Flash Peru: Explore Lima, Cusco, Sacred Valley & Machu Picchu

Upon arrival at the Lima airport, a transportation service and a representative will pick you up to transfer you to your hotel for your check-in. Later, you will be picked up at about 1.45 pm from the hotel to explore Lima’s old town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, packed with fascinating historic buildings. The route begins at the traditional Pueblo Libre district, where you visit the Larco Museum, located in a beautifully restored vice regal mansion built on a pre-Columbian pyramid from the seventh century. The museum boasts a complete pre-Hispanic collection of gold and silver objects, as well as pieces of erotic art. Then visit the Casa Aliaga, a colonial mansion granted by chief conquistador Francisco Pizarro to one of his captains, Jerónimo de Aliaga. This is the only house from that time, still belonging to the same family. Continue with a scenic tour through the colonial downtown. See the Main Square, where you can appreciate the grandiose architecture of the Spanish Empire. Admire Lima’s Cathedral, built during the 16th century. After 4-hour visit, you will be transferred back to your hotel, at 6.30 pm.
Overnight in Lima.

Breakfast at the hotel and at indicated time in the morning, you will be transferred to the Lima airport to take the flight to the city of Cusco (Lima – Cusco flight not included). Domestic flight from Lima to Cusco must arrive not later than 10:30 am. Noon arrivals are too late. Upon arrival, you will be transferred to your hotel for check-in. At around 1 pm you will be picked up at the hotel to enjoy a guided 4-hour tour of this charming city, which was the capital of the Inca Empire. The tour starts with a visit to Santo Domingo Convent, a large Renaissance-baroque complex, which was built over the Inca Coricancha temple. It was one of the most important temples dedicated to worshipping of the sun, and its foundations are still prominent at the base of the convent. Ancient chronicles say the temple was covered in gold leaf and filled with golden representations of nature. Then, visit the Cathedral, the most imposing monument of the Main Square. Head to the hills above Cusco to visit the remains of the fortress of Sacsayhuaman, whose imposing ramparts offer a stunning panoramic view of Cusco, and the ruins of the temple and amphitheatre of Qenqo, where it is believed the Incas practiced agricultural rituals. Admire Qenqo and then finally visit PukaPukara (‘Red fortress’ in Quechua) an Inca military complex located on a prominent hill. Its dwellings squares, bathrooms, aqueducts, walls, and towers can still be appreciated. Afterwards, return to your hotel at approximately 5.30 pm.
Overnight in Cusco.

After breakfast, you will be picked up from your hotel in Cusco at about 8 am for 1 hour visit of Chinchero town, a traditional Cusco urban center located at an elevated point with a beautiful view of the valley. The inhabitants of this area preserve the artisan traditions and the inherited knowledge of the Incas and display them in their clothes and customs. In Chinchero there are also archaeological remains and a beautiful seventeenth-century church, one of the first Catholic buildings in Peru. On Sundays, it is also possible to visit the local market in Chinchero. Then, you are transferred from Ollantaytambo to the Living Museum of Yucay, a center Andean traditions interpretations, where demonstrations of the elaboration of textile work, adobe, pottery and silverware are carried out in the same way in which they used to in antiquity; an original recreation of Inca traditions. In addition, residents of the museum include llamas, sheep and alpacas, and they can be fed! Upon arriving in Ollantaytambo at 1 pm, inhabited uninterruptedly since Inca times, have a superior Andean gastronomy experience in a restaurant and feel the true spirit of the Sacred Valley, transmitted in a cosy atmosphere! Later, climb the iconic fortress, built next to a mountain. At the end of this activity, at approximately 4 pm, you will be transferred back to your hotel. 
Overnight in Sacred Valley.

After breakfast at the hotel, your journey to Machu Picchu begins with a train ride to Aguas Calientes (the pick-up and train schedule will be indicated the day before), also known as "Machu Picchu Pueblo", the last stop before entering the most important archaeological site in Peru. In Aguas Calientes you will find a craft market, restaurants and, for those who prefer to spend the night at the foot of the mountain and climb early in the morning, hotels for all budgets. Upon arrival, you will be guided to the bus that takes you to Machu Picchu. After a 25-minute bus ride, you will finally arrive at the 'lost city of the Incas '. It is believed that Machu Picchu was built for the Inca emperor Pachacútec around 1450 as a holiday residence. The citadel was abandoned just over 100 years later, probably as a result of the Spanish Conquest, although historians have never uncovered why it was abandoned or how it escaped the destruction that other Inca settlements faced. Instead, the jungle slowly engulfed its stone construction, covering it in thick vegetation that kept it hidden and protected until the ‘lost city of the Incas’ was brought to international attention in 1911. Your 2.5 hour tour will introduce you to the origins of this impressive citadel and guide you around some of its most iconic monuments, such as the main square, the royal rooms, the Temple of the Three Windows, the circular towers, the Sacred Clock and cemeteries. At the end of the tour, return by bus to Aguas Calientes for lunch. Finally, you return by train to Ollanta Station and to transfer to your hotel in Cusco during the afternoon.  
Overnight in Cusco.

After finishing your breakfast at the hotel, you will be transferred to Alejandro Velasco Astete Airport in Cusco to board your flight to Lima. Although this is the last day of your incredible journey with us in Peru, we hope that your memories of this remarkable region, bursting with both culture and history, will last a lifetime.