Machu Picchu Full Day

Our official departure time will depend on the available train schedule, but you can expect you can expect to rise very early on this day! After breakfast we'll pick you up at your hotel or hostel in Cusco and then depart by bus for the Ollantaytambo Station, about an hour and forty minutes from the city of Cusco. Here, we'll catch the train to Aguas Calientes (the colloquial name for Machu Picchu Pueblo). Along the approximately 2-hour route you'll be able to observe the spectacular landscape of the Sacred Valley of the Incas and surrounding Andean peaks. Upon our arrival to tiny but bustling town of Aguas Calientes we'll take a final 20 minute bus ascending to the Machu Picchu Archeological Complex.

Upon our arrival at the ruins of this mysterious Lost City of the Incas nestled in high Andean jungle, you will understand how this site has kept the world in thrall since it was discovered just over a century ago. The guided portion of our visit will last about two hours, during which our guide will teach us about the history and significance of the site's most important areas, including the Intihuatana stone (Quechua for Hitching Post of the Sun) at the Sun Temple, which famously aligns with sun on the summer solstice and appears to hold it in place for a while. After learning about Inca culture and history, and admiring their architectural and hydraulic prowess, we'll return to Aguas Calientes, where you will have time for lunch. (Meals are not included in the program, so this will be on your own account.) After some free time in Aguas Calientes it will be time to catch our train back to Ollantaytambo station. There, our bus will be waiting for us upon our arrival to take us back to the city of Cusco.