The best Cusco tour in 4 days

The first day we stay in Cusco. It is important to acclimatize to the altitude before we start with the more strenuous parts of the tour. We start at 9:00am for a visit at the ruins of Saqsaywaman, the museum of Koricancha and other notable parts of the historical city center. Here you see a mixture of colonial and Inca architecture. The activities finish around 5.00pm. Maximum altitude: 3600 m / 11811 ft Accommodation: Cusco

The tour begins early in the morning at 6:30am. A private car drive you to Ollantaytambo. After 2 hours drive, we arrive at this lovely town where we visit the Inca ruins located just outside of the town. After visiting Ollantaytambo, a private car will drive us for approx. 45 minutes to Patacancha Valley where you meet with local communities living in the high Andes and share a typical Andean lunch with them. In the afternoon we trek for about 3 hours along a scenic trail from the pre-Inca ruins at Pumamarca in Patacancha Valley back to Ollantaytambo. From there, we meet the 7:00pm train to the town of Aguas Calientes, also known as Machu Picchu Pueblo. The train trip take around 2 hours. You arrive in Aguas Calientes around 9:00pm. Maximum altitude: 3700 m / 12140 ft Accommodation: Aguas Calientes

We start early in the morning by take a bus to the entrance of Machu Picchu. Another possibility is to walk this part, this takes around 1.5 hours. In the ruins you have a 2-hour guided tour, giving you an overview of the history and culture of the Inca Empire, as well as the spiritual, political and educational importance of Machu Picchu. After the tour you have time to explore the site on your own until 5:00pm. You have also the option to leave earlier if you wish. After visiting the ruins we make our way back to Aquas Calientes by bus or by foot. From here we will take a train to Ollantaytambo. You arrive in Ollantaytambo at 8:20pm. Maximum altitude: 3150 m / 10334 ft Accommodation: Ollantaytambo

The day starts with breakfast at 7:00 am. Afterwards we drive for 50 minutes to the first spot for today, the archaeological site of Moray. We walk through the ruins for about 45 minutes and then drive for about 20 minutes to the next destination, Maras. We take a short break in this small town and learn about the production of the popular Andean beverage, ´chicha de jora´ (corn beer). We also walk around and explore the town’s quaint and beautiful streets! After Maras, we visit a salt mine in Salineras de Maras, that has been in use since Inca times. We go there on foot following an easy and relaxing trail for approx. 1 hour. Along the way we be able to enjoy some spectacular views of the Cordillera Uubamba! Once we arrive at the salt mine, you walk through more than 3000 salt ponds and learn about the methods used to process and produce the salt which have been used since the time of the Inca Empire. From Salineras we drive for about 45 minutes to the last destination of the day, the lovely town of Chinchero. Here we participate in an interesting lesson about the local textiles of the region. After a full day of different activities, we reach Cusco at around 4:00pm. Leaving you plenty of time to discover the restaurants and nightlife of this beautiful city. Maximum altitude: 3785 m / 12417 ft Accommodation: Cusco