Cusco Luxury 11D/10N

About this tour

Places visited

Lima - Cusco

Pickup point

Hotel in Lima

Drop-off point

Hotel - Plaza de Armas

Departure time

07:00 am

Return time

18:00 hrs

Itinerary

1. Day 1 Arrival in Lima

   Arrival in the city of Lima. A representative of CUSCO-INSIDE TRAVEL AGENCY will be waiting for you at the airport with a sign bearing your name and will take you to your hotel in Miraflores, where you will receive a briefing about your tours in Lima.

   ACCOMMODATION:

   • 5-star Hilton hotel (double/matrimonial room)

   INCLUDES:

   • Transfer from Lima airport to the hotel
2. Day 2 Ballestas Islands, Paracas National Reserve and Huacachina Oasis

   The Paracas – Huacachina Full Day from Lima combines the best of Paracas and the city of Ica. It is an excellent option for travelers who want to see the Ballestas Islands, the Paracas National Reserve, the Huacachina Oasis and the dune buggy and sandboarding adventure all in a single day. (The buggy ride is not recommended for people with back problems, as the buggy performs stunts and there are moments of strong vibration along the route.)

   PARACAS – HUACACHINA ITINERARY

   05:00 am: Pick-up from your hotel in Miraflores.

   09:00 am: Ballestas Islands and Candelabra tour (2-hour tour).

   We begin the day with our first tour, the Ballestas Islands, boarding a speedboat with two 200-horsepower outboard motors at the port of El Chaco in Paracas. The boat is shared with other travelers. After a fifteen-minute ride across Paracas Bay we reach the Candelabra, where our guide will explain the different theories about this enigmatic figure and the mysteries of this geoglyph. We then sail another fifteen minutes out to sea to the Ballestas Islands, where we will see rock formations and a wide variety of marine life: sea lions, Humboldt penguins, cormorants, guanay birds, pelicans, Inca terns, oystercatchers and thousands of seabirds. We will also visit the sea lion nursery before returning to the port of El Chaco. (This tour lasts approximately 2 hours.)

   You will then have free time to explore the Paracas boardwalk and the handicraft market.

   12:00 pm: Paracas National Reserve tour.

   We continue our day with pick-up in our tourist bus for the excursion to the impressive coastal desert of the Paracas National Reserve. We will drive across the Paracas Peninsula, admiring the colorful red and yellow desert and the formations sculpted by the wind, and visit its beautiful beaches, such as Yumaque Beach, Red Beach and Lagunillas Beach. At Lagunillas you will have free time for lunch at one of the beachfront restaurants or to walk along the shore taking photos. We then return to Paracas.

   03:00 pm: Transfer from Paracas to the Huacachina Oasis (1 hour 15 minutes).

   On arrival in Huacachina we will enjoy a fun afternoon at a true desert oasis, where palm trees, huarango and eucalyptus trees offer a pleasant shady retreat.

   From Huacachina we set off on our last tour of the day: dune buggies and sandboarding in the desert.

   05:00 pm: Extreme desert excursion with buggy and sandboard (1-hour ride).

   On this ride we will drive through the Huacachina desert in a 4x4 vehicle known as a buggy, making several stops along the way to take photos. Our driver will take you to the top of some of the dunes so you can slide down them. Before you start sandboarding, your driver-guide will teach you specific techniques to ensure your safety.

   06:30 pm: We board our tourist bus for the transfer from Huacachina back to Lima.

   INCLUDED IN THE PARACAS – HUACACHINA FULL DAY:

   • Tourist bus
   • Ballestas Islands and Candelabra tour by speedboat
   • Paracas National Reserve tour
   • English/Spanish-speaking guide
   • Dune buggy and sandboarding tour
   • All entrance fees
   • First-aid kit
   • Hotel in Lima

   NOT INCLUDED:

   Meals.

3. Day 3 Flight from Lima to Cusco

   ARRIVAL IN CUSCO WITH TRANSFER TO THE SACRED VALLEY

   On arrival at Cusco airport on your Lima – Cusco flight, our staff will be waiting to welcome you. The city of Cusco sits at 3,400 m.a.s.l., so we recommend drinking a natural coca-leaf tea to help you acclimatize and avoid altitude sickness. After pick-up we will drive to your hotel in the Sacred Valley, where you will stay during your time in the Cusco region.

   INCLUDES:

   • Night at the 5-star ARANWA VALLE hotel (double/matrimonial room)
4. Day 4 Sacred Valley Full Day Tour

   SACRED VALLEY FULL DAY TOUR

   ITINERARY

   Activities: archaeology, culture and some light walking.

   After breakfast, our staff will pick you up at your hotel and take you to our transport for the tour of the Sacred Valley of the Incas. Along the way you will enjoy beautiful landscapes, flora, fauna and impressive archaeological sites. The places we visit in the Sacred Valley are:

   • Chinchero
   • Maras & Moray
   • Ollantaytambo

   At the end of the tour you will return to your hotel in the Sacred Valley.

   Includes:

   • Breakfast at the hotel
   • Round-trip tourist transport for the tour
   • Official tour guide
   • Buffet lunch in Urubamba
   • Hotel in Urubamba (HOTEL ARANWA VALLE)
   • Tourist ticket (B.T.G.)
   • Entrance to the Maras salt mines
5. Day 5 Machu Picchu Full Day Tour

   FULL DAY TOUR OF THE MACHU PICCHU CITADEL

   Your guide will pick you up at your hotel in Urubamba and take you to the train station in Ollantaytambo, where you will board the VISTADOME tourist train to the town of Machu Picchu (Aguas Calientes). Your guide will be waiting for you there to take you to the Consettur bus, a 30-minute ride up to the main entrance of Machu Picchu. Once inside the citadel, your guide will lead you through the different areas of Machu Picchu. At the end of the tour you will leave the citadel and walk a few steps from the main gate to the bus stop to take the Consettur bus back down. Back in town you will have a free afternoon to have lunch and explore Aguas Calientes. According to your return train time, you will go to the Aguas Calientes station and take the train back to Ollantaytambo, where our staff will be waiting with a sign bearing your name to drive you back to your hotel.

   INCLUDES:

   • Tourist train (VISTADOME) Ollantaytambo – Aguas Calientes (Machu Picchu) – Ollantaytambo
   • Consettur bus up and down
   • Official tour guide
   • Entrance ticket to the Machu Picchu citadel
   • Tourist transport from Ollantaytambo station
   • Hotel in Urubamba

   NOT INCLUDED:

   • Meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner)
6. Day 6 Free Day in the Sacred Valley (Pachamanca Lunch)

   Free day in the Sacred Valley. Today you will enjoy a tasting of pachamanca, a traditional Andean dish cooked on hot stones buried in the earth. You can also make the most of your hotel's facilities in the Sacred Valley, which include a spa, swimming pool and gardens where you can relax. The next day we return to Cusco to begin the activities in the city.

   INCLUDES:

   • Hotel in the Sacred Valley (Aranwa – Casa Andina – Inkaterra)
   • Pachamanca lunch
7. Day 7 Cusco City Tour

   Our staff will pick you up at the agreed time to begin the tour of the city of Cusco, where we will visit the following archaeological sites:

   • Qoricancha, the Temple of the Sun
   • Sacsayhuamán
   • Qenqo
   • Puka Pukara
   • Tambomachay

   INCLUDES:

   • Hotel pick-up
   • Round-trip tourist transport for the tour
   • Official tour guide
   • Hotel in the city of Cusco
   • General Tourist Ticket (B.T.G.)
   • Entrance to the Temple of the Sun – Qoricancha
8. Day 8 Rainbow Mountain Full Day Tour

   Our journey begins at 5:00 am with a drive of about 2 hours to the town of Cusipata, where we will enjoy a hearty breakfast. We then continue for another hour through beautiful valleys, small canyons and impressive pre-Inca terraces until we reach the community of Phulawasipata.

   The adventure begins with a majestic view of Apu Ausangate. After an introduction from our guide, we start our hike to Rainbow Mountain. The ascent is gradual and takes approximately 1 hour to 1 hour 30 minutes. Along the way we will see South American camelids such as alpacas and llamas, as well as birds, lakes, valleys, streams and snow-capped peaks.

   After hiking approximately 4 kilometers we reach Rainbow Mountain (Vinicunca), a unique and magical place shaped by the whims of nature. After enjoying a peaceful moment in contact with nature, we begin our return to Phulawasipata, where our transport will be waiting to take us back to Cusipata for a delicious buffet lunch. We then board our transport for the drive back to the city of Cusco.

   INCLUDED:

   • Pre-departure briefing
   • Pick-up from your hotel in Cusco
   • Round-trip tourist transport for the tour
   • Breakfast and buffet lunch
   • Official tour guide
   • First-aid kit
   • Oxygen
   • Entrance fees to the mountain
   • Trekking poles
   • Blankets for the cold
   • Hotel in Cusco

   NOT INCLUDED:

   • Horse
   • Drinks
   • Dinner

   WHAT TO BRING:

   • Warm sweater
   • Sportswear
   • Hiking shoes
   • Hat or cap
   • Sunglasses
   • Sunscreen
   • Rain jacket or poncho
   • Gloves
   • 1 liter of water
9. Day 9 Cooking Class in Cusco / Day 10: South Valley Tour with Farewell Dinner

   GASTRONOMIC TOUR (COOKING CLASS)

   Today our staff will pick you up at your hotel and take you to Cusco's local market (SAN PEDRO), where our chef will introduce you to our local produce and fruits. We will then buy the ingredients needed to prepare our traditional dishes.

   INCLUDES:

   • Chef specialized in Andean cuisine
   • Visit to the San Pedro local market
   • Preparation of traditional dishes
   • Starter: causa rellena
   • Main course: lomo saltado or ceviche
   • Drink: pisco sour

   DAY 10

   SOUTH VALLEY HALF DAY TOUR WITH FAREWELL DINNER

   Our transfer will pick you up at your hotel between approximately 08:00 and 08:30 am and take you to the starting point of this tour of Cusco's South Valley. We drive about 40 minutes southeast to Tipón, part of the Qhapaq Ñan (Inca road network). We then continue to Pikillaqta, considered one of the most famous and best-preserved pre-Inca cities in Peru, and finish in the village of Andahuaylillas with its "Sistine Chapel of the Americas" and its impressive works of art. Finally we return to the city of Cusco, where the tour ends at approximately 01:00 pm.

   Duration: 5 hours.

   Includes:

   • Transfers to all the places mentioned
   • Guide
   • Tourist transport
   • Meals
   • Entrance fees: B.T.G. and Andahuaylillas (10.00 soles)
   • Other services not mentioned
10. Day 11 Hotel – Airport Transfer

    HOTEL – AIRPORT TRANSFER

    Today our staff will pick you up at your hotel and take you to Cusco airport in time for your Cusco – Lima flight.

What's included?

Prices

What to bring and tips

• Extra money
• Passport or ID