DAY 1: CUSCO – OLLANTAYTAMBO – INCA TRAIL KM 104 – WIÑAYWAYNA – SUN GATE – MACHUPICCHU – CUSCO.
4:00 AM we will pick you up from your hotel in Cusco, to transfer you to the train station in Ollantaytambo for 1 hour and 30 minutes approximately, during the trip you can see the Sacred Valley of the Incas, farmland, majestic snow-capped mountains; in Ollantaymtambo 6:10 AM we will board the train that will take you to km. 104 the trip is approximately 1 hour. It is here at Km 104 (2,200 m / 7,217 ft) where we will start the hike, we will pass by the bridge that is over the Urubamba River or Willkamayuc that translated from Quechua means Sacred River, which was very important for them. When we arrive at the control point, we have to show our identification documents such as Passport or Foreigners Card or National Identity Card. At 15 minutes walk is the archaeological center of Chachabamba and Choquesuysuy that are hidden in the semi-tropical forest, after your visit we will begin the walk through steps upwards to reach the next place on the way we will observe the sacred valley, waterfalls and different types of orchids of the semi-tropical forest, After 3 hours of walking we will arrive at Wiñaywayna (2,650 m / 8,694 ft) shows a perfect example of what was agriculture in the time of the Incas, as along its slopes lie a large number of circular terraces, where the Incas cultivated different agricultural products. The name Wiñaywayna comes from a beautiful orchid that abounds in the area and has the meaning in Spanish “Eternally young” and has more than 20 buildings, one of them the Temple of the Rainbow also called Temple of Fertility, the visit will be 1 hour on average, then we will enjoy the box lunch to replenish energy and continue to reach the control of Wiñaywayna.
In this second part of the tour we will walk for 2 hours through an Andean plane, stone stairs and tambos (“resting places”) to reach the Inti Punku – Sun Gate (2,720 m / 8,923 ft) that in Inca times functioned as an entrance control to the Citadel of Machu Picchu; From here we have an impressive panoramic view of Machu Picchu and the entire valley that surrounds it, then descend for approximately 30 minutes to reach the wonder of the world Machu Picchu (2,490 m / 8,169 ft).
Once here we will have a guided tour of 2 hours and 30 minutes to know the most important places of Machu Picchu, you can visit the most impressive places like the Royal Mausoleum, the temple of the 3 windows, the main temple, the Sacred Plaza, the famous Intihuatana where the wise Incas tied the sun on the winter solstice in June, staircases, squares, fountains, etc.. After the guided tour we will board the bus from Machu Picchu to the town of Aguas Calientes, we will make a trip of approximately 25 minutes, once we arrive to the town we will have time to have dinner or take a short walk around this town and maybe visit its handicraft market.
At night 6:30 PM we will board the train back to Ollantaytambo, trip of 1 hour and 45 minutes, from here we will take the car back to Cusco, the next time of arrival to Cusco will be 10:00 PM, then we will leave you in your respective hotels.
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