Classic & Lima & Puno (Train from Ollanta & Mapi next day)

Day-by-Day Itinerary

Day 1: Arrival to Lima

Upon your arrival to Lima, one of our representatives will meet you at the airport and take you to your hotel in Lima. * An extra day in Lima can be added upon request. Please let us know if you like us to add additional activities.

Day 2: Lima City Tour & Museum Visit (B, L)

Many tours tend to forget about Lima on the way to Cusco. In our opinion, the history and anthropology of Lima, with Cultures that pre-date the Incas by thousands of years, provides an excellent starting point to better understand and appreciate the Inca cultures you will see in Cusco. In the City Tour, we will see the Spanish city Square, get a snapshot of the most important city sites, and visit a world-class museum to learn about pre-Inca cultures. Sites to be visited: Main Square, Government Palace, City Hall, San Francisco Monastery (including catacombs), old streets with colonial houses, The Cathedral, and a great driving tour through beautiful San Isidro and Miraflores. You will have a delicious typical Peruvian lunch at one of the best restaurants in Lima. After lunch, you will visit the Museum of Anthropology, or Museum Larco, where we will share Peruvian culture from the many thousands of years of pre-Inca societies up to colonial Peru. * While in Lima, we highly recommend adding culinary activities such as cooking classes and tasting dinners in the best restaurants of Latin America, for more information check our Culinary site: taste-of-peru.com and ask our agents for more information. An extra day in Lima can be added upon request.

Day 3: Fly to Cusco, & Afternoon City Tour (B)

We transfer back to the airport for the short, one hour flight to Cusco, the ancient capital of the Incas, located at 11,100 feet above sea level. You will be met upon arrival and transferred to your hotel of choice. You will have the remainder of the morning to rest and freshen up. It’s best to take it easy this morning to let your body adjust to the altitude. Some find enjoying a cup of hot coca tea a real help in adjusting to the high elevation and that is what the locals traditionally use coca for. Both lunch and dinner are on your own today as there are so many choices available at reasonable price either in or near your hotel. * Depending on which domestic flight you choose you will have more or less time to rest.

After lunch, you will set out on grand tour of Cusco, the former capital of the once vast Incan Empire. The city’s Spanish Colonial architecture both overlays and is interlaced with the earlier Incan architecture. We walk Cusco’s impressive Plaza de Armas and visit both the Spanish cathedral and Incan temple of the sun, Qoricancha. The Spanish conquistadores destroyed significant portions of the Inca civilization while leaving their mark on Cusco. Ornate cathedrals, adobe walls, carved balconies, hidden courtyards and cobblestone streets add to the historic richness of the ancient Incan capital.

Next we set out to visit the ruins above the city that were considered an essential part of the ancient capital. We start with one of the most impressive of them all, Sacsayhuaman. This is where Inti Raymi, the Festival of the Sun, is held during the Summer Solstice. Some of the stones used to build the site weigh up to 70 tons yet are fitted so precisely–without the use of mortar–that one cannot slide even the thinnest object between them. Some believe that the site forms the head of puma or jaguar and that the huge triangulated walls form its teeth, or symbolize lightening. Tambomachay, the Temple of the Sacred Waters, is another site we will visit and is a marvel of hydraulic engineering. Its waters still flow today. At Q´enqo we’ll see the remains of a ceremonial site used for fertility rites and for celebrations of the solstice and equinox. * An extra day in Cusco can be added upon request. Please let us know if you like us to add additional activities.

Day 4: Sacred Valley of the Incas & Train to Aguas Calientes (B, L, S)

After breakfast, we set out into the Urubamba Valley, also known as the Sacred Valley of the Incas. Our first stop will be a visit to the the Pisac market. The Pisac market has a wide variety of artisan arts & crafts and you will have the chance to see the many different products that the sacred valley produces. This is a great opportunity to for you to do some unique shopping, and to purchase souvenirs for your family and friends. After the market, we head deeper into the Sacred Valley and visit the Inca town of Ollantaytambo, still inhabited by the locals in much the same way as it was during the time of the Incas. The lodging area is formed by complex structures known as “canchas” or apartments. The Inca built a temple on a terraced site above the town. The impressive, standing stones they erected, conjure up images of Atlantis. This is the site where Manco Inca and his warriors staged a temporary victory over the Spanish Conquistadors, led by Francisco Pizarro. During this victory, the Inca warriors flooded the fields, while raining down spears and arrows from above, making it difficult for the Spanish horses to maneuver, ultimately forcing a rare retreat on the part of the Conquistadors.

We will have lunch in Ollantaytambo and from this point; we will take the train to Aguas Calientes, the town below MachuPicchu. After your arrival you will be assisted in your check-in at one of the suggested hotels in Aguas Calientes. Once checked in and relaxed, you will have a quick briefing on your next day: Your MachuPicchu journey. This briefing will help to clarify some questions about what to bring and how much, what to wear, pick up times in case you decide to hike, etc. You will have the remainder of the day free. * If you are interested in hike the Huaynapichu, please see note below.

Day 5: Machu Picchu (B, S)

The day you have been waiting for! You will have the unique option of watching the sunrise from the citadel, taking the first bus available. You also have the option of hike the HuaynaPicchu on your own, before your guided tour. This day you will enjoy a full tour of the lost city and have lunch on your own after the tour. In the afternoon we say farewell to Machu Picchu as we set out by train heading to the station at Poroy and then on to Cusco Hotel by car arriving at night. * An overnight in MachuPicchu can be added upon request. Also, we can add bus and entrance tickets for a second day at the citadel. Please let us know if you like us to add additional activities and meals.

Day 6: Tour to Puno (B, L)

After breakfast at your hotel in Cusco, you will be picked up, and taken from your hotel to the Bus station in Cusco, in order to commence your journey to Puno. Your bus from Cusco to Puno, will take you through many interesting stops:

Andahuaylillas: A beautiful and charming town. The unique Church of San Pedro de Andahuaylillas is the most popular tourist attraction for visitors. Built at the beginning of the 17th century, the church walls are decorated with beautiful murals that depict the roads to glory and to hell. Raqchi: This town is located following in route to Puno. The Raqchi town has a unique church that dates back to the Colonial period church. The local craftsmen produce beautiful pieces of clay pottery to sell during the town fair. Four kilometers past this town, you will arrive at the archaeological site of Raqchi, an Inca sanctuary built by Pachacutec after his victory over the Chancas Nation. This is a gigantic construction. The most outstanding features of the construction are two rows of round columns, unique in Inca architecture, and a large longitudinal wall that runs parallel to the buildings. In this site, there is also a small museum managed by local residents as part of the complex. La Raya: Is a community dedicated to sheep farming. There are hot springs in the area. This is the highest point on the route of Puno and the doorway to this Department. Pucara: This is a quaint village in the Vilcanota Valley. The potters of Pucara are famous for the small ceramic toritos or bulls they make. Traditionally, Cuzquenian people build their houses with the help of the community.  When the house is finish, the padrino (godfather) puts one of these toritos on top of each house.  You can see examples of this all over Cuzco.  The area is also well-know for the pre-Inca Pucara culture. Architectural ruins and stone monuments of this important culture period, the intermediate formative (between the 3rd and 8th centuries A.D), are situated close to the San Cayetano precipice. Lunch today will be at the town of Sucuani. At the conclusion of the bus tour, you will be met at the bus station by one of our representatives, where they will escort you to your hotel in Puno. * Optional train or flight to Puno could be arranged

Day 7: Uros & Taquile Island, Lake Titicaca (B, L)

After breakfast, we will pick you up for your guided tour of Uros Island. The residents of Uros islands are Aymaras who have inherited the way of life of the long-gone Uros. Their livelihood is based on the benefits of a unique plant: the totora reed. They use it to build their homes, boats and even the floating islands they live on, periodically adding new layers of reeds. While in Uros you will be adapted to the customs by a local family, who has a unique experience of sharing their culture and customs. Next, we will be transfer to Taquile. After lunch you’ll set out on a grand tour of Taquile Island. Its inhabitants speak only Quechua. Farmers, fishermen and weavers, they wear distinctive outfits. Heirs of the ancient, commune-like system called ayllu, the people of Taquile offer room and board to visitors in their own homes, ensuring an opportunity to share in their customs and way of life. Taquile has several hills and many archeological ruins. After the tour, you go back to Puno where dinner is on your own. There are many places in Puno you can explore this night. * An extra day or two in Puno can be added upon request. There are tours to Amantani, the unique Suasi Island and other places in Puno. Please ask our team.

Day 8: Private Sillustani Tour & Flight Back to Lima – Home (B)

After breakfast at your hotel in Puno, you will be picked up for a private guided tour of Sillustani. On this tour you will have the chance to visit the ruins of Sillustani en route to the airport. This archeological site contains the famous chullpas, round burial towers built of stone, as well as some standing as tall as 39 ft. They were once used by the Collas and later by the Incas. Sillustani is also a good place to observe wild guinea pigs, birds and other wildlife of the high andes. There is a small site museum for you to look around in prior to departing directly from the tour, to the Airport in Juliaca. At this juncture, you will catch your flight back into the capital, and connect on your flight back home. * An evening flight is required. Please let us know if you like to add extra activities or an extra day in Lima if your flight is the next day.

NOTE: Some people prefer to go directly to the Sacred Valley upon arrival to the Cusco Airport. Please let us know if you prefer that to send you an updated itinerary

Not exactly what you want?

Remember, that Magical focuses on providing the best available options, and can work with you in fully customizing your tour to better fit your interests and budget without compromising the quality of your tour. Just contact us with your questions and preferences, and we can modify this tour based on your expectations and requests.

Important Notes:

* About MachuPicchu Entrance Tickets

As the popularity of MachuPicchu has increased in the last few years, and in order to preserve the ancient paths of MachuPicchu, the Peruvian Cultural Institute (INC) has restricted the number of people that could enter MachuPicchu to 2,500 people per day. This means that, once the 2,500 tickets are sold out, no further entrance tickets will available. Also, please note that to avoid a secondary market for these tickets, all tickets are issued with the name of the passenger, his/her passport number, nationality and date of birth. Therefore, tickets are non refundable and non transferable.

* About Huaynapichu Tickets

Entrance tickets to Huaynapichu are not longer free, entrance tickets are now US$12.00 per person. There are two scheduled visits per day, with a limit of 200 people per visit (Total of 400 per day). If you are interested in hiking the Huaynapichu, we will need you to let us know at the same time you book your trip since the Huaynapichu tickets need to be purchased in conjunction to the MachuPicchu tickets.

Price

This tour (*) is available from:

USD$819.90 per person – Group with Private Transfers

For single supplement and prices in a private service, please contact us!

* Based on double occupancy, 4 people, Budget Accommodations

IMPORTANT: As price depends on each passenger choices, please contact us to send you an updated price based on your specific request. Please send us the following information and we will respond within 24 hours with your updated price.

• Number of people in your party
• Level of accommodation (3,4,5*). Please see options
• Choosing a Private or Group Tour?
• Train choice. Please see options
• Adding options: if you like to add day tours, extra days, meals, etc
• Need domestic or international flights?
• Have a special request (ie: special diet, wheelchair, children, senior, etc)

What’s Included?

• Round-trip Expedition train. Upgrade to other trains: Vistadome or Hiram Bingham upon request
• Bus to Machu Picchu roundtrip
• Expert leadership / guides & support personnel for all listed tours
• Briefing for your MachuPicchu experience.
• Accommodations: 2 nights in Lima, 2 nights in Cusco, 1 night in Aguas Calientes and 2 nights in Puno
• Meals as noted (B = Breakfast, L = Lunch, D = Dinner, S = Snack). We can add any meals upon request
• Land excursions as noted including entrance fees (Lima Cathedral, San Francisco Catacombs, Lima Museum, BTG, Cusco Cathedral, Qoricancha, MachuPicchu, Uros & Taquile Island and Sillustani)
• Private transportation: Lima Airport/Lima Hotel, Lima Hotel/Lima Airport, Cusco Airport/Cusco Hotel, Train Station/Cusco Hotel, Cusco Hotel/Cusco Bus Station, Puno Bus Station/ Puno Hotel, Puno Hotel/Puno Airport.

What’s Not Included?

• Airport taxes: Local ($5-6) and International ($31) departure tax of payable in local currency by each passenger at Lima International Airport upon departure (if applicable)
• International and domestic airfares, usually quoted separately
• Insurance of any kind: mandatory evacuation insurance; suggested cancellation insurance, interruption, baggage loss, damage and delay
• Visas. Please be advised that some citizens other than Canadians and US may need visa to travel to Peru. Please advise us of your nationality to help you or check with the Peruvian Consulate
• Tipping & Gratuities (Guides $4 per person per day / Drivers $1 per person per day)
• Excess baggage charges
• Medical immunizations
• Items of a personal nature (clothing, sodas, liquor, snacks, laundry, etc.)

Domestic Tickets

Lima/Cusco/Lima: From US $190 per person. This is an example price. Prices depend on date and time of booking