NOTE: In order to receive detailed information about your trip, including when and where you will be picked up on the first day i your hotel
KEEP IN MIND: Please bring your passport and the immigration slip you received upon your arrival to Peru.
Cash is the only acceptable form of payment (Dollars or Soles). The type of change (Dollars or Soles) given for payments made in Soles will be determined by the Agency.
The first day: Cusco – Santa María – Santa Teresa: Bicycling (34 miles, 55 km)
(OPTIONAL RAFTING: 100 SOLES OPEN FROM APRIL TO NOVEMBER)
The tour begins at 6 AM with a pick-up location that is set during your meeting with us in our office the day beforehand. From the pick-up location, we will travel to Lorenzo’s lodge where we serve the first breakfast (buffet style) included in the tour. After breakfast, we continue in our private van for three hours until we arrive to the Malaga Pass (4,316 meters above sea level) (14,160 feet above sea level). This is where we begin our bicycle tour down the mountain. Your guide will give a quick informational briefing and provide all riders with the appropriate safety gear before the 3-hour mountain decent (about 34 miles or 55 km) to the town of Huamanmarca. During this part of the journey, you will experience the beauty of the snow-capped mountains and their fast-changing climate from a dry cold to a humid heat. In Santa Maria, you will also have the option to go rafting (level III and IV, during April-November) in the Urubamba River, which crosses through part of the jungle. The rafting price (100 Soles) is not included in the tour.
*One night in Santa Maria
*See bicycles and safety equipment
Breakfast, lunch, dinner, basic hostel (4 person max per room)
The Second Day: Santa Teresa – Aguas Calientes: Hiking (10 miles, 16 km)
(OPTIONAL CANOPY ZIPLINE: 100 soles)
After breakfast, at approximately 7 AM, our private transport van will take us from Santa Maria to Santa Teresa (about 1 hour). From Santa Teresa, we will begin our hike to the small town of Aguas Calientes. We will walk for 3 hours in the Aobamba Valley until we reach the Intihuatana sector, where we pass a government control post and continue the hike. Lunch will be included along the path and we will have the opportunity to see a series of waterfalls and admire the majesty of the mountains surrounding Machupicchu and Haynapicchu. Here you will also have the opportunity to see an astronomical sundial used by the Incans, as well as other constructions of the Incan citadel of Machupicchu. After 3 hours of walking, we will arrive in Aguas Calientes alongside the train tracks that lead to the small town.
Breakfast, lunch, dinner, basic hostel (3 person max per room)
The third day: Machupicchu
This is the most important day of the tour – the day that we arrive to one of the 7 Wonders of the World. Our last day of the tour begins very early in the morning in order to be able to watch the sun rise over the Incan citadel of Machupicchu. We begin the ascent from Aguas Calientes to Machupicchu at 4:30 AM, with the option of hiking the 1,500 Incan steps or paying a $10 bus fare to reach the citadel. Once inside the park, your guide will provide a 2-hour tour of the ruins and most important temples within the ancient city. Afterwards, you will be free to explore Machupicchu yourself and maybe even hike Huaynapicchu or Machupicchu Mountain (previous reservations are needed with two months of anticipation, plus a fee of $15. There are only 400 entrance tickets per day to climb these two mountains). On your own time, you will need to return to Aguas Calientes (via stairs or bus) in order to take a return train to Ollantaytambo or Cusco.