This excursion includes the best highlights of Cusco, Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu and our trip lasts for 3 days and 2 nights.
Cusco, Sacred Valley, Machupicchu – Peru
This excursion includes the best highlights of Cusco – "the navel of the world" and the center of the ancient Inca Empire. We will visit Q'oricancha, the Inca Temple of the Sun and then tour Cusco's Cathedral, a 16th century church filled with original artwork and an amazing main altar made of silver. After that we'll tour the four primary ruins surrounding Cusco, including Sacsaywaman, Q'enko, Tambomachay and Puka Pukara. As part of the tour you will receive the "Tourist Ticket" which can be used in your free time to visit a number of museums and other attractions in and around Cusco.
We'll spend the evening in a great little hotel just a few blocks off the Plaza de Armas.
We'll take a beautiful tour of the ancient agricultural center of the Incas. We'll travel by bus from Cusco down into the lush, green Sacred Valley. Along the way, we'll stop at a traditional Peruvian arts center and private zoo where we'll see firsthand Peru's ancient weaving traditions and be able to feed and pet highland animals like alpaca and vicuña up-close. We'll then travel down to the village of Pisac where we'll take a tour of the ancient archeological complex, followed by the famous Pisac market. We'll continue our journey through the Valley, stopping for lunch in the city of Urubamba – known as the 'Pearl of the Vilcanota.' Finally, we'll drive right to the end of the Valley to the tiny village of Ollantaytambo, and take brief tour of the ruins in this little fortress town; and then make our way to the Ollantaytambo train station for our train ride to Aguas Calientes – the village is right on the edge of the Amazon Rainforest and literally at the foot of the mystical Machupicchu Mountain.
We'll arrive in Aguas Calientes – at the foot of Machupicchu – around 4:30pm, check into our hotel and have the evening to walk around the village, enjoy dinner in one of the many restaurants, and take a soak in the local hot springs.
We'll wake up early and enjoy breakfast at the hotel. Then we'll take the 20-minute bus ride up to the sanctuary-city of Macupicchu. We'll begin our tour at the Inca Guard House to watch the sunrise over Machupicchu. We'll then enjoy a 2-hour guided visit of the ancient ruins. At the end of the tour, there'll be time for adventure seekers who want to climb to the top of Huayna Picchu – the pointy mountain overlooking Machupicchu; or you can hike to Inti Punktu ('Sun Gate') which is the last point on the Inca Trail; there's also a hike to the Temple of the Moon; or you can go back down to Aguas Calients to do some shopping and relax in the hot springs.
We'll Take The Train Back To Cusco Around 3:30pm And Arrive In Cusco At 7:30pm.
Price: US$730.00 ONLY for Global Crossroad Volunteer
Dates: To be determined by In-country coordinator (most likely at the end or middle of participant's respective volunteer program)
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