"INKAS", Inside The Sacred Valley

(PROGRAM EJ1: 7Days - 6 Nights)

Culture and ethnography in the ANDES 

An introduction to the complexities of the Inka Culture...

The Cusco Region is renowned for its beautiful mountains, river gorges, and pristine lowland forests.

Explore the very heart of the pre-Columbian Empire of the Sun, its culture, history, art, architecture, weavings, agriculture, etc. Besides, the real unforgettable highlights are the indigenous people of the Andes themselves and their traditional way of life.

Let's share this unforgettable experience.

- Transfers and Tour services in PRIVATE BASIS according Itinerary.
- 3 Nights Hotel in The Sacred Valley ( Urubamba ) Breakfast included .
- 1 Night Hotel in Machupicchu breakfast included )
- 2 Nights Hotel in Cusco, breakfast included.
- Admissions in all tours.
- Meals according itinerary
- Professional tour guides & staff ( Private service )
- Comfortable private transportation .
- Permanent assistance from our staff .

ITINERARY

Day One:

Upon arrival from Lima, you will be taken to our hotel at the quaint village of Yucay in the Urubamba Valley (2800 m). This special valley will help your body get adapted to the high altitude.

During the afternoon in the hotel, you will be visited by a textile weaver for a demonstration on traditional weaving techniques and then you will receive an introductory lecture on the Inka Civilization.

Day Two:

This day you will get in touch with the people of the WILLOQ Community, near Ollantaytambo. They are one of the oldest Indigenous Communities of the Urubamba Valley preserving their traditions and customs, as well as their social organization, homes, food, religion, etc. They still keep their colorful typical and beautiful clothing.

During the afternoon you will visit the town and fortress of Ollantaytambo; one of the best existing examples of Inkan Urban Planning and one of the few places in South America where people still live in the same palaces and homes that were occupied 500 years ago.

Day Three:

You will be driven to Chinchero, the little known ruins of Moray, and the salt works of Maras. You will be able to take easy walks and a picnic lunch away from the principal tourism routes.

At Moray, the Inkas converted four natural depressions in the landscape into terraces which, due to the different degrees of exposition to the sunlight, represented many different ecological zones at a single site. Thus, hundreds of years ago the Inkas supposedly used Moray as an agricultural experiment station for the development of different crop strains.

Day Four:

In the morning, you will leave your hotel in Yucay and travel by train in order to visit the impressive archeological site of Machupicchu (2,400 m), which require no introduction to the well-rounded traveler. Exploring this spectacular and mysterious city in ruins you will inevitably postulate your own hypothesis as to its origins and functions. The late afternoon and next early morning will be invested in bird watching in the quality cloud forests of the Machupicchu Historical Sanctuary. You may have a glimpse of the Andean Cock-of-the-Rock, flocks of colorful tanagers and some of the sanctuary's 32 species of hummingbirds; as well as of one of biggest varieties of exotic flowers (orchids among them) and luxuriant trees. You will spend the night at the Hotel el Pueblo in the valley beneath the ruins.

Day Five:

Afternoon return to Cusco City by train. The night will be spent at a hotel in town (3,400 m).

Day Six:

You will be up at dawn to take a short drive to lake Huacarpay, where you will enjoy observing representative samples of the Andean waterfowl. Then you will continue southeast down the Valley of Cusco to Pikillaqta, the only ruins of a Pre-Inka City near Cusco. It is attributed to the Wari Culture, and probably marks the southern boundary of their territory before the rise of the Inkas. It is a quiet place, good to contrast their crude stonework with the striking Inka stone masonry.

Then you will continue your journey toward Andahuaylillas; a typical Andean Village where you will visit what is known as the "Sistine Chapel of America", an old church from the 17^th century with a nice and impressive monstrance, paintings, and woodcarvings gilded with gold leaves.

Afternoon city tour of Cusco; to admire the splendid blend of fabulous Inka stonework and Spanish colonial architecture.

Day Seven:

You will be driven from your hotel in Cusco to the airport for your flight back home.