KNOWING CUSCO

City Tour

ALTITUDE: 3300m - 3500m
HIGH-SEASON: All year long
DURATION: 05 hours

Capital of the Inca-Empire, Cusco was a sacred city where you can find several archaeological centers as well as some of the finest pieces of colonial art and architecture. It goes without saying that it is a place that breathes history and religion that remains one of the most interesting and most beautiful cities of the South-American continent.
This tour is an excellent way to visit some of the most impressive Inca and colonial sites of the Andes with a professional guide.

Our tour will begin at 13:45. We pick you up either from your hotel or we can wait for you at our office.
The first place we are going to visit will be the Cathedral where you can observe its construction in baroque-style as well as its many paintings and canvases from the Cusquenian-school,(school of  native painters in the colonial times).
After this we'll visit the Qoricancha “The temple of the sun”, better known as the Gold covered temple. Inside we'll see smaller temples dedicated to the rainbow, thunder, lightning, thunderbolt, stars and also we’ll be able to see what is left from the sun and moon temples. On the other hand we would visit the Saint Dominic church itself.
Once we'd let the temples behind us we'll be visiting the archaeological park  of Saqsayhuaman, located only ten minutes away from the Plaza de Armas (Main Square), here we'll enjoy looking at those famous and incredible Inca walls built with mega stones. The shape of this site is the head of a Puma whose body was represented by the old frontiers of Cusco as well as Q'enqo (known as a labyrinth), Pucapucara or Tambomachay.
We'll be back in Cusco around 18h30. During all our trek we'll have a qualified guide with us.

Sacred Valley

ALTITUDE: 2850m - 3700m
HIGH-SEASON: All year round
DURATION: 01 day

The Inca’s Sacred Valley stretches out along the Urubamba river, between Pisac and Ollantaytambo. It's one of the most fertile places in South America and served as a food-source and reserve for the whole empire.
The Inca Empire was an agricultural Empire and the Sacred Valley had such an importance that can be noticed throughout the numerous impressive archaeological sites that can be found there. The ruins of Pisac and Ollantaytambo are without a doubt the most important of these sites.
The Sacred Valley tour is a great mixture of breathtaking landscapes, pre-Columbian and Colonial History, architecture and art, It also is an excellent preparation for the Inca Trail or Machu Picchu .

Our tour starts at 08h 45. We pick you up from your hotel and take you in a private transportation to the market of Pisac, which is one of the stops on this journey (40 minutes driving). Here you will find a large amount of original artisan work such as pottery, textile, paintings and many more. After visiting it we walk up to the archaeological center of Pisaq which we will visit for about an hour with a professional guide who will explain to us all about this impressive archaeological remains.
Then we continue our tour through the Sacred Valley of the Incas going to the typical village of Urubamba (40 minutes driving) where we'll enjoy a delicious typical lunch. After this we'll continue our journey to the archaeological center of Ollantaytambo (30 minutes driving). Ollantaytambo is an archaeological site where the Inca's built some of the most impressive constructions. We'll visit this site for about 45 minutes with our guide. After that we'll return by bus stopping at the colonial village of Chinchero (1 hour driving) with its remarkable little church, its typical market and the archaeological center.
We'll be back in Cusco at around 18h30.

Machu Picchu

ALTITUDE: 2050m - 2400m
HIGH-SEASON: All year round
DURATION: 01 day (possibly longer / more days possible)

It’s impossible to present the wonders of Machu Picchu it's without speaking of our ancestors, the Inca-rulers. Incas such as Pachacutec, Tupac Yupanqui or Huayna Capac were very important visionaries in changing political-religious structures or organizations and building archaeological complexes.
Machu Picchu remains, a breathtaking experience, not only because it’s a spiritual, astronomic and agricultural center but because it’s one of the largest, most beautiful and best preserved Inca-capitals and the only-one that has remained untouched by occidental populations. The site whispers mysterious secrets and lost knowledge for all those who are interested in listening to. The city seems to float in the air and hide inside the clouds. The Machu Picchu visit is a perfect combination of pre-Columbian science and religion, a passionate history, beautiful sightseeing and a relaxing experience.

At 5h45am we pick you up from your hotel and take you to the train-station where you'll take a train towards Aguas Calientes, the tourist-town built beneath the ruins of Machu Picchu, where we'll arrive at approximately 10h30am. Then we meet our guide and next, we take the tourist-bus up to the spectacular yet mysterious ruins. Our guide will share with us his knowledge and experiences concerning the wonders of our Andean ancestors and Machu Picchu, the Tour will probably last three hours. After this you'll have about two hours to wander around the ruins by yourself and take pictures. At 15h00 we'll all meet, and go back down to Aguas Calientes because at 15h55 the train leaves from Aguas Calientes to Cusco. We'll arrive in Cusco approximately at 20h20. It's also possible to stay an optional extra night in Aguas Calientes and enjoy the Inca's hot medicinal baths nearby. In such case you can take the train back to Cusco early in the morning or in the afternoon. The train will pass through Ollantaytambo and go to Cusco from there.

INCLUDES:
·  Transfer to your hotel                   ·  Round trip train tickets
·  Entrance-fee to Machu Picchu ·  Bilingual guide

Maras Moray and Salineras

ALTITUDE: 3600m - 2800m
HIGH-SEASON: All year round
DURATION: 01 day

Maras is a small village, located at 40 kilometers from Cusco on a side-road to Urubamba. Its main attractive, besides its colonial church, are the salt-mines, located near the village, that fascinate the numerous visitors and photographers.
The light that strikes through the mountains on these mines is a unique show that draws a lot of tourists and nature-lovers. It seems that, against all nature's laws, snow has found in this ravine, which ends up into the Urubamba River, a refuge where it can remain immune to the sunbeams.

We pick you up at your hotel to go to the village of Cruz Pata where we'll visit the beautiful Huaypo Lake. Around this place we'll observe a large amount of different plants and flowers very typical to this region. After this we'll visit the terraces of Moray where the Incas did a lot of agricultural experiments. This is a very nice place for sightseeing because of the numerous snow-peak mountains, especially during the winter (from April to August). After this visit we'll return to the village of Maras that displays for us its most beautiful colonial doors in different styles. We'll end this tour in the salt-mines of Maras before going back to Cusco.

INCLUDED:  
·  Guide
·  Bus
·  Entrance-fees

Tipon & Andahuaylillas

ALTITUDE: 3450m - 3000m
HIGH-SEASON: All year long
DURATION: 1 day

Tipón, at 20 kilometers south of Cusco, is a magnificent ensemble of agricultural terraces, long stairs and canals curved out of rock and stone with an exceptional master-craft. The site was part of the royal hacienda of the Inca Yahuar Huaca and was a place dedicated to both: religious cults and agricultural experiments.
Pikillaqta was an important Huari city (500-900 A.C). This large urban and ceremonial centre of about 2 square kilometers contains huge stone constructions. Pikillaqta or "The City of fleas" is probably one of the largest pre-Inca sites built with such small stones.
Andahuaylillas is one of the most beautiful colonial villages of the region, situated 40 kilometers south of Cusco. The San Pedro de Andahuaylillas church, built in the XVII century is part of the cultural patrimony. Inside the church the decorations are simply incredible. This looks like the Sistine Chapel of Italy.

This tour is situated south of Cusco, in the Sacred Valley of the Incas where we'll visit the archaeological centre of Tipón in which we'll be able to see the Inca's hydraulic engineering work. After this visit we'll go to the well-known pre-Inca centre of Huari, Pikillaqta, with its enormous stone-constructions, and the Sistine Church of Andahuaylillas in which we'll see beautiful frescos painted with essences of natural colours as well as altars or paintings with frames covered with gold-paint.
Afterwards we'll visit the well-known district of the “Chicharron” (pieces of pork boiled and fried), Saylla, where we'll have a taste of this delicious meal before returning to Cusco. We'll arrive at Cusco at approximately 17h00.

INCLUDED:
·  Guide
·  Bus
·  Entrance-fee

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