Family Trip

Duration of Family Trip 5 or 8 day (8 days recommended)

Day 1 – arrive to Cusco – Pick up from Airport
Day 2 – Rest / acclimate
Day 3 – Cusco – Sacred Valley
Day 4 – Explore the Circular Terraces & salt Mountain flats
Day 5 – Pumamarka ruins & Ollantaytambo
Day 6 – Aguas Calientes
Day 7 – Machu Picchu; Back to Cusco
Day 8 – Explore Cusco

This is the best option for families with younger children who want to experience the magic of exploring the Sacred Valley of the Incas on foot.  You will be immersed in the culture and history of the Andean people by day, surrounded by the majestic landscapes that the Andes provide, while being able to return to the comfort and luxury of your hotel in the evening. This option allows for you and your family to explore craft markets, visit with the many different animals of the Andes, walk through the ruins of the Incan empire and enjoy authentic Peruvian cuisine with locals.  Join us as we open your eyes to the wonders of the Incas and the Sacred Valley.

FIRST DAY

At the begining of family trip will pick you and your family up from the airport in the city of Cusco, then head towards the Sacred Valley of the Incas. Along the way we will stop to observe, touch and feed llamas and alpacas and understand why they are so important to our Peruvian culture. Before continuing on, we will have a demonstration of traditional Andean weaving techniques with original designs in the same way as they have been made by hand for hundreds of years before. After our private demonstration, we will continue on to your hotel located in the Sacred Valley of the Incas. Although we will still be nearly 10,000 feet above sea level, we recommend staying here as opposed to Cusco as it has lower elevation and a more temperate, enjoyable climate.  The drive from the airport to your hotel will allow us to observe the impressive Sacred Valley of the Incas surrounded by the glaciers of the Vilcanota mountain range and the fertile valleys where some of the best corn of the world is produced. Our journey will take around 2 hours on the road, but we will be making stops along the way to learn and enjoy your new surroundings. If you arrive a little earlier (before noon) we could arrange to visit the ruins of Pisaq, an awesome place located in the Sacred Valley on the top of a mountain. You will end your day in your well-appointed accommodations where you can enjoy a relaxing evening and dinner. Till the second day of family trip.

SECOND DAY

Today we will continue our family trip and pick you up at 9:00 am and head to Moray, which sits at 10,825 feet above sea level. This site is made up of oval and circular terraces that were built into the hills like a gigantic agricultural laboratory and were used for the acclimatization and adaptation of crops to different microclimates. It is truly an amazing feat of science and engineering. After exploring for a bit, we will walk an hour farther, arriving at the salineras de Maras, where salt is extracted in an artisanal way by directing ground water to evaporation ponds. Then, farmers harvest the salt after about 3 weeks after the water has evaporated fully. This salt is one of the most prized in the entire world as there are very few places that produce salt in this ancient and the organic way. After enjoying our tour we will walk down for around an hour to the Sacred Valley, where you can see the sacred river of the Incas. We will enjoy a picnic lunch by the river, enjoying the sights and sounds, before returning you to your hotel to relax and enjoy the remaining day.

THIRD DAY

We will pick you up at 8:00 am to set out on our second hike. After an hour we will arrive at Pumamarka (puma town) at 10,700 feet above sea level. Here we will find some very well known Incan ruins.  Impressive and beautiful, mountains that reach 18,000 feet above sea level surround this area. After our tour we will walk down a section of the original Inca Trail headed towards Ollantaytambo. In the time of the Incas, this place was the most important province in this part of the sacred valley. Here we will find the best-preserved ruins in the valley situated in idyllic surroundings with mountains all around us. After the tour we will stop to enjoy a unique culinary experience called Pachamanca where hot stones are used to cook various types of foods including pork, lamb, chicken and various forms of potatoes. After our traditional lunch we will return to our hotel.

FOURTH DAY

We will pick you up at 6:00 am and drive to Ollantaytambo where we will board a train that will take us to the start of our short Inca Trail trek. We will enter the national park where we will have to present our passports and register before we begin our walk. We will come to a sacred Incan place called Chachabamba after which we gradually begin to ascend the mountain in the direction to Wiñaywayna. This section takes around 3 hours walking gently uphill. Once we arrive here we will stop for a break and eat our box lunch. Wiñaywayna was an important place of worship to the water, an important stop for the religious class in its long pilgrimage to the sacred city of Machu Picchu. From here you can observe impressive glaciers and sacred Incan mountains, including Machu Picchu. From here, we continue on the Inca train for another 2 hours in the direction of the famed Sun Gate. You will be rewarded for your efforts here, as you will be treated to stunning views of the sacred city of Machu Picchu from the impressive vantage point. This was and is the gateway to the sacred city. After observing and enjoying the magic of this place, we will head down in the direction of the sacred city. We will find our place on the upper terraces of Machu Picchu and watch the sunset far away from the usual crowds down below. This is the moment you have come for, so soak it in and enjoy. Finally, after a rewarding day walking the Inca Trail, we will take a bus down to Aguas Calientes where we will check into our hotel and rest up for exploring Machu Picchu in the morning.

FIFTH DAY

This morning, before sunrise, we will take the bus to Machu Picchu.  We will have the option to climb Waynapicchu Mountain located in the back of Machu Picchu, famously seen in the postcards of this sacred city. It takes approximately 3 hours to climb and descend this mountain, and while challenging, offers you unparalleled views of the city below. We will then explore the city of Machu Picchu itself and learn about the history and science behind how it was built and why. After out tour, we take our return bus to Aguas Calientes where we will enjoy lunch before meeting our train. We will ride for about an hour and a half to the station of Ollantaytambo. Here will be waiting our private van, which will take us to the city of Cusco, the sacred capital of the Incas. We will check into our hotel and relax in preparation of the last day of the tour.

SIXTH DAY

In the morning we will pick you up to begin our tour of the city of Cusco. Cusco is a mestizo city, where there exists a unique mix of local Andean culture and tradition blended with the Hispanic culture brought by the Spanish conquerors. During the tour we will visit Koricancha, the famous Temple of the Sun built during Incan times. We will also visit the convent of Santo Domingo, Peru’s most important Catholic Church and perhaps the most important in all of South America due to the art and treasures found within its walls. Then, in our private car, we will go to Saqsaywaman, an impressive temple and Inca fortress located on the top of the city of Cusco at 12,200 feet above sea level. You will be able to take beautiful panoramic photographs of the city of Cusco from this impressive place. We will spend around an hour here before enjoying lunch and returning you to your hotel.  You will be free to enjoy the rest of your day in Cusco as you choose.

End of our services.

If you are interested in exploring other aspects of Cusco, please know that we will be happy to design a more detailed itinerary for you and your family.  Our guides know the customs, history and traditions of this mestizo city and would be glad to share all of their knowledge and love of their home with you to give you the best experience of family trip . We look forward to working closely with you to put together your trip of a lifetime!