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Footprints of the Incas 10 Days / 09 Nights

Day 1 - Lima
Upon arrival, you will be met at Lima’s international airport and transferred to your hotel. Overnight at selected hotel.

Day 2 – Lima/Cusco
After an early breakfast, transfer to the airport to take the flight to Cusco. Arrival at Cusco airport, reception and transfer to selected hotel.
After lunch on your own, we’ll enjoy a guided tour of the nearby Inca ruins including Kenko, the ceremonial bath of Tambomachay and the amazing Sacsayhuaman, a huge fortress of massive stones. We will also take a tour of the city including the Koricancha, temple of the Sun, a nice example of the Inca architecture, The 12-angled stone, the Main Plaza, the Cathedral and much more. Return to your hotel later in the day. Return to your hotel later in the day. (B)

Day 03 – Cusco/Sacred Valley of the Incas
Full day tour, including visits to the colorful Pisac Indian Market and the Ollantaytambo Fortress. At an elevation of 8,500 feet, the Urubamba Valley, or Sacred Valley of the Incas, is the historic heart of the Inca Empire. It was intensively cultivated with terraces increasing its harvest several fold. Small villages lined the valley floor, while the stone fortresses of Ollantaytambo and Pisac served the dual purpose of providing protection and serving as religious centers. Without the benefit of the wheel, the Incas built massive stone cities and ruled an empire stretching 3,300 miles over some of the harshest terrain on earth. Without the use of mortar, the Inca constructed their cities, suspension bridges, and aqueduct systems, with an engineering expertise that has survived five hundred years of natural disasters, conquest, and modern development.
Overnight at selected Sacred Valley hotel. PLEASE NOTE THE MARKET ONLY TAKES PLACES ON TUESDAYS, THURSDAYS AND SUNDAYS. (B, L)

Day 04 – Sacred Valley of the Incas/ Chillca – Huayllabamba
A spectacular drive through the Sacred Valley of the Incas takes us to Chillca, our trailhead.  Crossing a footbridge, we take an undulating trek through a dry cactus zone beneath soaring views to the snows of Mt. Verónica, with the turbulent Urubamba river on our right.  We pause on a bluff high above the Cusichaca valley for a view of the imposing sculpted terraces of Llaqtapata, a massive Inca farming complex.  Then we turn south and follow this side valley upstream to the village of Huayllabamba, where we make camp.

Day 5 -  Huayllabamba – Pacaymayo
From Huayllabamba we begin a steeper ascent, climbing the Llullucha valley along a stream that rushes through enchanted native unca  woodland.  Crossing the rim of a small plateau, we abruptly find ourselves in the puna, the treeless grasslands of the high Andes.  Here a stretch of open trail climbs beneath mighty crags to our first and highest pass, Warmiwañusca (4,200m/13,776ft).  From Warmiwañusca we can look back to the spectacular snowpeaks and valleys of the Huayanay massif, and ahead to a distant view of tomorrow’s trail to the second pass. Descending a stepped stone trail we encounter our campsite in a clearing of the forested Pacamayo valley.

Day 6 - Pacaymayo – Phuyupatamarca
We pick up an Inca stairway and ascend again past the small Inca site of Runkuracay.  As we reach the second pass the landscape opens onto spectacular new views to the snowpeaks of the Pumasillo range. We descend again to the ruins of Sayacmarca (Inaccessible Town), an intricate labyrinth of houses, plazas and water channels, perched precariously on a rocky spur overlooking the Aobamba valley.  The Inca trail, now a massive buttressed structure of granite paving stones, continues along the steep upper fringes of the cloud forest through a colorful riot of orchids, bromeliads, mosses and ferns.  At the third pass we camp by pinnacles topped with Inca viewing platforms, overlooking the archaeological complex of Phuyupatamarca (Cloud-level Town).

Day 7 - Phuyupatamarca – Machu Picchu
We explore the wondrous maze of Inca stone towers, fountains and stairways spilling down the mountainside at Phuyupatamarca then begin a long descent through ever-changing layers of cloud forest.  An Inca stairway partly cut from living granite leads us finally to the site of Wiñay Wayna (Forever Young), the largest and most exquisite of the Inca Trail sites.  In the afternoon we follow the last stretch of trail across a steep mountainside through a lush, humid cloud-forest of giant ferns and broad-leaf vegetation.  Suddenly we cross the stone threshold of Intipunku (Sun Gate) and encounter an unforgettable sweep of natural beauty and human artistry –a backdrop of twisting gorge and forested peaks framing the magical city of Machu Picchu.
We walk the last half-hour or so down the royal flagstone walkway, past outlying shrines and buildings and through the heart of Machu Picchu.  Camp is in a meadow by the water-sculpted boulders of the Urubamba, near where Hiram Bingham crossed in 1911 on the way to his historic archaeological discovery.

Day 8 -  Machu Pichu – Cusco
We return to Machu Picchu by bus and spend the day in both guided and individual exploration, visiting the most fascinating features of this astounding and mysterious Inca settlement.  Some will want to take the optional hike to the summit of Wayna Picchu for an amazing overview of the site, while others may want to investigate Machu Picchu’s multitude of hidden nooks and corners.  After a full-on experience of this glorious monument to the Inca achievement, we return to Aguas Calientes and board the return train to Cusco.
After lunch, we’ll descend by bus around 3:00 p.m. to catch the train to Cusco and then bus transfer to selected Hotel.

Day 9 – Cusco/Lima
Morning transfer to the airport for your flight to Lima. Upon arrival, you will be met at Lima’s international airport and transferred to your selected hotel.
Afternoon tour of the City including the main sites at Colonial and modern areas.

Day 10 - Lima / USA
Morning transfer to the airport for your international flight.

Prices per person In double accommodation (US Dollars)

What's Included

• Airport transfers
• Guided Sightseeing as detailed in the itinerary
• Ground transportation (bus and train)
• Accommodation at selected hotels with breakfast.
• Porters
• Predeparture information meeting and valuable Inca Trail map,
• Overnight in new The North face tents including comfortable sleeping pads,
• A duffle bag to store your luggage during the trek (please return upon your arrival in Cusco).
• Meals according to the itinerary and a last lunch in a restaurant before returning to Cusco,
• Bottled water to refill your canteen during the trail
• The accompanying staff includes bilingual guide on the trek and in Machu Picchu equipped with a first aid kit, an oxygen tank, and excellent cartographies, porters, kitchen crew and commissary gear.

What’s Not

Meals not noted in itinerary, optional tipping to guides and local staff; airport taxes; and items of a personal nature (sodas, alcoholic beverages, laundry, telephone calls, etc.)

More about Machu Picchu

Perched high above a sinuous bend in the Urubamba River, Machu Picchu has lured explorers, poets and pilgrims to its mist-wreathed ridge top ever since its discovery by the American explorer Hiram Bingham in July, 1911.
No one lived here before the Incas. Those mighty empire builders from Cusco discovered this extraordinary place, finding it rich in natural features sacred to their religion. Both inspired and humbled by its dramatic natural beauty, their answer was to create on a vast scale one of the planet's most sensitive and harmonious works of art. The aesthetic genius of its layout and architecture coupled with the durability of its brilliant planning and engineering have given us today this finest of jewels among the UNESCO world heritage sites.
Scholars still argue about the meaning of Machu Picchu: why it was built and what purpose it served, who lived there and when they departed. Most agree that its main intent was spiritual and ceremonial.

Lost City of the Incas, The Story of Machu Picchu and its Builders
Hiram Bingham
EXPLORATION • 2001 • PAPER • 263 PAGES • BEST SELLER
A first-rate tale of adventure by the man who rediscovered Machu Picchu in 1911. This classic account is a gripping story of exploration, archaeology and natural history -- and still an outstanding overview of the site itself. With original expedition photographs. Originally published in 1952, the book is still an excellent account, not only of the expedition but also of the site itself.

The Incas, People of the Sun
Carmen Bernard
EXPLORATION • 1994 • PAPER • 192 PAGES • BEST SELLER •
A pocket-size encyclopedia in the acclaimed "Discoveries" series, this jewel of a book features hundreds of archival drawings and photographs, a chronology and long excerpts from the journals of early explorers. It's a guide to the ancient monuments, daily life of the Incas, and history of exploration.

Conquest of the Incas
John Hemming
HISTORY • 1970 • PAPER • 641 PAGES
A masterful, prize-winning history of the Inca struggle against the Spanish invasion. This classic account, by one of the best writers on South America, brings together wide-ranging scholarly material in the interests of telling a good story. With a chronology, family tree, bibliography, notes and references.

The Incas and their Ancestors, The Archaeology of Peru
Michael Moseley
ARCHAEOLOGY • 2001 • PAPER • 288 PAGES
An outstanding survey of the archaeology of the Inca, Moche and Nasca civilizations. With hundreds of color illustrations and line drawings, it's an in-depth look at the ancient cultures and history of Peru, the best general introduction to the subject.
For more information please visit www.inkanatura.com
Airport taxes

• Domestic Flights         USD 5.00
• International Flight      USD 30.00

Prices are per person and will be paid at the different airports.