Classic Cusco 5 Days: Machu Picchu, Sacred Valley, Humantay & Rainbow Mountain

Welcome to Peru! Our team will be waiting for you at Alejandro Velasco Astete Airport and will take you to your hotel in Cusco for check-in. Take a few moments to rest and enjoy a cup of coca tea to help your body adjust to the altitude.

Depending on your flight’s arrival time, you will join the Cusco City Tour in the morning (9:00 AM – 1:30 PM) or in the afternoon (1:00 PM – 6:30 PM).

Qoricancha is the first stop. It was the most important temple of the Inca Empire, dedicated to the Sun God, Inti, and its walls were once covered in gold. Today you can still admire its perfectly fitted stonework beneath the colonial Convent of Santo Domingo, built on top of it by the Spanish.

From there we drive to Sacsayhuamán, the great ceremonial fortress overlooking the city. Its zigzag walls are made of colossal stones fitted together without mortar, which still puzzles engineers today. Next is Q’enqo, a carved rock sanctuary with underground chambers and small zigzag channels believed to have been used in ritual offerings.

We continue to Puca Pucara, the «Red Fortress», a former checkpoint and resting place on the Inca roads whose stones take on a reddish tone at sunset. The last site is Tambomachay, known as the «Baths of the Inca», where finely built canals and fountains still carry water, a reminder of the sacred role water played in Inca culture.

The tour ends at the Plaza de Armas, the heart of the imperial city. The rest of the evening is free to enjoy Cusco at your own pace.

At 6:30 AM we pick you up from your hotel and leave Cusco for the Sacred Valley of the Incas, a fertile valley that fed the empire, framed by snow-capped peaks.

Chinchero is our first stop, a high Andean town famous for its textile tradition. Local weavers will show you how they clean, spin and dye alpaca wool with natural plants and minerals. You will also see the town’s Inca terraces and its colonial church, built on Inca foundations.

Mid-morning we reach Moray, an impressive set of circular terraces carved into natural depressions. These terraces are known as the agricultural laboratory of the Incas, because the temperature difference between the top and bottom levels created microclimates for experimenting with crops.

At midday we visit the Maras Salt Mines, thousands of small salt pans terraced into the mountainside. They are fed by a salty underground spring and have been worked since pre-Inca times. Local families still harvest the salt by hand today.

We then descend to Urubamba for a buffet lunch featuring Andean and international dishes. In the afternoon we explore Ollantaytambo, a fortress and administrative center whose temple terraces rise above the town. It is one of the few places in Peru where people still live in Inca-era streets and houses.

At the end of the day you board the tourist train to Aguas Calientes, a journey of about 1 hour 45 minutes along the Urubamba River, where the Andes give way to cloud forest. On arrival, you will be met and transferred to your hotel.

After a buffet breakfast at your hotel, we pick you up and take you to the bus station. A 30-minute zigzag ride brings you up to the entrance of Machu Picchu.

Here begins your three-hour private guided tour, exclusive to your group and never shared with other travelers. Your guide will explain how the citadel was built in the 15th century, during the reign of Pachacútec, and how it remained hidden from the Spanish for centuries. Depending on the circuit assigned to your ticket, you will walk among agricultural terraces, temples, plazas and residential areas, with sweeping views of the surrounding mountains and Huayna Picchu.

In the afternoon, you take the bus back down to Aguas Calientes and board the train to Ollantaytambo. There our transport will be waiting to take you back to your hotel in Cusco, where you arrive in the evening.

Pickup from your hotel at 4:30 AM. A drive of about two hours brings us to the town of Mollepata, where we stop for breakfast before continuing.

We then drive on to Soraypampa, the starting point of the hike, at the foot of the Salkantay range. From here, a walk of about one hour takes you up to Humantay Lake. If you prefer, you can ride a horse for an extra fee.

At the lake, the turquoise water reflects the glaciers of Humantay Mountain, considered a sacred apu (mountain spirit) by local communities. Your guide will explain the origin of the lake and its spiritual meaning, followed by free time for photos and to take in the silence of the high Andes.

We then descend and return to Mollepata for a buffet lunch, before driving back to Cusco, where you arrive in the evening.

Pickup at 4:30 AM for the drive to the town of Cusipata, where a typical buffet breakfast is served.

We continue by bus to the community of Chilihuani, where the hike begins. This route is less crowded than the traditional one and passes through quiet high-Andean landscapes with herds of llamas and alpacas. About one hour of walking takes you to the top. Horses or motorbikes are available for an extra fee.

At the summit, Rainbow Mountain (Vinicunca) spreads out in bands of red, yellow, green and purple, colors formed by mineral sediments over millions of years. On clear days, the snow-capped Ausangate, the highest mountain in the Cusco region, rises in the background. Your guide will explain the geology and cultural importance of the area, and you will have time for a photo session.

We return to Cusipata for a buffet lunch and drive back to Cusco, arriving around 5:00 PM, followed by your transfer to the airport.