CUSCO 5 DAY OVERVIEW

This 5 Day packages tour includes the City tour, Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu, Humantay Lake, and Rainbow Mountain. First, you will visit the City tour visiting Qoricancha (the temple of the sun), the catedral and 4 Inca sites located outside of Cusco.

Then the Sacred Valley (the land of the Incas) where you visit a local textile center with alpacas and llamas in Chinchero, Moray ruins, the salt pools of Maras and Ollantaytambo.

The highlight of our Cusco 5 Day itinerary will be Machu Picchu itself. You will visit it with a private tour guide that is specialized in Machu Picchu. He will take you the best spots for pictures where you will take the classical Picture of Machu Picchu then explore the área in 2 hours.

Also, you will hike to Humantay Lake with glacier in the back. This 1.5-2 hour trekking tour rewards you with an amazing views of the picturesque lake and its valley. As we leave early for all of our tours in Cusco, we will get to the sites before the crowds get there.

Last, you can choose if you want to hike Classic Rainbow Mountain called Vinicunca or Palcoyo Mountain. Palccoyo Mountain is an easy 1-hour round trip hike with no big crowds around and you won’t only see one colorful Mountain, you will see more than 2 Rainbow Mountains. The Classical Rainbow Mountain is the more popular option with a more difficult hike but also a  gorgeous view and the Red Valley

Why should you take Cusco 5 Day Itinerary with us?

• You arrive to the Classic Rainbow Mountain and Humantay Lake before the crowds .
• Visit the Sacred Valley’s must-visit sites in one day without being rushed.
• We are practical, punctual, reliable Travel company, welcoming individuals or groups. Check out our reviews on trip advisor.
• On our Rainbow Mountain and Humantay Lake our the cook will prepare lunch at the local house.
• At AB Expeditions, guides, Cooks, and driver receive their salary as soon they finish their job.
• Small groups of 2 to 8 people máximum. This fact sets us apart from other travel companies that take bigger groups.
• Our Tour Guides pride themselves on being up to date and have a comprehensive programme of continual professional development. We love showing what a fascinating and amazing Machu Picchu is.

OUR CUSCO 5 DAY ITINERAY 

DAY 01: CUSCO CITY TOUR

Our Cusco 5 day itinerary start visiting the City tour.  We come to pick you up at your hotel at 1.30 pm. we will first visit the center of Cusco, having with us a professional English speaking guide. First he will present the Cathedral (build in a Baroque style and having paintings of the Cusqueña school) and the temple of Coricancha, more known as golden palace(A place which we will enjoy in all its enchantment such as, the temple of the Thunder, moon, Lightning, Rainbow, Stars and the temple of Santo Domingo). Then we will visit Sacsayhuaman, located on a mountain overlooking Cusco.

Following we will set course to Qenqo, also known as the Labyrinth. This temple dedicated to Mother Earth is a unique center of celebrations and astronomical studies. Later on, we’ll visit Pucapucara, This complex contains several rooms, inner plazas, aqueducts, vantage points, and pathways. Last we will go to the archeological site of Tambomachay. We will be back to our hotel at 06:30 pm.

DAY 2: SACRED VALLEY TOUR

Sacred Valley is a vast valley where there are a lot of tourist attractions. One day is not enough to visit all of them, that’s why we have split it into 2 options to visit it properly. Any of these options start at 7:00 am at your hotel in Cusco. See the options below and let us know which option you take:

Option 01: By Pisac(Alpaca farm, Pisac ruins, Pisac Market, and Ollantaytambo).

We will pick you up from your hotel lobby at 07:00 am in Cusco for your Sacred Valley tour. Then we will take a road that leads to Pisac. We will visit the 4 main sites, Awana Cancha where you see (Alpacas, Llamas, Vicuña, and Huanacos), Pisac Archeological site, Pisac Market and Ollantaytambo Archeological site.  On the halfway, we will have our lunch in Urubamba, after lunch we can visit Brewery(optional) then we go to visit the Archeological center of Ollantaytambo. After visiting Ollantaytambo, we will take the train to Aguas Calientes at 03:37 pm. Once we arrive at Aguas Calientes we go to check in our Hotel, have dinner, and overnight.

Option 02: By Maras( Chinchero, Moray, Salt Ponds, and Ollantaytambo).

On this option, we will pick you up at 07:00 am from your hotel too. The tour starts with a visit to the Textile center of Chinchero, then Colonial town of Maras. From Maras, we keep going to the nearby Inca site of Moray, a magnificent series of terrace circles set into the ground that was once used by the Incas for experimentation with crops, then the salt mines which have been in use since Pre-Inca times. Water from a subterranean stream is channeled through pools where it evaporates and leaves behind pure salt crystals. With thousands of stark white pools stretching down the valley, the views are amazing. Our final destination Ollantaytambo ruins where we will spend an hour. After visiting Ollantaytambo, we will take the train to Aguas Calientes at 03:37 pm. Once we arrive at Aguas Calientes we go to check in our Hotel, have dinner, and spend the night.

DAY 03: MACHU PICCHU – CUSCO

Today is the is the most magical day: Machu Picchu. We will wake up early, to take the first bus up to Machu Picchu and see the sunrise over the ruins.

Your guide will spend around 2 hours explaining the highlights of Machu Picchu.  Then you can hike Huayna Picchu Mountain if you have booked this option. (This is a separate entrance ticket that costs $65 per person). Finally, you will return to Aguas Calientes and take a train back to Ollantaytambo, and then bus back to Cusco.   Once in Cusco, we will transfer you back to your hotel at 07:00 pm.

DAY 04: HUMANTAY LAKE TOUR ITINERARY

After we pick you up at your ho tel at 03:00 am, we will start our adventure to the Humantay Lake tour  with a 4-hour-drive in our transport to Soraypampa (3850 m.a.s.l.). Soraypampa is the campsite for the first day of the Salkantay trek. In Soraypampa we will have a delicious breakfast to start our day well before beginning our trek. In Soraypampa we will start our trek up to the Humantay Lake (4200 m.a.s.l.) with beautiful views and if the sky is clear enough, we can see the impressive snow-capped Salkantay and Humantay.

It is a 1.5-hour-walk to the lake with a low to moderate difficulty, and more than worth it when you see the magical view. It is also possible to rent a horse instead. We will have enough time to take pictures, bring an offer to the Apus, and for the real brave ones; swimming in the lake when it’s sunny! After some free time, we will start our descent to Soraypampa of about 1.5 hours, which is a lot easier than the way up. In Soraypampa lunch will await us and after some rest, we return to Cusco where we will arrive at 5 p.m.

DAY 05: RAINBOW MOUNTAIN DAY TREK

You will be picked up from your hotel around 03:00 am. We proceed to drive nearly 3 hours in a private van to the trailhead where we will provide you box breakfast upon arrival to fuel up for the trek ahead of you. After enjoying our breakfast we start hiking. We are going to hike around 2 hours roughly until the top of the RAINBOW MOUNTAIN, we will have time to explore the area and take pictures. you will spend approximately 30 minutes to 1 hour (depend on your trekking speed and weather conditions).

After enjoying the Rainbow Mountains for about one hour, we go to visit the RED VALLEY which takes another 30 minutes. Then we get back to the trailhead (1 hour roughly), where we catch our van, then we drive for one hour more to our Lunch spot Cusipata(3,250m/11,000feet) where you will be given delicious food by our professional chef and get back to Cusco arriving at your hotel around 03:00 pm roughly.

This is the end of our Cusco 5 day itinerary. 

DAY 01: CUSCO CITY TOUR

What s included

• Round-trip transportation (tourist van).
• Pick up from the airport.
• English-speaking Tour Guide.
• Tourist Ticket for archeological sites.
• Cathedral Ticket
• Qoricancha Ticket

What s not Included

• Meals.
• Accommodations in Cusco. 

DAY 02: PISAQ – OLLANTAYTAMBO – AGUAS CALIENTES

What s Included

• Professional English-speaking guide.
• Hotel of 3 stars in Aguas Calientes (La Cabaña or similar)
• Tourist transportation for Sacred Valley tour.
• All entrance fees to the archeological sites visited.
• Trail ticket from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes

Whats not Included

Meals

DAY 03: MACHU PICCHU – CUSCO

What s included

• Train ticket from Ollantaytambo to Cusco.
• Breakfast at the hotel in Aguas Calientes.
• Round trip Bus ticket from Aguas Calientes- Machu Picchu-Aguas Calientes.
• Entrance fee to Machu Picchu.
• Guided tour for 2 hours in Machu Picchu.

Whats not Included

• Meals
• Additional things to upgrade
• Huayna Picchu Moutain: $65USD
• Machu Picchu Mountain: $65 USD
• One way Vistadome Ticket: $35 USD
• Round trip Vistadome ticket: $70 USD.
• Accommodations in Cusco. 

DAY 04: HUMANTAY LAKE TOUR ITINERARY

What s included

• English speaking guide.
• First aid kit, including oxygen.
• Breakfast and lunch prepared by our chef.
• Snacks for the trek.
• Private transportation to and from your hotel in Cusco.
• Entrance fees to Humantay Lake.
• Pick up and drop off from the hotel.

Whats not Included

• Gratitudes for the staff.
• Personal horse for riding.
• Accommodations in Cusco. 

DAY 05: RAINBOW MOUNTAIN DAY TREK

What s included

• English speaking guide.
• First aid kit, including oxygen.
• Breakfast and lunch prepared by our chef.
• Snacks for the trek.
• Private transportation to and from your hotel in Cusco.
• Entrance fees to Rainbow Mountain.
• pick up and drop off from the hotel.
• Tranfer to the airport.

Whats not Included

• Gratitudes for guides.
• Personal riding horse. Additional horses may be rented according to the needs of the individual and group.