyeing and weaving process, having the chance to put hands on the different activities. Have a picnic lunch afterward.

During the afternoon we take the route to Pisac so you can visit the market and archeological site on your way to the hotel. Depending on your specific interests, your guide will lead you walking the narrow paths along the Pisac Inca ruins, a quite impressive archaeological site, where you will find large terraces, ancient cemeteries and a number of buildings formerly used as residences for high-ranked personalities, and also as worship areas. Together with the archaeological site, the traditional market is one of Pisac’s attractions; there you find the time to walk slowly from one stand to the other, admiring the typical art-crafts. The market is known for silver too.

Overnight El Abergue 

Today you will keep exploring the Sacred Valley. You can choose between the following options:

Option 1: Via Ferrata (shared service: joining a group)

The Ferrata route, located in the heart of the Sacred Valley, just 5 minutes from Ollantaytambo, is a 300 mts (980 ft) cables and iron ladders nested o 1,000 ft cliff overlooking the Sacred Valley of the Incas. These cables and ladders have been carefully placed giving participant the necessary safety and opportunity to observe the bought of the landscape from a different point of view.

Ferrata Route is the name used to describe the high paths founded in the Alps, using fixed cables and iron ladders to climb difficult sections (Another name is Klettersteig). Originally Ferrata routes were built in the Italian Dolomites for the movement of troops during World War I. When the war ended, these routes passed to be used by mountain guides to take customers by the foot of the mountains

The climber is permanently tide to a steel cable that runs through the entire route. Usually does not require any climbing rope. Metal ladders, bridges and similar facilities are used. This helps maintain the physical difficulty of climbing and mix beginners skills while providing access to a very high, and extreme vertical sections of a mountain, that could only be accessible to experienced rock climbers. Box Lunch.

Overnight Hotel Sol Y Luna

Optional: Via Ferrata and Skylodge Adventure Suites where you can sleep within a completely transparent hanging bedroom, which allows you to appreciate the impressive view of the Sacred Valley by night surrounded by the Milky Way. 

Option 2: Horse Riding

Your guide and transport will take you to Maras Village. After a short explanation on how to get know your “Peruano de Paso” and a demonstration on how to ride this noble and graceful horse, our trip will commence. We will depart from Maras Village, where you will get a picture of the everyday life of the people who live there and where you can admire the typical facades of the Columbian houses. We will ride through spectacular places where few people come through and where nature puts on its best to impress you. Thanks to the horses, you will be able to closely observe the local farming activities; no other way of transport would allow you to do this.

We will visit the archeological site of Moray, known as the “Inca center of agricultural experiments” and the Salinas de Maras with its astonishing salt wells that will reveal ancient secrets to us. We will also admire indescribable landscapes of raising sacred mountains. Among the peaks, you will be able to distinguish the 682 meters high “Waqaq Willka” (“Crying sacred mountain”), known as La Verónica, as well as the guardian of the Sacred Valley of the Incas, “El Chicón”, 5,530 meters above ground. You will also have a panoramic sight of the “Vilcanota” mountain chain.

Overnight El Abergue 

Day 5: Trek Begins, Ollantaytambo – Silque – Ancashcocha

After a hearty breakfast we are ready for this challenging day. We begin ascending towards the high Huayllanay Pass (4,550 meters). At first we take a steep zigzag trail up to where we find an original cobblestone paved Inca trail that will take us smoothly towards the high pass. Not far we can spot the beautiful waterfall that feeds into the Ancashcocha Glacier Lake. The wild “Huallata” or Andean Geese and Black Ibis are often spotted in this high area. We will enjoy a picnic lunch in the midst of this high mountain scenery; later as we begin descending from the pass we will enjoy beautiful views of high mountains; we will pass by the ruins of Incarajay and further down we find small settlements scarcely populated by native peasants that mark our way to the village of Q’esqa.

Further along we follow a long descending trail into greener vegetation while views of the classic Inca trail to Machu Picchu appear in the distance. Later in the afternoon, we’ll reach our campsite next to the beautiful Inca remains of Paucarcancha: A unique Inca settlement restored to original condition that probably served as a “Tambo” or rest point and also a control point between two canyons that lead the way to the main trail to Machu Picchu. Views of the nearby glacier, snow peaks and well preserved Inca remains are the highlight of this day during our trek.

Overnight Camping 

After breakfast we begin to descend on a well-defined trail down a narrow canyon until we reach the Hatunchaca bridge near the village of Huayllabamba where we meet the Classic Inca Trail and the numerous hikers that will be going the opposite direction from us. We continue to hike down a wide trail until we reach a lookout point to observe the Llactapata archaeological complex: this large Inca remain was restored a few years ago. Further along as we continue descending we’ll find scattered peasant’s homes along the trail until we reach the Valley floor next to the Urubamba River. When we reach the valley we continue upriver to our private campsite at Km. 82. Located right in front of the spectacular Veronica Glacier a warm cup of tea and cookies will be waiting for us at the dining room. Here we camp the night in the comfort of roomy tents, indoor plumbing toilets, hot showers and a firewood sauna for your enjoyment.

Overnight Camping 

In the morning you board the train. The train-ride to Aguas Calientes lasting about one and a half hour, give you the opportunity to admire how the landscape changes dramatically; from the typical Andean Valley, surrounded by mighty snow-capped mountains such as the Veronica, to a cloud-forest valley, full of exuberance and life. Your guide leads you straight to the bus station to take the bus up to the Machu Picchu citadel. The Incas worshiped nature, and built many of their structures in harmony with the dramatic landscape. Your guide will slowly lead you through the citadel, explaining the different theories about the buildings and temples. During the day you can keep exploring the area, perhaps walk to Inti Punku – The Sun Gate, or you can visit the Inca Bridge.

In the afternoon you take your bus back to Aguas Calientes and stay overnight at El Mapi

Overnight Hotel El Mapi Pueblo

Take a relaxed morning and perhaps even revisit Machu Picchu! Early in the afternoon you board the train back to Ollantaytambo, where your private transport is waiting to drive you back to Cusco. On way we will visit the nearby archaeological Incan sites and Sacsayhuaman.

Overnight Boutique Casa San Blas

After breakfast you will be met by your transport and guide to visit the most representative sites of the City. Especially interesting are: The 16th Century Cathedral and its rich Colonial treasures; the Santo Domingo Convent, once the Sacred temple of the Sun, also known as the Qoricancha, which inner walls were, according to the chronicles, once completely covered in gold;  the San Pedro Market, Cusco’s main market, where you will be able to experience the real Cusco and its people’s customs; San Blas traditional neighborhood, which narrow streets resemble the charm of ancient towns in southern Spain.

Overnight Boutique Casa San Blas

Today, your transport picks you up from your hotel to take you to the airport to board your flight back to Lima. Upon arrival to Lima your airport assistance will assist you with your check in at airport for your international flight home