Machu Picchu Travel Experts

Auqui Difference

Insider Access

Our team travels year-round, seeking out the most intriguing insider access experiences, and developing invaluable

Relationships with esteemed scholars, acclaimed artists, Olympic athletes, renowned chefs, and others, as well as with local leaders in politics and business. We can match families with spacious private estates handpicked to provide the perfect mixture of authenticity, luxury, and privacy.

Service

Each travel group is assigned a dedicated team composed of (1) a personal travel concierge in our offices, (2) a

Personal host in each destination, (3) on-site expert guides and scholars. In addition, a “behind the scenes” logistical expert is staffed on each trip in order to monitor every step of the journey. We serve our travelers before, during and after their journey, and are on call 24-hours a day during a trip. This level of coordination ensures that our travelers have a worry-free experience, and the flexibility to change the program while they are traveling if need be.

Duration: 5 days
Arrival: June 16th, 2019
Departure: June 20th, 2019
Destinations: Cusco, Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu.
Travel Type: Family and Friends
Travel Intensity: Moderate

Hello I´m Jose Ignacio

Trip consultant and travel experience designer, with 10 years of experience in tourism. Committed to the creation of unique trips and customized products, according to the interests of our travelers.

Jose Ignacio Del Aguila

Senior Travel Consultant and Experiences Designer

CUSCO 51-84-261-517 Ext. 105

LIMA 51-1-641-9181 Ext. 105

US 1-855-255-9055 Ext. 105

Day 1 June 16th Arrival to Cusco your private guide and transportation will be waiting for you to begin your tour to the Sacred Valley, on route you will visit Moray terraces, Lunch at Iskay Maras, Visit Maras Salt mines and transfer to the hotel.
Day 2 June 17th Transfer to Ollantaytambo trains station, board and enjoy the luxury journey to Machu PIcchu on the Hiram Bingham luxury train service, lunch on board, bus up to Machu Picchu, with your private guide enjoy the Machu Picchu visit, dinner at your lodge.
Day 3 June 18th Morning hike and visit to Machu Picchu mountain, with your private guide you will hike around 2 hours to the top of the Machu PIcchu mountain, where you will have one of the best views of the citadel, come back to the main entrance for the lunch at Sanctuary Lodge restaurant, after lunch you will have a second entrance to Machu Picchu, afternoon transfer to Machu Picchu trains station to board the Hiram Bingham luxury train service to Poroy station, transfer to your hotel in Cusco.
Day 4 June 19th Morning visit to Sacsayhuaman fortress, visit Q´enqo archaeological site, hike from Q´enqo to San Blas bohemian neighborhood, lunch at Pachapapa, afternoon Chocolate workshop at Chocomuseo in private to enjoy one of the best chocolates of the world with a specialize chocolatier you will have the chance to preapre your own truffles, to continue you will have a master class of the ancient peruvian musical lecture with the Master Gustavo Leon exploreing with the precolumbian instruments, dinner at Limo restaurant.
Day 5 June 20th Morning Shaman ceremony on a very special location, after the ceremony transfer to the Cusco airport and Lima airport assistance for international flight.

ITINERARY

June 16th Arrival to Cusco, Visit Moray Visit Maras salt mines

LA2023 LIMA TO CUSCO ( we recommend)

ETD 08.13 – ETA 09.45

Upon your arrival to Cusco you will be meet by your guide and transfer to the Sacred Valley, along the way you will see traditional Quechua women tending their fields and the beautiful patchwork landscape. You will arrive to Moray.

Moray is famous for its amphitheatre-type ruins formed by circular terraces. The purpose of these depressions is uncertain, but their depth, design, and orientation with respect to wind and sun creates a temperature difference of as much as 15 °C (27 °F) between the top and the bottom. It is possible that this large temperature difference was used by the Inca to study the effects of different climatic conditions on crops. Speculation about the site has led to discussion about Moray as an Inca agricultural experiment station. Its microclimatic conditions and other significant characteristics led to the use of the site as a center for the ancient study of domestication, acclimatization, and hybridization of wild vegetable species that were modified or adapted for human consumption.

Private transfer (approx. 40 min transfer) to Maras to the house of a local chef, and enjoy a espectacular lunch with a breathtaking views of the andes.

After lunch, you will be transfer to Maras salt mines.

The Maras salt terraces display a spectacle of unusual beauty. Located on a wide, open hill above the Urubamba Valley, the salt water runs along channels which extend through the flooded lands and follow a more or less rectangular pattern, depending on the variations in the land. The water, which is exposed to the sun, leaves salt on the bed. Viewed from above, the myriad of rectangles look like an enormous painting designed by nature.

The salt mines traditionally have been available to any person from the community wishing to harvest salt. The size of the salt pond assigned to a family depends on the family’s size.

 

Transfer to your hotel in the Sacred Valley.

June 17th Transfer to Ollantaytambo train station, Hiram Bingham luxury train service to Machu Picchu, private machu Picchu tour.

09.30 AM : Following breakfast, you will be greeted by your personal guide and taken by private transfer to Ollantaytambo train station.

Board the luxury train Hiram Bingham to Machu Picchu.

-Lunch on board in the Hiram Bingham train service.

Upon your arrival to Machu Picchu pueblo you will take a shuttle bus to Machu Picchu main entrance for your private visit.

Machu Picchu has been named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World and is perhaps the most awe-inspiring archaeological site in the Americas. Amazingly, it was never revealed to the conquering Spaniards and was virtually forgotten until the early part of the 20 th century when a young American historian Hiram Bingham discovered this lost city in 1911.

Transfer your hotel in Machu Picchu

June 18th Second visit to machu Picchu, hike to Machu Picchu mountain, Hiram Bingham lto Cusco.

Early Morning : Following breakfast, you will be greeted by your guide and taken by small group bus transfer up the mountain to the entrance of Machu Picchu here. Here you will embark on a 3 hour hike up Machu Picchu Mountain as the mist clears and the sun rises.

Machu Picchu Mountain is the towering mountain which overlooks the entire complex complete with the iconic views of Huayna Picchu Mountain in the backdrop. The strenuous 3-hour hike to the summit is the most intimate way to experience the site of Machu Picchu due to the limited number of travelers who attempt the ascent. The summit offers the most spectacular and panoramic view of Machu Picchu, the surrounding mountains, and the ravines down to the river.

Mid-day :Enjoy a delicious lunch at the Sanctuary Lodge located at the entrance of the ruins.

Belmond Sanctuary Lodge is the only hotel located adjacent to the mystifying ancient Inca citadel. As the only Machu Picchu hotel, you’ll enjoy exceptionally easy access from early morning to late afternoon. This is an ideal time to explore, when most of the day visitors and buses have left.

Sit out on the terrace and savor Peruvian cuisine based on produce grown on the Lodge’s own plot: this delightful hideaway is the perfect place to relax after a day packed with adventure.

Early Afternoon: Explore the main part of Machu Picchu with your expert guides.

It was built by the Inca Pachacutec in the 15 th Century and is perched between two peaks offering incredible views of the Urubamba river valley and the snow-capped mountains in the distance. The architecture is adapted to the natural form of the mountains. Approximately 200 buildings are arranged on wide parallel terraces around a vast central square that is oriented east-west. The temples are part of the upper town, the warehouses the lower. Extensive terraces were used for agriculture and sophisticated channeling systems provided irrigation for the fields. Numerous stone stairways set in the walls allowed access to the different levels across the site. The eastern section of the city was said to be residential. The western, separated by the square, was for religious and ceremonial purposes.
transfer to the train station, board the Hiram Bingham Luxury train to Poroy station.

Transfer your hotel in Cusco

June 19th Cusco City tour, Visit Sacsayhuaman fortress, Q´enqo archaeological site, hike to San Blas , musical lecture and chocolate workshop

Morning visit to Sacsayhuaman fortress, the complex comprises 33 archaeological sites, the best known of which is the Sacsayhuaman Fortress. The building was probably used for religious purposes but, due to its location and style, the Spanish and contemporary writers assumed it was a military structure. The consensus among historians suggests that the construction of Saqsayhuaman began at the end of the 14th century and the beginning of the 15th century, under the leadership of Inca Pachactueq. In terms of how long the construction took, contemporary references indicate it took around 60 years. Saqsayhuaman would have held the most important temple in Hanan Qosqo or Upper Cuzco, dedicated to Andean cosmology, worship of the Inti (Sun), Quilla (Moon), Chaska (Stars), Illapa (Lightning) and the other divinities. The building qualifies as a cyclopean construction due to the size of its stones, some of which weigh between 90 and 128 tonnes. On 24 June each year, the fortress is the setting for the Inti Raymi or Festival of the Sun.

To continue you will visit the Q´enqo or “labyrinth” is considered a sacred place in which ceremonies were performed in honour of the Sun, the Moon and the stars.

Small hike to san Blas, named “T’oqokachi or hueco de sal” (salt hole), with steep, narrow streets and lovely colonial-style houses. It is known as the artisan’s neighbourhood. Many families offer accommodation in their homes.

Lunch at Pachapapa restaurant,

Afternoon visit to the Chocolate Museum followed by a private interactive truffle making class.

With the assistance of your personal
chocolaer , visit a local chocolate museum to learn the process of how chocolate is made, from the cocoa tree to the chocolate bars. Uncover all the secrets about chocolate, where it comes from as well as how it is dried and fermented.

Then you will begin the process of making your own chocolate truffles with the end goal being a beautifully hand-made chocolate egg filled with a variety of your favorite flavors and fillings. During the class you will be served cocoa tea and hot chocolate.

Dinner at Limo restaurant.

Transfer to your hotel in Cusco

 

June 20th Shaman ceremony, transfer to Cusco airport and Lima airport assistance.

The guide and the van will be waiting for you at the lobby,  you will participate in a private spiritual experience performed by a Paco (Andean shaman) .

This healing ceremony incorporates key elements indigenous to Peruvian culture and their religious beliefs and practices. The Andean shaman will serve as an intermediary between the human and spiritual worlds. According to believers,shamans can treat illness and are capable of entering supernatural realms to provide answers for humans.

Then you will be transfer to the Cusco airport to take your flight to LIma.

Upon your arrival our AUQUI representative will be waiting for you to assist you in you international check in.