Day 01 Lima / Cuzco
Upon arrival, you will be met and transferred to your hotel. Rest of the morning free to adjust to the altitude.
After lunch on your own, we’ll enjoy a guided tour of the nearby Inca ruins including Kenko, the ceremonial bath of Tambomachay and the amazing Sacsayhuaman, a huge fortress of massive stones. We will also take a tour of the city including the Koricancha, temple of the Sun, a nice example of the Inca architecture, the Main Plaza, the Cathedral and much more. Return to your hotel later in the day.(B)
Day 02 Cuzco / Machu Picchu
You will be transferred to Cuzco station where you will catch the train to Machu Picchu. The 3 hour train journey follows the ever narrowing gorge of the Urubamba river to Aguas Calientes town on the way you will see picturesque Andean scenery and traditional villages. As we approach the Machu Picchu Sanctuary, the valley turns into a canyon and the vegetation changes to a cloud forest. Then you’ll board a bus for a 30-minute drive up the switchback road to Machu Picchu. Once at the site and after an orientation by the guide, then have sometime guided exploration of the fabled Inca citadel. Situated on the spine of a jungle cloaked granite peak towering some 600 metres above an entrenched meander of the roaring river below, the site is frequently shrouded in misty clouds pierced by the powerful equatorial sun. Constructed from precisely sculptured granite blocks carefully joined with the projecting exposed stone of the surrounding mountain, the site may well be the finest architectural achievement of the new world.
Overnight at selected hotel in the surroundings of Machu Picchu. (B, L)
Day 03 Machu Picchu /Cuzco
Morning free to explore the ruins on your own without the crowds and enjoy an unforgettable sunrise over the fabled inca citadel.
After lunch (not included), we’ll descend by bus around 3:00 p.m. to catch the train to Cuzco and then bus transfer to your hotel.
Overnight at hotel (B)
More about Machu Picchu
Perched high above a sinuous bend in the Urubamba River, Machu Picchu has lured explorers, poets and pilgrims to its mist-wreathed ridge top ever since its discovery by the American explorer Hiram Bingham in July, 1911
No one lived here before the Incas. Those mighty empire builders from Cuzco discovered this extraordinary place, finding it rich in natural features sacred to their religion. Both inspired and humbled by its dramatic natural beauty, their answer was to create on a vast scale one of the planet's most sensitive and harmonious works of art. The aesthetic genius of its layout and architecture coupled with the durability of its brilliant planning and engineering have given us today this finest of jewels among the UNESCO world heritage sites
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Scholars still argue about the meaning of Machu Picchu: why it was built and what purpose it served, who lived there and when they departed. Most agree that its main intent was spiritual and ceremonial.
