We will go on an acclimatization hike to the archeological park of Saqsaywaman, located in the outskirts of Cusco.  Saqsaywaman is one of the must-sees prehispanic incan sites in all of Peru where one will be mindblown by the size of the massive cyclopean constructions. Then, we will continue to Qenqo, the labyrinth, and the "Temple of the moon". We will return in Cusco at 2 pm for Lunch. In the  afternoon people can explore Cusco on  their own. 

*itinerary subject to change

Highlights of the day
The group will have breakfast at their leisure and then be ready for the full day Sacred Valley tour. On this tour, we will visit the Pisaq ruins and the Pisaq market, then we will continue to the Inkarri Museum and the Maras Salt mines, then we will visit the Moray circular terraces and the Ollantaytambo Ruins. We spend the night at Ollantaytambo.  This is the evening when you will want to pack your duffel bag for with all the clothing and necessities you will need for the next 3 days- this will be carried by porters. You will also want to pack a day pack. This pack you will wear and items that you will want access to throughout the day. These items include your rain gear ( again, jacket and pants are highly recommended), warmer jacket, sunscreen, bug spray,  3 to 4 pairs of socks (more if needed), toiletries, extra pair of shoes/sandals (you will want something else to put on after you take your hiking boots off), extra hiking pants or leggings (whichever is most comfortable). Whatever you do NOT need leave in duffel. Duffel can hold about 20 lbs of items. Get a good nights rest as we will be starting very early.

*itinerary subject to change

Highlights of the day
Depart at 7:30 AM. This is the first day of our trek and is relatively easy.  As we follow an original off-the-beaten-track Inca Trail we will pass the Incan sites of Rumipunku and Salapunku; these are some of the Incan sites that no other trekker on the Inca trail gets to visit. At Qoriwairachina, We will not check in with the park rangers yet; instead, we will hike for an extra mile to visit the impressive Incan site of Machu Q'ente. After our guide gives us a brief presentation of this wonderful place, we will walk back toward Qoriwairachina to make our official entry into the National Sanctuary of Machu Picchu. At Qoriwairachina we will see the foundations of an ancient Incan hanging bridge and a watchtower. After a well-deserved lunch break; we will walk uphill for one hour to visit the impressive Incan site of Wayna Qente; another of the off the beaten track archaeological sites that only our exclusive tour allow us to visit. In this place, We will explore the ruins of Wayna Qente and enjoy the breathtaking views of the Urubamba mountain range and the snowcapped peak of Wakay Willca (Veronica), which stands at 5860m/19225ft. We will stop here to watch the sunset over a nice cup of hot cocoa before we return to our campsite at Qoriwayrachina. We typically will have dinner around 6 pm and in our tents by 7:30 pm for bed as we start early again the next day.

*itinerary subject to change

Highlights of the day

Wake up to nature and enjoy coffee and breakfast at our campsite. Pack our day packs up and begin our hike around 5:30/6 AM. On this day, we will walk towards the Llaqtapata Incan site, which is a massive city built at the juncture of the Urubamba and Wayllabamba rivers. We will visit the religious area of Pulpituyoq and part of the urban area before we continue hiking towards Wayllabamba.  From Wayllabamba we will take a brief detour to explore the Incan site of Inca Rakay, before we return to have lunch at Wayllabamba. In the afternoon, the trek will turn a bit strenuous as we start the climb toward our campsite. Due to the vast changes in the ecosystems in the area, flora and fauna on this part of the trek are incredibly varied. You will see many birds such as hummingbirds and other exotic birds, plants, and trees such as the 'Polilepys ' or Q'ueuña tree which grows in the astonishing cloud forest located at 3650m/11972ft!  You will feel a real sense of achievement reaching the campsite at Lluluchapampa from where we will be able to see the highest point of the trail, the Huarmihuañusca/'Dead Woman's Pass’ 4200m/13779ft. Once our campsite is set up we will have dinner followed by an early bed time as we will get started early again.

*itinerary subject to change

 Start time 4:00 AM   

Highlights of the day - "The Day"

Nature will wake you up! We will have breakfast at our campsite and start our hike around 5:30/6 AM. This is the most challenging day of the whole Inca Trail tour. We will keep climbing the mountain towards the Abra de Huarmihuañusca/'Dead Woman's Pass’ 4200m/13779ft. The views from here are simply amazing. Once we get to the highest point and we take the mandatory pictures, we will proceed to go downhill for about 2.5 hours, toward Pacayamayo, our lunch spot. After we reach this place and we have In the afternoon we will climb the second mountain pass of the trail. Along the way, we will visit the unique incan sites of Runcuracay’ and  ‘Sayacmarca’ and gaze at the magnificent scenery as you pass through the lovely cloud forest. Our campsite will be located right outside the Inca site of ‘Phuyupatamarca’ (meaning ‘Town in the Clouds’).

*itinerary subject to change

We will wake up early at  3:30AM to start making our way down to the Sungate at  Machu Picchu.  The first 3 hours of this day are down hill, we will use our headlamps along the way for the first couple of hours. At the  end of the downhill, We will have a quick breakfast before we visit Winaywayna and continue our way to Machu Picchu. We will arrive at the Sungate by 8:30 am and then continue to Machu Pichu for another 45 minutes. At 10am, we will start the guided tour of  Machu Picchu which will take us through the most important points of attraction of the ancient city. At 1pm, we will cacth the shuttle bus to Machu Picchu town where we will grab a quick bite before taking our train back to cusco at 255pm. The ETA for Cusco is 645pm.

Those that are staying this optional additional night will have the rest of this day at their leisure. 

*itinerary subject to change