Day Trips from Cusco to Saksaywaman

Your professional tour guide will pick you from your accommodation in Cusco between 4:00AM and 4:30AM. After a 2-hour drive, you will arrive in Cusipata where you will stop for breakfast and buy water and snacks for the trek. Following breakfast, you'll travel one more hour to the hike starting point, at 4,850 meters. From there you will start your 3.5-kilomter trek to Rainbow Mountain over both flat and uphill terrain. During your hike you will enjoy amazing views and encounters with wild alpacas, llamas, and vicuñas. Once you reach the top at 5,010 meters, you can make use of some free time to take a break, and if the weather is good, you will be able to enjoy views over Rainbow Mountain. You'll go downhill to the starting spot for another hour, where you will take transportation back to Cusipata where a local lunch will be waiting for you. Once you finish your buffet lunch you will travel back to Cusco, where you will arrive between 4:00PM and 5:00PM to Plaza de Armas.

Travel from Cusco to learn about the majestic Inca city: Machu Picchu and the ancient civilization living there. Discover the secrets that are hidden in it. Go back in time as you explore the streets of these ruins located in the Peruvian Andes.  Begin with an early morning pickup from your hotel in Cusco for transfer to the train station. Get on board and enjoy the comforts offered by the train during the journey to Machu Picchu. Choose from the option of a standard train or a Vistadome train that offers panoramic views. Enjoy the dynamic landscapes of the Peruvian Andes. Arrive in Aguas Calientes and take a bus to the entrance of the citadel of Machu Picchu. Learn about the history of this wonderful place. Take the bus back to Aguas Calientes and get recommendations for lunch. Board the train back to the Ollantaytambo or Poroy station where transportation will be waiting to take you to your hotel in Cusco.

Your professional tour guide will pick you up at your homestay, hostel or hotel in Cusco between 4:00 AM and 4:30 AM. After a 2-hour drive, you will arrive in Mollepata where we will stop for breakfast and pick up water and snacks for the trek. After breakfast travel one more hour to Soraypampa. Once you arrive at this high mountain plateau you will be able to see the beautiful mountains Apu Salkantay 20400 feet (6230 meters) above sea level and Humantay 17225 feet (5250 meters) above sea level. After a short time preparing your day pack you will start the 2-hour trek to Humantay Lake. The way up to Humantay Lake is steep however your group is small and your guide will let you take your time to enjoy the trek. Enjoy the views of Humantay Lake and enjoy an optional small climb above the lake to the right or left where you can enjoy a panoramic view.  Next, you will have the easy part of your trek. Go downhill to Soraypampa for another hour. Then you will take your private transportation back to Mollepata where a local lunch will be waiting for you. Once you finish your buffet lunch you will go back to Cusco arriving between 5:00 PM and 6:00 PM to the drop off near Plaza de Armas.

Get back to nature in the dramatic landscapes of the Andes Mountains and experience the amazing scenery of the Sacred Valley by Quad Bike. Benefit from pick-up at your hotel in Cusco, and then journey through typical villages to reach the colonial town of Maras. Admire the pretty church and rustic buildings of the pretty town center and watch the locals going about their everyday lives farming the surroundings. Visit the archaeological site of Moray to see the incredible terraced holes that form an amphitheater-like depression on the surface of the land. Learn how the holes were used by the Incas in ancient times to acclimatize seeds from the Andes Mountains. Next, visit the salt ponds that the locals continue to work to obtain salt at the mines, just as their ancestors did in the days of the Inca Empire.

Depart Cusco and get back to nature on a vigorous approximately 6-kilometer hike in the Andes. Experience the majestic beauty of the Rainbow Mountains as you trek in the foothills of Mount Ausangate. Keep a look out for native wildlife, such as the mighty condor - the largest bird in the world - pumas and different types of camelids. Learn more about the extraordinary geology and the flora and fauna of Peru from your knowledgeable guide. Soak up the stunning views before you return to Cusco for a refreshing cold chicha drink (a fermented or non-fermented beverage usually derived from maize).

Travel through the historic Urubamba Valley on an unparalleled half-day tour from Cusco and pass the snow-capped peaks of the Peruvian Andes. Meander through lush yellow fields of wheat and sleepy little villages en route to Moray. Upon arrival, learn about the ingenuity of the Incas in their mysterious circular terraces. Continue to the nearby village of Maras to explore its history as a center for salt production. Take in the spectacular nature and admire the unique quilt work of over 3,000 salt ponds spilling into the Sacred Valley. Finish the day back in Cusco in time to explore more of the magnificent city.

Embark on an incredible experience on four wheels during this guided ATV adventure tour from Cusco through the Sacred Valley. Take in views of the Urubamba Mountains as you venture to Maras and the archeologist site of Moray. Leaving by van from Cusco, travel for approximately one hour to the community of Cruz Pata in the heart of the Sacred Valley of the Incas. Get ready for the start of your adventure after approximately 15 minutes of ATV training. Once ready, drive approximately 1.5 hours to the archaeological site of Moray to closely observe the remains of the terraces built by the Incas to experiment with the adaptation of crops. Later, hop back in the van to continue to the salt mines of Maras (outside only). Enjoy beautiful views of the Urubamba Mountain range and contemplate the peaks of the Verónica and Chicón Mountains. At the historic salt mines, you'll have the opportunity to take pictures from a viewpoint as well as buy the products made from the same salt that is found there. At the end of the trip, take a different route back to the city of Cusco, ending a day full of adrenaline.

During this Sacred Valley day tour, go to the must-visit sites of Cusco and have a chance to try traditional Incan beer. Get picked up from your hotel in Cusco's city center and head to your first stop, Mirador Taray. Take in the spectacular views of the Andes and the Sacred Valley to prepare for your day of discovery.  Continue to the town of Pisac, the site of a popular market. See how locals dye alpaca wool with natural plants of the region. Visit the archaeological site and see its terraces, Incan cemeteries, and royal buildings. Afterward, move on to Moray to learn about the history of the Incas and wonder at their mysterious circular terraces. Head to the nearby village of Maras and learn about its history as a center for salt production at the Maras Salt Mines. Admire the unique quilt work of over 3,000 salt ponds spilling into the Sacred Valley. From here, go to Urubamba and to enjoy a buffet lunch at a local restaurant. Your adventure in the valley continues with a drive along the Urubamba River towards the town of Ollantaytambo to visit the ruins. Marvel at the remarkable Incan architecture built during the Incan Empire's heyday. In addition to the ruins, see an amazing rock formation that represents the Incan god of Wiracocha. Following your time at the ruins, choose to return to Cusco with your guide or to stay in Ollantaytambo so you can continue your personal travels to Machu Picchu.

After being collected from your your hotel in the morning, you will embark on a 1.5-hour drive towards the shores of the upper Urubamba-River. Here, your professional rafting guides will give a safety talk, and provide you with all the proper equipment for rafting. You will then begin your rafting adventure, which will involve you floating down the river for approximately 2.5 hours. In this time you will run class II and III rapids, with the rainy seasons also providing rapids that can even reach class IV and IV+. Finally, you will arrive at the Cusipata River Camp shoreline, where a hot sauna and hot showers will be waiting for you. Here you will also be able to enjoy a full lunch, whilst recovering from your rafting experience. If you are interested in even more adventure in your day however, you can also zip-line across the river. You will return to Cusco at around 5 in the afternoon, and later in the evening, you can view the exciting pictures from your trip at the tour office.

Start with pickup from your hotel in Cusco and travel to Ollantaytambo Station to board the train to Aguas Calientes. This is the nearest town to Machu Picchu. Enjoy a scenic train journey through dramatic Andean landscapes. The train has ample seats with large windows allowing for grand views of the surrounding jungle and mountains.  Board a coach for a 25-minute ride to Machu Picchu. The city of Machu Pichu is believed to have been built in the 1450s by the Inca emperor Pachacuti as a holiday retreat. Within a century the city would be abandoned following the Spanish conquest. The Spaniards never found it, so it was spared the destruction they brought on other Inca sites. Instead, it was slowly swallowed up by the jungle and hidden from harm. Take a guided tour of the site which explains the origins behind this awe-inspiring citadel and its most prominent landmarks such as the monumental Main Square, the Royal Quarters, the Temple of the Three Windows, the Circular Towers, the Sacred Sun Dial, and the Burial Grounds. After the tour, be returned to Aguas Calientes where you can take some free time to explore the city, or enjoy an optional lunch.  After some time in the town, return to Aguas Calientes station to take the train back to the Ollantaytambo Station, from there you will be taken back to your hotel.