Day 1: CUSCO – SANTA MARIA
Pickup at your hotel in the morning and we start our drive towards the Sacred Valley of the Incas, passing through beautiful valleys and inspiring scenery. After some hours we will reach Ollantaytambo and have a short break before continuing on by bus until Abra Malaga arriving approximately 10.30 am to 11 am and at an altitude of 4350 meters. It is from here that we will start our adventure with biking descending for about 3 hours whilst passing through rural villages, by rivers and streams and arriving at our destination Huamanmarca at around 1.30 pm to 2 pm.
We are next transferred by bus to Santa Maria (approx 30 mins) where we will have lunch and relax for a bit before beginning our rafting part of the trip (for those that chose this as an additional option when booking – this requires an extra payment). The rafting lasts for about 2 hours and there will be a safety kayak accompanying the rafters at all time. Those in the group that chose not to participate in the rafting will be driven for 20 minutes more and then embark on a short trek for 45 minutes until arriving at the lodge La Choza in the village of Pispitayoc. Once the rafters having finish their fun on the river they will also be taken by bus to Santa Rosa before walking to the lodge.
Day 2: SANTA MARIA – SANTA TERESA
After a good breakfast sat outdoors at the lodge we start our trekking for the day by walking along the river bank and slowly climbing. We will pass by coffee plantations and fruit orchards plus maybe see a variety of birds and plants in this wonderfully biodiverse high jungle forest. When we arrive to a pass we can see the whole of the Urubamba Valley below. We then start out descent and after about 2.5 hours we will arrive in the village of Qellomayo and have some lunch. We will continue after resting to trek for a further 3 hours passing through farmland, by rivers and waterfalls until we arrive at the hot water springs of Santa Teresa (entrance fee 20 soles – not included). We will take a break here and then later walk for a further 40 minutes until the actual town of Santa Teresa where we will sleep the night in a local family house (basic conditions).
Day 3: SANTA TERESA – AGUAS CALIENTES
On the third morning, after breakfast, we will set off from Santa Teresa and those that have reserved the zip-lining (for those that chose this as an additional option when booking – this requires an extra payment) will be taken by bus to Hydroeléctrica for this activity. Everyone will then have lunch and then the tour will continue with a trek along the Inca Jungle trails for a further 3 hours until arriving at the town of Aguas Calientes. Here you will be taken to the hostel at about 4pm and at night the group will be taken for dinner in a local restaurant whilst receiving a briefing about the following day tour to Machu Picchu.
Day 4: MACHU PICCHU
We get ready around 4.00 am to walk uphill from Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu – hopefully we can catch a wonderful sunrise at the site.The ticket control entrance should be passed about 6am and we will enter the site to see one of the wonders of the world. At the ruins your guide will take you on a tour of the site. We will visit enclosures, plazas, sacred fountains, temples, towers and he will explain the different functions of each area such as the agricultural and urban sections. The tour lasts for approx 2 hours and you will then have free time to explore the site yourself.
After spending some hours at Machu Picchu we unfortunately have to leave and the group will make its way down to the town of Aguas Calientes (You can walk or there is also a bus service for an additional cost) before taking the train back to Cusco. You must be at the train station at least 30 minutes before your train departure time and the train journey takes about 1 hour 45 mins to get to Ollantaytambo, where we will transfer to a private bus to take you back to Cusco.
