Machu Picchu Adventure Tour: An Exclusive Cultural Journey

The Machu Picchu adventure tour starts with pickup at your hotel in Cusco between 7am and 8 am. The road leaves the city for Chinchero (about 1 hour by car), an Andean village where colonial buildings stand on Inca foundations.

From Chinchero, the guided visit continues to two of the Sacred Valley’s best-known sites: the circular Inca farming terraces of Moray and the natural salt mines of Maras. If you prefer to walk, an original Inca path runs downhill from Chinchero to the village of Urquillos (8.2 km in about 3 hours, dropping 850 m at an easy to moderate pace).

The day ends at Lamay Lodge, your base for two nights in the Sacred Valley. A one-hour massage can be booked in advance at extra cost.

Meals included: Lunch / Dinner

Today is about Pisac. The cultural option heads to the town square and the colorful artisan stalls of the Pisac market, one of the most visited in the area. In Viacha, local families show how they still farm the traditional Andean way.

If Sacred Valley hiking appeals, the alternative is a guided walk on old mountain paths from the village of Amaru over the Challwacasa Pass to Viacha, about 5 km at a moderate pace, with a high point of 4,328 m. The full route continues 3.2 km down to Pisac (8.2 km in about 3 hours, with 365 m up and 945 m down).

Back at Lamay Lodge, the outdoor hot tub and the bar fill the late afternoon before a traditional Pachamanca dinner.

Meals included: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

After a short visit to the town of Lamay, the group drives into the Lares Valley to Ancasmarca, a rarely visited site where Inca storehouses and farming terraces show how the empire managed its harvests.

The cultural option continues to a remote community to share lunch and learn about local traditions. Hikers take a valley path to the lodge instead: Quelquena to Huacahuasi, 3.4 km in about 2.5 hours (287 m of climbing), or Cuncani to Huacahuasi over the Cruzccasa Pass, 5.4 km in about 4 hours (438 m up, 378 m down), crossing 4,219 m.

Everyone meets at Huacahuasi Lodge for dinner.

Meals included: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

A slow morning in Huacahuasi. Walk to the nearby waterfalls, then visit the village to see its weaving and daily life up close. Lunch is the one you cook yourself in a Peruvian cooking class with the lodge’s kitchen team.

Guests who want a full day outdoors can take the guided walk from Quiswarani to Cuncani instead: about 8.5 km and 6.5 hours, with 660 m of climbing, past glacial lagoons, open valleys, and snow-capped peaks on the route known as the “Trail of 1,000 Lakes.” Its high point (4,421 m) is the top of the whole trip.

Both groups meet again at Huacahuasi Lodge for dinner and a second night.

Meals included: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

Visit the Qori Maki Interpretation Center, part of the Yanapana Foundation, where local projects on sustainability and community development in the Andes are explained on site.

Next, visit Huilloq and its sheep-herding community to take part in a traditional ceremony honoring Pachamama (Mother Earth), or walk from Huilloq to Pumamarka via Qolqarakay (6.5 km in about 3 hours at a moderate pace, with 254 m up and 417 m down). Everyone meets at the Inca site of Pumamarka for lunch.

In the afternoon, continue to Ollantaytambo, described as the oldest living city in South America, to walk its Inca stone streets before dinner at your hotel.

Meals included: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

Early risers can climb to the Inca storehouses of Pinkuylluna above town: about 1.5 hours to the lower level, or 2 hours to the higher one, with a direct view over the Ollantaytambo fortress and ceremonial site.

Your guide then leads the group through the old town and its Inca architecture. At midday, a panoramic train follows the Urubamba River to Aguas Calientes, the town at the foot of Machu Picchu, where dinner comes with a briefing on the next day’s visit.

Want a bigger Machu Picchu adventure? The one-day Inca Trail replaces this day’s standard program at extra cost, with limited permits. See Optional Extras.

Meals included: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

This is the day the whole Machu Picchu adventure tour builds toward. It starts early with the bus up through the cloud forest to the citadel, where your guide leads a 2-hour tour of the sanctuary, including the Temple of the Sun, the Watchtower, and the royal Inca residences.

Afterwards, you can climb Huayna Picchu (2,720 m): a challenging 4.1 km round trip with 255 m of climbing (about 3 hours), at extra cost and with advance booking. Machu Picchu Mountain (3,082 m) is the alternative if Huayna Picchu permits are sold out, or you can explore Aguas Calientes at your own pace.

After a group lunch in Aguas Calientes, the train takes you back to Ollantaytambo, and a vehicle drives you to your Cusco hotel, about 1.5 hours per leg, arriving around 7 PM.

Meals included: Breakfast / Lunch