Itinerary

1. Cusco - Aguas Calientes

   We pick you up from your hotel in Cusco to transfer you during a 2-hour ride to Ollantaytambo's railway station. We get on a train and continue until Km 104, where a checking point of the Inca Trail is located. We pass through to the Vilcanota River(bridge) and start the Inca TrailTrekking! The first archaeological site to visit is Chachabamba, guided tour. Then we continue through a mixture of cacti vegetation and a cloud forest towards another Incan significant site - Wiñay Wayna. But before we reach it, we enjoy a refresh in a local waterfall! Where you have lunch and a rest. Later on, we can admire the sunset above Machu Picchu when we get to the Sun´s Gate (Inti Punku) before entering the Inka citadel. However, today is too late to have a guided tour of this overwhelming Incan city, so we descend slowly to Aguas Calientes Town enjoying beautiful surrounding scenery on the way! We spend the night in a comfortable hotel in Aguas Calientes.

2. Aguas Calientes - Machu Picchu - Cusco

   After early morning breakfast, we will take a bus up to the mysterious city of Machu Picchu. Our Tour Guide shows us around the Incan city and explains to us about its history and purposes. After the guided tour, you will have free time and its best opportunity to take a picture and walk in the Incas' lost city. There are some animal such Llamasand birds, or if you would like the best experience, you can pay the extra for the mountains, and we are allowed to climb up for about 45 minutes to Huayna Picchu or to Machu Picchu mountain (peaks above Machu Picchuserving to take some panoramic pictures of the Inka city). Then, we are given time off to spend and explore Machu Picchu on our own. Machu Picchu is both, the best and the least known site of the Incas. It is not mentioned in any Spanish conquistador´s chronicle so that contemporary archaeologists can not do anything more than speculate on its functions. Local Quechuan farmers had known about Machu Picchu for centuries before an 11-year-old boy showed the American historian Hiram Bingham (who was searching for Vilcabamba) this site on the 24th of July 1911. At that time, all the rest of the world became aware of its existence. However, the site was covered with thick vegetation, so Hiram Bingham and his team returned and within the years of 1912 and 1915 cleared its surface. Over the years, plenty of work has been done on excavating and studying the site. Despite these efforts, many unanswered questions remain.

   After exploring Machu Picchu, you come back to Aguas Calientes walking. The two day Inca Trail ends up with a train ride to Ollantaytambo(alternatively to Poroy), from where we are taken by van back to Cusco.