Day 01: Lima, Peru
Upon arrival in Lima, you are met for private transfer to your hotel for check-in. It is a city of rare fascination and unexpected pleasures. Lima has decaying colonial splendor and the teeming vitality of an oriental bazaar; melancholy cloudy winters and warm breezy summers; impoverished urban sprawl and quiet elegant corners among ancient buildings where the night air is scented with jasmine. Melia HotelDay 02: Lima-Cusco
Breakfast at the hotel. Transfer to the Lima airport for your flight to Cusco. NOTE: Domestic flight Lima-Cusco is not included in land price. Upon arrival in Cusco, you are met for private transfer to your hotel for check-in. This afternoon, enjoy a private half-day tour of Cusco with your local guide. Visit the Cathedral on the Plaza de Armas, La Compania (a beautiful church of fine carving and gold leaf taking nearly 100 years to complete) - as well as a variety of old-colonial style buildings. Novotel (B)Day 03: Cusco
Breakfast at the hotel. Enjoy a full day at your leisure in Cusco. Optional excursions to the Sacred Valley (rafting, mountain biking, and visits to markets, villages or ruins) may be arranged. Novotel (B)
Day 04: Cusco - Inca Trail (MONDAY DEPARTURES)
Breakfast at the hotel. A spectacular drive through the Sacred Valley of the Incas takes us to Chillca, our trailhead. Crossing a footbridge, we take an undulating trek through a dry cactus zone beneath soaring views to the snows of Mt. Verónica, with the turbulent Urubamba river on our right. We pause on a bluff high above the Cusichaca valley for a view of the imposing sculpted terraces of Llaqtapata, a massive Inca farming complex. Then we turn south and follow this side valley upstream to the village of Huayllabamba, where we make camp. Huayllabamba Camp (B,L,D)Day 05: Inca Trail
From Huayllabamba we begin a steeper ascent, climbing the Llullucha valley along a stream that rushes through enchanted native unca woodland. Crossing the rim of a small plateau, we abruptly find ourselves in the puna, the treeless grasslands of the high Andes. Here a stretch of open trail climbs beneath mighty crags to our first and highest pass, Warmiwañusca (4,200m/13,776ft). From Warmiwañusca we can look back to the spectacular snowpeaks and valleys of the Huayanay massif, and ahead to a distant view of tomorrow’s trail to the second pass. Descending a stepped stone trail we encounter our campsite in a clearing of the forested Pacamayo valley. Pacaymayo Camp (B,L,D)Day 06: Inca Trail
We pick up an Inca stairway and ascend again past the small Inca site of Runkuracay. As we reach the second pass the landscape opens onto spectacular new views to the snowpeaks of the Pumasillo range. We descend again to the ruins of Sayacmarca (Inaccessible Town), an intricate labyrinth of houses, plazas and water channels, perched precariously on a rocky spur overlooking the Aobamba valley. The Inca trail, now a massive buttressed structure of granite paving stones, continues along the steep upper fringes of the cloud forest through a colorful riot of orchids, bromeliads, mosses and ferns. At the third pass we camp by pinnacles topped with Inca viewing platforms, overlooking the archaeological complex of Phuyupatamarca (Cloud-level Town).. Phuyupatamarca Camp (B,L,D)Day 07: Inca Trail - Machu Picchu
We explore the wondrous maze of Inca stone towers, fountains and stairways spilling down the mountainside at Phuyupatamarca then begin a long descent through ever-changing layers of cloud forest. An Inca stairway partly cut from living granite leads us finally to the site of Wiñay Wayna (Forever Young), the largest and most exquisite of the Inca Trail sites. In the afternoon we follow the last stretch of trail across a steep mountainside through a lush, humid cloud-forest of giant ferns and broad-leaf vegetation. Suddenly we cross the stone threshold of Intipunku (Sun Gate) and encounter an unforgettable sweep of natural beauty and human artistry –a backdrop of twisting gorge and forested peaks framing the magical city of Machu Picchu.Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel (B,L,D)Day 08: Machu Picchu - Cusco
Breakfast at the hotel. Return to Machu Picchu by bus and spend the day in both guided and individual exploration, visiting the best-known features of this astounding and mysterious Inca settlement. Some will want to take the optional hike to the summit of Wayna Picchu for an amazing overview of the site, while others may want to investigate Machu Picchu’s multitude of hidden nooks and corners. After a full-on experience of this glorious monument to the Inca achievement, return shuttle/walk to Aguas Calientes train station to board your return train to Cusco. You are met for transfer to your hotel for overnight.Novotel (B)Day 09: Cusco - Depart
Breakfast at the hotel. Private transfer to the Cusco airport for your departure. (B)
