Day 1: CUSCO – OLLANTAYTAMBO – AGUAS CALIENTES
At 09:00am we’ll begin our tour to Aguas Calientes, Machu Picchu´s town. We arrive to Ollantaytambo at 10:30pm after 1:30hr driving. We have some extra time for the little village of Ollantaytambo to see the colorful markets and highlights nearby. Make sure to go to the train station 30 minutes prior departure time. Train departs at 12:55pm. We arrive to Aguas Calientes at 14:45hrs, our representative will conduce you to your accommodation. Free afternoon. Around 19:00 meet your tour leader at the Hotel for the briefing information for the following day.
Dia 2: MACHU PICCHU
After breakfast at Hotel, it is time to board a coach for a 25-minute ride to Machu Picchu itself. The ‘Lost City of the Incas’ had lain abandoned in the heavens for four centuries until American explorer Hiram Bingham happened upon it in 1911. Machu Picchu is believed to have been built in the 1450s by Inca emperor Pachacutec as a holiday retreat yet within a century the city would be abandoned following the Spanish conquest. The Spaniards never found it so it was spared the destruction they wrought on other Inca sites. Instead, it was slowly swallowed up by the jungle and hidden from harm. A guided tour explains the origins behind this awe-inspiring citadel and the most prominent landmarks among the 200 or so buildings 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. At the appropriate hour, we’ll descend by bus back to the town of Aguas Calientes, where you will have free time for lunch included. Return to Cusco by train and van in the afternoon 16:22 or 18:20 (the train schedule will depend on how far in advance you are booking and/or the availability of the train.
