【Lima + Cusco + Machu Picchu】9-Day Cusco Family Tour from Lima: Valle Sagrado

A transportation service will pick you up from the airport at the scheduled time to transfer you to your hotel in Lima. The Peruvian capital is a modern metropolis full of history, currently undergoing an exciting process of cultural and economic changes.

In the afternoon, visit the Magic Water Circuit of Lima, a modern fountain system (certified as the largest in the world by the Guinness World Records) built in La Exposicion Park. The fountain system attracts crowds during summer and winter, consolidating it as one of the new attractions of Lima. 

After the tour,return to your hotel.

In the morning, discover the richness of the coast of Lima on a walk through the Palomino Islands, just six miles from the shore. These islands are home to hundreds of animals, including birds and sea lions. 

After the tour, disembark at the dock and visit Callao Monumental–an urban art project that seeks to encourage cultural development as a way to integrate the community and improve the quality of life of the residents of the area, as well as the promotion of local artists. As a result of this initiative, the area has been recovered and the artists themselves participate by teaching their techniques to children and young people from nearby neighborhoods, training new talents and giving them a future job opportunity. The route includes visits to art galleries and bohemian restaurants that have become a new fashionable attraction in the city. 

Finally, a transport will take you back to your hotel to prepare you for your flight to Cusco the next day.

A vehicle will take you to the airport in Lima to take your flight to Cusco. Once in the Imperial City, a transport will transfer you to your hotel in Sacred Valley. 

On the way, visit the Living Museum of Yucay, an Andean traditions interpretation centre with demonstrations of the production of textile work, adobe, pottery and silverware, following the techniques used by the ancestors. Also, residents of the museum include llamas, sheep and alpacas, and they can be fed!

Head, crossing the Sacred Valley, to the Moray archaeological site. As with many Inca sites, its exact purpose remains a mystery, although its concentric circular terraces design suggests that each level had a different microclimate. Continue to Maras, where the salt lagoons create a stunning scene. The thousands of small ponds provide jobs and help feed many local families. In Inca times, the salt deposits were an important economic centre of great value to the imperial economy. 

Finally, start your tour of the town of Ollantaytambo. Appreciate the Andean essence breathed in the place while walking among its streets -which still maintain Inca urban planning, and are inhabited since then- and climb the iconic fortress, built next to the mountain. 

After the walk, enjoy a delicious lunch enlivened with a show of horses passing before returning to your hotel to rest full of the Inca spirit.

 

This day, we will see the Paso Horse up close, a Peruvian symbol of singular stride, that earns them a spot in the traditional Peruvian marinera dance. 

After a brief training session, and putting on our Peruvian hats or horse riding helmets, we will get on the horse's back to saunter across the enticing trails of the Sacred Valley, during a three-hour ride.

Finally you will have lunch at Hacienda Huayoccari and then go back to your hotel.

A transportation service will pick you up and transfer you to the Ollantaytambo Station to board the train to Aguas Calientes, the nearest town to Machu Picchu. Take the train to Aguas Calientes, travel observing the Andean landscapes during a journey of an hour and a half. Our guide will be waiting for you and will accompany you until the departure point of the bus. Afterwards, take a bus for the 25-minute journey up to Machu Picchu, known as the "Lost city of the Incas".

It is believed that this archaeological site was built in 1450 by the Inca Pachacutec as his holiday home. However, a century later, the city was abandoned after the Spanish conquest, escaping the destruction that azotó other Incas settlements. Along with the guided tour, you will have the opportunity to learn about the origins of this impressive city and explore its most outstanding monuments.

After completing the tour, you will take the bus to Aguas Calientes, where you will enjoy lunch at your selected restaurant.

 

Today, you can optionally return to Machu Picchu. You may discover the views from Huayna Picchu, which is about 360 metres above Machu Picchu with an underground temple complex; and from Inti Punku, which offers even better views from about 390 metres above the citadel. Another option is the Inca Bridge, a secret military trail, which controls access to the citadel. In the afternoon, transfer to the Aguas Calientes station and take the train back to Ollantaytambo station. From here you will be transferred to your hotel in Cusco.

During the afternoon you will visit the Planetarium Cusco. This is a centre of cultural interpretation on Inca astronomy, astronomical observatory and a beautiful place surrounded by nature, all in one experience. Upon arrival, you will have a talk about Inca astronomy and then a virtual projection of the southern sky in the Dome, where you will see the constellations. Finally, you will participate in an observation activity with a telescope.

 

In the afternoon, enjoy a guided tour of this charming city, which was the capital of the Inca Empire. The tour begins by visiting the Santo Domingo Convent that was built on the Inca temple of the Coricancha, one of the most important enclosures dedicated to the cult of the sun. The ancient chronicles say that its walls were covered with gold leaf and full of golden representations of nature. 

Then, visit the Cathedral, the most imposing monument of main square. Then head towards the Cusco hills where the fortress of Sacsayhuaman is located, whose imposing walls offer an impressive panoramic view of Cusco. In the afternoon, get sweet in a chocolate preparation workshop where you will also learn about its origin and production processes.

 

A vehicle will take you to the airport in Cusco to board your departure flight.