Machu Picchu Luxury Tour: 8 Days / 7 Nights

Our representative will meet you at the airport and transport you to the hotel in downtown Lima.

After breakfast at the hotel, our representative will pick you up at an agreed upon time. We will drive you to the old town, home to museums and colonial architecture.

We will begin with a visit to the Gold Museum of Lima. It houses some of the golden relics from ancient times. Our local expert will give you an immersive tour introducing you to the Inca civilization and Andean mythology.

After the guided tour, we will stop for lunch at the Larco Museum, where you can savor local delicacies. Lima is regarded as the Gastronomic Capital of the World, and you will have the opportunity to learn more about Peruvian Gastronomy during lunch at this restaurant, known for its fusion of traditional and modern culinary techniques.

After lunch, we will give you a tour of the Larco Museum. It is popular for having the most significant private pottery collection in South America. Our local expert will share some lesser-known facts about different types of pots found here.

We will drive you back to the hotel after the tour the day. You can stop for dinner at the in-house hotel or a local meal at one of the nearby restaurants. Feel free to ask our tour guide for any recommendations.

After breakfast, we will drive you to the airport for your flight to Cusco. The one-hour flight will offer staggering views of the Andes as you begin your descent into the former capital of the Incas.

Our local expert will meet you upon arrival and drive you to the Sacred Valley of the Incas.

We won’t stay in Cusco City on the third day of your Machu Picchu Luxury Tour. This would allow you to acclimate and spend some time in the Sacred Valley of the Incas, which is relatively lower in altitude than Cusco.

On our way, we will be stopping at an Alpaca farm. It is roughly a 30-minute drive away from Cusco. Here, you will be introduced to the local textile industry. Locals will demonstrate the process of the extraction of wool from Llamas and Alpacas and how they dye them to knit sweaters and more.

For lunch, we will be stopping in the most recommended restaurant. It offers a delightful atmosphere while you enjoy your traditional Andean lunch.

After lunch, we will drive you to Pisac’s traditional market. Accompanied by our tour guide expert, you will visit the market here, which is famous for handicrafts and artifacts.

When you are done exploring the market, we will drive you to the hotel. You will be on your own for dinner on day 3, but we are happy to make recommendations.

The fourth day of the tour starts with a drive to Ollantaytambo. After breakfast, we will take you by private transport to Ollantaytambo. Often referred to as the Living Inca Town, the city has been continuously inhabited since the Inca civilization.

Ollantaytambo:

Locals here continue to practice their ancestors’ age-old traditions and customs.

Ollantaytambo is situated amidst two hills, each of which the house Inca ruins. We will visit the most prominent one here, the most sacred Inca site, which turned into a battleground during the infamous battle of Ollantaytambo in 1532.

Maras:

After getting an insight into the life of the locals and the history of Ollantaytambo, we will drive you to Maras. Maras is home to the most picturesque site in the Sacred Valley of the Incas, the salt mines. They have existed since pre-inca times and are built on the slope of a hill.

Locals here practice the traditional solar evaporation method. They let in natural spring water and wait for it to evaporate. When it does, it leaves behind crystals of salt, which are manually scrapped out.

Moray:

We will then visit Moray. Home to circular farming terraces, Moray was more like an agricultural laboratory to the Incas. The Roman amphitheater-like circular terrace is dug into the ground with different levels.

Each level has a different temperature, allowing the Incas to determine the best weather conditions to grow a crop. There is a roughly 15 degrees Celsius (27 degrees Fahrenheit) difference between the top and bottom levels.

We will stop for lunch in a delightful local restaurant. The restaurant is nestled in the mountains and offers delicious local cuisine.

After lunch, we will drive you back to the hotel. You will be on your own for dinner on day 4, but we are happy to make recommendations.

After an Andean breakfast, we will transport you to the train station. You will be boarding the Vistadome train to the town of Aguas Calientes.

The three-hour ride from the Andes to Amazon will offer staggering views of snow-capped Andean peaks as you leave Ollantaytambo. You will notice a change in topography as you will near Aguas Calientes.

Once in Aguas Calientes, we will transport you to your hotel.

The highlight of your Peru travel experience. We will visit the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu early in the morning. Your private tour guide will assist you in entering the citadel.

Your original passport will be verified against the entrance ticket by local authorities.

Once inside the citadel, you will witness the shimmering rays of the morning sun beaming on the mortar walls of Machu Picchu as the blanket of clouds unveils the citadel.

The two-hour tour will begin with a short introduction to the Inca empire and the prominence of Machu Picchu to the Incas.

We will then visit the renowned sites, the remains of royal quarters, ceremonial sites, and more.

After the tour, you will have free time to explore the citadel independently. If you have booked a climb to Huayna Picchu or Machu Picchu mountain, enjoy the adventure with our local expertise.

Alternatively, you can also hike to Sungate. This is the entrance point for those walking the esteemed Inca trail to Machu Picchu.

After taking in the views and getting an immersive insight into Inca civilization, we will exit the citadel and take the 25-minute bus back to Aguas Calientes. You will have some free time to stop for lunch or saunter the cobble-stoned streets with shops selling souvenirs.

Around midday, you will be taking the Vistadome train back to Ollantaytambo. Our representative will meet you on arrival and drive you back to Cusco. We will accommodate you in the heart of Cusco City Hotel.

After breakfast, we will pick you up from your hotel for a half-day tour of the prominent sites in Cusco City.

Our first stop will be in Qorikancha. To the Incas, this was the holiest site. From there, they worshiped one of their three supreme Gods, Inti (Sun God).

Qorikancha:

During the Inca rule, the courtyard of Qorikancha was full of idols made entirely of Gold. The golden glory did not stay for long, though. It was tarnished soon when the Spanish rulers captured Atahualpa, the renowned Inca emperor.

The Incas stripped most of the gold to pay ransom for his release. True to the colonial form, on receiving the ransom, they reneged on his release and killed him.

Upon conquering Cusco, the conquistadors demolished the temple to build the church of Santo Domingo on its foundations.

Our local expert will give you a detailed tour of different prominent parts of the temple.

After exploring the temple, we will drive out of the city and up the hill to tour the remains of the prominent Inca fortress, Sacsayhuaman.

Sacsayhuaman:

Nestled on a hilltop overlooking the center of Cusco, Sacsayhuaman was built using massive stones, each weighing over a ton. Even today, how the Incas transported these stones here is a mystery.

After soaking in the panoramic view of Cusco and marveling at the Incan architecture, we will drive further to Q’enqo.

Q’enqo:

Q’enqo is another notable Inca site. The Incas used this place to make their offering to Mother Nature, often as a form of sacrifice. They also did mummification of corpses here.

The tour will end in the afternoon. In the evening, you can walk around the center (downtown) area at your leisure.

In the morning, you will meet our local celebrity, who is known as the number one gastronomy representative in the Andes. We will walk downtown to the local market to explore and experience the local organic production and immerse ourselves in the colorful atmosphere to get all the ingredients to participate in the local gastronomy cooking demo. Enjoy lunch with a pisco sour that will be prepared by yourself.

Depending on your flight timings, we will transport you to Cusco Airport for your flight to Lima and then home.