Machu Picchu Tour Package 2026: 4 Days 3 Nights Cusco + Sacred Valley + Machu Picchu

On your flight arrival — Private transfer from Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport (CUZ) to your hotel in Cusco's historic center (included).

Cusco sits at 3,400 m — the altitude is immediate and real. The body needs time to produce additional red blood cells and adjust breathing efficiency. Most altitude sickness (soroche) symptoms peak in the first 12–24 hours.

What to do on Day 1:
- Rest in the hotel for the first 3–4 hours after arrival
- Drink coca leaf tea (mate de coca) — the most traditional and effective Andean remedy. The alkaloids in coca leaves slightly dilate the bronchi, stimulate circulation and are used by every resident of the Andes at altitude
- Drink 2–3 liters of water throughout the day
- Avoid alcohol for the first 48 hours — it dehydrates, dilates blood vessels and significantly worsens soroche
- Afternoon: gentle walk to the Plaza de Armas, San Pedro Market or through the San Blas neighborhood — flat, slow-paced activity is fine and actually helps

Altitude medication: Acetazolamide (Diamox) is the pharmaceutical option for severe altitude sickness. Consult your doctor before the trip if you have a history of altitude sensitivity. Over-the-counter Sorojchi Pills are widely available in Cusco pharmacies and are effective for mild symptoms.

Dinner: On your own in Cusco's historic center. The Plaza de Armas and the streets surrounding it have dozens of restaurants serving Peruvian, Andean and international food at all price points.

Night in Cusco hotel (included).

09:00 or 13:00 hrs — Pick-up from hotel in Cusco. The City Tour includes the two main sections of the historic center plus the 4 archaeological ruins north of the city.

Qoricancha — The Temple of the Sun

The most sacred enclosure of the Inca Empire. The name in Quechua means "golden enclosure" — Spanish chronicles describe the interior walls covered in more than 700 solid gold plates, each weighing approximately 2 kg, oriented to reflect sunlight onto the altar and onto the mummies of former Inca rulers seated in positions of honor. When Francisco Pizarro captured Atahualpa in 1532, the Inca offered to fill a room 7 meters long with gold to secure his freedom — much of the gold from Qoricancha became part of that ransom.

The Dominican Convent of Santo Domingo was built directly over the Inca foundations in the 16th century. The result is one of the most architecturally dramatic confrontations in the Americas: the perfectly fitted, earthquake-resistant Inca granite walls supporting the baroque colonial structure above. When the 1950 earthquake struck Cusco, the colonial walls cracked and shifted — the Inca walls remained perfectly intact.

Cusco Cathedral

The baroque masterpiece on the main Plaza de Armas, built over 94 years (1559–1654) using stone quarried from Sacsayhuaman. Inside, 84 canvas paintings from the Cusco School of religious art — among them the famous Last Supper by Marcos Zapata (1753): Christ and the twelve apostles consuming roasted guinea pig, chicha de maíz (corn beer) and Urubamba trout — the most celebrated fusion of Andean culture with Catholic iconography in colonial art.

The 4 Inca Ruins

Sacsayhuaman (3,701 m) — The largest pre-Columbian structure in the Americas. Three zigzag terrace walls with blocks of gray limestone weighing up to 90 tons — larger than anything in Egypt's Great Pyramid. Construction required an estimated 20,000–30,000 workers over 20–50 years. From the main terrace, 360° panoramic views of Cusco and the Huatanay Valley. On June 24 every year, this is the site of Inti Raymi — the Festival of the Sun.

Qenqo (Quechua: "sinuous labyrinth") — A ceremonial sanctuary carved from living limestone. The zigzag channels in the rock surface were used for ritual libations of chicha and blood: the direction the liquid flowed was read as a cosmological message. The underground chamber below is believed to have been used for the mummification of Inca nobles.

Pucapucara ("Red Fortress") — The most important military checkpoint on the Cusco-Antisuyo road. The reddish color of the rocks at sunset gives the site its name. Its layered terraces, storehouses and soldiers' quarters controlled access to northern Cusco.

Tambomachay ("Ritual Baths of the Inca") — A hydraulic masterpiece: a underground spring is captured and channeled through three levels of precisely fitted Inca stone into horizontal cascading fountains. The water has flowed continuously for 600 years without any maintenance intervention.

Maras and Moray (afternoon)

Moray (3,500 m) — Three concentric circular basins descending into the earth, each level with a different microclimate. The temperature difference between the rim and the center of the deepest basin reaches 15°C — the Inca used this to simulate the climate conditions of different ecological zones (from highland puna to lowland valleys) and test which crops thrived in which conditions. It is the most sophisticated pre-Columbian agricultural laboratory ever discovered. (Moray entrance included in the BTP tourist pass — see note below.)

Maras Salt Mines (3,380 m) — More than 5,000 white salt pools terracing the hillside of the Qaqawiñay mountain, fed by the Qoripujio underground spring — water that has filtered through ancient Cretaceous marine evaporite deposits and emerges naturally hypersaline. In the background: the glacier of Nevado Salkantay (6,271 m). The Inca gravity-distribution channel, unchanged for 600 years, still routes the brine to each family's pools. Over 400 Maras community families inherit their pools from generation to generation. (Salt Mines entrance: ~S/. 10 PEN, paid at site — not included.)

Night in Cusco hotel (included).

06:00–06:30 hrs — Pick-up for the full-day Sacred Valley circuit. This is the logistically richest day: three Inca sites, a buffet lunch and the train to Aguas Calientes all in one day.

Chinchero (3,762 m) — "The cradle of the rainbow" in Quechua tradition. The living textile center of the Andean highlands: a complete demonstration of natural dye production and alpaca textile weaving by Chinchero Quechua community weavers. From wild plants and insects to the finished textile — the 3,000-year-old process that produces the finest Andean fabric.

Pisac (2,970 m) — The archaeological complex covers 15 km² on a mountain promontory with 20+ distinct sectors: Intihuatana (solar observatory), Qallaqasa (fortress) and the cemetery of 10,000+ tombs carved into the cliff faces. Below the ruins, the Pisac artisan market (Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday are full market days) is the largest in the Sacred Valley: alpaca textiles, handmade pottery, silver jewelry and Andean crafts at direct artisan prices.

Buffet lunch in Urubamba (included) — traditional Andean dishes at a regional restaurant: corn chowder, grilled trout from the Vilcanota, quinoa-stuffed peppers, purple corn drink (chicha morada) and fresh bread.

Ollantaytambo (2,792 m) — The only living Inca city in the world: its streets, water canals and residential neighborhoods maintain the exact layout of the 15th century. The Ollantaytambo Fortress has six massive pink granite monoliths — each up to 6 m tall and 50 tons — transported from the Cachicata quarry across the Urubamba River on improvised rafts and ramps. The ceremonial terraces at the front, still irrigated by Inca canals, are the best preserved in the entire Andean world. Ollantaytambo is also the Inca Trail's principal access point.

Expedition train, Ollantaytambo → Aguas Calientes (~1h45min) — The train descent through the Urubamba canyon is one of the most spectacular rail journeys in South America. The track hugs the river as the landscape transitions from open Andean valley to narrow subtropical gorge: bromeliads, giant ferns and orchids appear on the canyon walls; the river changes color from green-blue to white rapids. The altitude drops from 2,792 m to 2,040 m in 1 hour 45 minutes.

Check-in at hotel in Aguas Calientes (included). Dinner on your own. The guide delivers the briefing for Day 4: bus time, entry time, circuit, recommended viewpoints and photography tips.