Daily Itinerary

Day 1: Arrival in Cusco • Acclimatization & City Orientation

Upon arrival at Alejandro Velasco Astete Airport (CUZ) in Cusco, our Apple Travel Peru representative will greet you and transfer you to your hotel. Receive a brief orientation before spending the morning resting to adapt to the high elevation (3,400 m / 11,150 ft). In the afternoon, take a gentle walk through Cusco’s historic stone streets to absorb the vibrant mountain culture, explore local landmarks, or pick up any last-minute trekking supplies at your own relaxed pace.

• Airport Pick-Up: Look for your driver holding an Apple Travel Peru sign outside the arrivals terminal.
• Pre-Trek Briefing: 6:00 PM tonight at our Cusco office (Calle Garcilaso 201, Office 201). Meet your lead guide and collect your porter duffel bag.

• Meals Included: None (Independent)
• Accommodation: 3-Star Hotel (Maytaq Wasin or Waman Qorikancha) or 4-Star Hotel (Costa del Sol Ramada, Casa Andina Premium, or Novotel) in Cusco

Local Recommendations

• Plaza de Armas Walk & Café Views: Take a slow walk around the main square and relax at a balcony café enjoying sweeping views over the Plaza de Armas.
• San Pedro Market: Visit the vibrant, colorful market to experience local produce, regional aromas, and traditional Andean culture.
• Local Dining & Museums: Enjoy traditional Peruvian cuisine at a nearby restaurant, tour Qorikancha (Temple of the Sun) and the Convent of Santo Domingo, or visit the historic crypts at San Francisco Plaza and churches overlooking the main square.
• Budget Gear Shopping: Need last-minute trekking trousers, jackets, or walking shoes? Find budget-friendly gear at local markets around El Baratillo (Calle Belén and Plaza Santiago area).

Day 2: Sacred Valley Exploration • Pisac • Moray • Maras • Ollantaytambo

Depart Cusco at 7:30 AM by private transport, descending into the fertile Urubamba Valley with a brief photo stop at the Taray Viewpoint for panoramic vistas of the Andean landscape.

Pisac Archaeological Site & Artisan Market

Perched high on a ridge above the valley floor, Pisac features vast agricultural terraces clinging to steep mountain slopes, ceremonial temples, ancient storehouses, and ceremonial Incan burial sites. After exploring the upper ruins, head down to Pisac town to wander its colorful artisan market, packed with handwoven textiles, silver jewelry, and traditional Andean pottery.

Moray Incan Agricultural Laboratory

Drive to Moray to admire an extraordinary feat of ancient engineering consisting of massive, concentric circular stone terraces that sink deep into the earth like a natural amphitheater. The Incas used this complex as an agricultural research station; the varied terrace depths and orientation to the sun create distinct microclimates, with temperatures differing by up to 15°C (27°F) between the top and bottom levels to hybridize crops.

Maras Salt Mines (Salineras)

Visit the breathtaking salt pans of Maras, where over 3,000 terraced, shallow pools cascade down a canyon hillside. Fed by a subterranean hyper-saline hot spring, water flows into the pans and slowly evaporates under the Andean sun, leaving behind mineral-rich pink salt. Local Quechua families have continuously harvested salt here using traditional hand-evaporation techniques since pre-Inca times.

Ollantaytambo Living Incan Town & Fortress

Conclude your tour in Ollantaytambo, a massive stone fortress and ceremonial center built into steep mountain terraces where the Incas famously repelled Spanish forces. Walk through the ancient stone stairways, Sun Temple, and water channels. The adjacent village is known as the last “living Incan town,” as its stone buildings and narrow cobblestone alleys retain their original Incan urban planning. Spend the night here at lower elevation to optimize your trail acclimatization.

• Meals Included: Breakfast, Buffet Lunch in Urubamba
• Accommodation: 3-Star Hotel in Ollantaytambo (Andenes del Inca or similar; Elevation: 2,792 m / 9,160 ft)

Day 3: Classic Inca Trail (Day 1) • Ollantaytambo • KM 82 • Wayllabamba • Ayapata

At 6:00 AM, transfer from your hotel to Piskacucho (Kilometer 82), the official starting checkpoint of the Inca Trail. Present your original passport to park rangers and begin your 12 km hike along the Vilcanota River. Pass the archaeological sites of Huillca Raccay and Patallacta while taking in views of snow-capped Veronica Mountain (5,860 m). Ascend gradually through the Wayllabamba Valley to your first campsite at Ayapata.

• Elevation Change: 2,720 m / 8,923 ft → 3,300 m / 10,827 ft
• Distance & Duration: 12 km / 7.5 miles (Approx. 6 hours)
• Meals Included: Lunch, Afternoon Tea, Dinner (Note: Please carry 1.5–2 liters of water for the morning; boiled drinking water is provided starting after lunch).
• Accommodation: Full Camping at Ayapata Camp (Night Temp: Approx. 5°C / 41°F)

Day 4: Classic Inca Trail (Day 2) • Ayapata • Dead Woman’s Pass • Paqaymayu • Chaquicocha

Wake early for the most challenging day of the trek. Begin a steady ascent through native Polylepis forests to Abra de Warmiwañusca (Dead Woman’s Pass), the highest point of the trail at 4,215 m (13,829 ft). After celebrating at the summit, descend to the Paqaymayu Valley for lunch. In the afternoon, climb over the second pass at Runkuraqay (3,950 m), visiting the circular Runkuraqay ruins before descending to your campsite at Chaquicocha.

• Elevation Change: 3,300 m / 10,827 ft → 4,215 m / 13,829 ft → 3,600 m / 11,811 ft
• Distance & Duration: 16 km / 10 miles (Approx. 9 hours)
• Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Afternoon Tea, Dinner
• Accommodation: Full Camping at Chaquicocha Camp (Night Temp: Approx. 4°C / 39°F)

Day 5: Classic Inca Trail (Day 3) • Chaquicocha • Phuyupatamarca • Wiñay Wayna

Hike through lush cloud forest along stone Inca staircases and tunnels. Visit Phuyupatamarca (“Town in the Clouds”) at 3,680 m for breathtaking views of the Urubamba mountain range. Descend approximately 3,000 stone steps to the agricultural terraces of Intipata, reaching your final campsite at Wiñay Wayna (2,680 m) by lunchtime. Spend the afternoon exploring the extraordinary Wiñay Wayna archaeological site located just minutes from camp.

• Elevation Change: 3,600 m / 11,811 ft → 2,680 m / 8,792 ft
• Distance & Duration: 10 km / 6.2 miles (Approx. 5 hours)
• Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Afternoon Tea, Dinner
• Accommodation: Full Camping at Wiñay Wayna Camp (Hot showers available; Night Temp: Approx. 12°C / 54°F)

Day 6: Classic Inca Trail (Day 4) • Wiñay Wayna • Sun Gate • Machu Picchu • Return to Cusco

Wake at 3:30 AM to clear the final trail checkpoint when gates open at 5:30 AM. Hike approximately 1 hour along a gently ascending cloud forest path to Inti Punku (The Sun Gate) for your first breathtaking panoramic view of the Machu Picchu citadel bathed in morning light.

Machu Picchu Citadel Guided Tour & Highlights

Descend to the citadel to enter your official guided tour (Circuits 1 or 3), where your expert guide will explain the history, astronomical significance, and architecture of this World Heritage Site. Key landmarks you will visit and photograph include:

• The Guardhouse Overlook: The classic viewpoint offering iconic panoramic postcard photos of the entire citadel with Huayna Picchu towering in the background.
• Temple of the Sun (Torreón): A semi-circular masterpiece of Incan stonemasonry built over a natural rock cave, precisely aligned to capture the winter solstice sun through its trapezoidal windows.
• Intihuatana Stone / Sacred Rock: The sacred astronomical “hitching post of the sun,” carved directly into the bedrock and used by Incan astronomers to predict solstices and agricultural cycles.
• The Royal Quarter & Granaries: Massive terraced storage structures (qollqas) and polished stone residential quarters demonstrating precision stone-cutting techniques without mortar.
• Temple of the Three Windows & Water Mirrors: Ceremonial stone chambers built around sacred alignment points with polished stone basins once used for celestial observations.

After your guided tour, take the shuttle bus down to Aguas Calientes for lunch at your leisure. In the afternoon, board the Expedition train back to Ollantaytambo, followed by private vehicle transfer back to your hotel in Cusco.

• Elevation Change: 2,680 m / 8,792 ft → 2,430 m / 7,972 ft → Cusco (3,400 m)
• Distance & Duration: 6 km / 3.7 miles hike (Approx. 2 hours)

Return travel details

1. Bus down to Aguas Calientes (~30 mins)
2. Free time/lunch in Aguas Calientes
3. Expedition train from Aguas Calientes to Ollantaytambo (~1.5 hours)
4. Private vehicle transfer from Ollantaytambo to hotel in Cusco (~2 hours)
5. Approximate arrival time back in Cusco (~7:30 PM–8:30 PM).

Day 7: Cusco • Rainbow Mountain (Vinicunca) Excursion • Return to Cusco

Depart Cusco at 4:00 AM by private transport through Peru’s South Valley, winding past rural Quechua communities to the trailhead at Llacto (4,638 m). Enjoy a warm breakfast outdoors before embarking on a gentle 1.5-hour hike alongside alpine glacial streams and herds of grazing llamas and alpacas.

The Geology & Magic of Rainbow Mountain (Vinicunca)

Reaching the ridge summit at 5,020 meters (16,466 ft), you will stand face-to-face with Vinicunca, one of Peru’s most spectacular natural wonders. Hidden beneath thick ice and snow for centuries, recent glacial melting revealed vivid, horizontal mineral strata that look like a natural painting across the mountain ridge:

• Red & Pink Striations: Formed by iron-rich claystone and weathered mudstone (goethite and limonite).
• Turquoise & Green Bands: Created by chlorite compounds and copper-silicate mineral oxidation.
• Gold & Yellow Stripes: Formed by iron sulfide and sulfur-rich sandstone layers.
• White Strata: Pure quartz, sandstone, and magnesium-rich limestone.

From the viewpoint, take in sweeping 360-degree views of the Vilcanota Mountain Range and the towering, sacred Ausangate Glacier (6,384 m), revered in Andean cosmology as the guardian spirit (Apu) of Southern Peru. Option to extend your walk into the dramatic, deep-crimson landscapes of the adjacent Red Valley.

After soaking in the summit views, descend to the trailhead for a hearty hot buffet lunch before returning to Cusco by 5:00 PM for your hotel drop-off or evening airport transfer.

• Elevation Change: 4,638 m / 15,216 ft → 5,020 m / 16,466 ft
• Meals Included: Hot Breakfast, Lunch
• Difficulty: Moderate to Challenging (High elevation)

Information

• Horse rentals are (available from local community members at the trailhead for ~$25–$30 USD for those who struggle with the high altitude).
• Optional Red Valley Side Hike: After visiting Rainbow Mountain, take an optional side walk into the dramatic, deep-crimson landscapes of the adjacent Red Valley. (Red Valley entrance fee of ~20 Soles is fully included in your package).