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Lima/Cusco/Inca trail Classic/Cusco/Lima 09 days/08 nights

Departures : Friday and Tuesday

Day 01 - Lima

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

Day 02 – 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/Piskakucho (Km. 82) – Huayllabamba

A spectacular early morning drive through the Sacred Valley of the Incas takes us to our trailhead at Km. 82 of the Machu Picchu railroad. After getting acquainted with our trail crew we set out, crossing a footbridge to hike a gentle two hours down the Urubamba canyon, and then visit imposing sculpted Inca farming terraces and the settlement of Llaqtapata on the banks of the Cusichaca side river. We then climb a short way up the Cusichaca valley to Huayllabamba, the last inhabited village on the trail, where we camp.

Day 05 – Huayllabamba – Pacaymayo

We climb the steep-sided past a rushing stream and through enchanted native polylepis woodland. Crossing the rim of a small plateau, we abruptly find ourselves in the puna, the treeless grasslands of the high Andes. The trail traverses an open slope opposite mighty mountain crags as we ascend to the first and highest pass, Warmiwañusca (4,200m/13,776ft). Here we encounter spectacular views of the trail ahead to the second pass, and look back to the sweeping snowpeaks and valleys of the Huayanay massif.

The trail to the floor of the forested Pacaymayo valley, where we make camp.

Day 06 – Pacaymayo – Wiñay Wayna

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 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 pinnacles topped with Inca viewing platforms overlook the archaeological complex of Phuyupatamarca (Cloud-level Town).

Pausing to explore the wondrous maze of Inca stone towers, fountains and stairways that spillins down the mountainside here, we begin a long descent through ever-changing layers of cloud forest. An Inca stairway partly cut from living granite leads us finally to our camp by the ruins of Wiñay Wayna (Forever Young), the largest and most exquisite of the Inca Trail sites.

Day 07 – Winay Wayna – Machu Picchu – Cusco

An early morning hike take us across a steep mountainside through 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. 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 08 – 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 09 - 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)
• Two lunches (Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu)
• 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.

Suggested reading list

All available through http://www.amazon.com and/or http://www.longitudebooks.com

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 6.82
• International Flight      USD 31.00

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