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DAY 1
TRAVEL TO PISAC, VISIT LLAMA-ALPACA MUSEUM. HORSE RIDING, TREKKING AT MOUNTAIN LAKES, FARMING DEMONSTRATION
At 8am, you leave your Cusco hotel with your guide and drive to the Sacred Valley via the Awanakancha Llama and Alpaca weaving and textile center on the way to Pisac. Here you can learn about traditional weaving and the different types of Andean animals that the wool comes from.
Typically, we get to feed the animals such as Alpacas and Llamas, and weaving demonstrations are given. Cusco to Awanakancha center should only take 30 minutes. After some time there, just another 20 minutes to the market town of Pisac arriving around 9.30 or 10am, where you can visit the market and the main village square.
Pisac market and Pisac ruins.
Around 11am, you will have a 1-hour horse ride session (no experience necessary) taking you around the outskirts of the town and experiencing the trails along the river and nearby Eucalyptus forests. After horse riding, we then drive around 45 minutes to Lake Kimsacocha to embark on our trek around the area.
Quimsacocha (4000m). After some time navigating the lake and taking photos, if time allows, we start another trek to Lake Azulcocha (4100m) in 1 hour and 30 minutes with some climbing to do. The third lake, Pumacocha, requires an additional 1 hour of climbing, but offers a superb panoramic view of the area with Lake Azulcocha below. We will take some snacks for a picnic lunch during our trek.
Photos – Lake Kimsacocha
We then hike down to the village of Amaru in around 1 hour, where we will be introduced to the hosts, a local Quechua family of farmers. Elojidio and Rufina also have 4 children (2 boys, 2 girls) aged from 27 to 3 years old.
DAY 2
TREK A SECTION OF INCA TRAIL, VISIT SALT TERRACES OF MARAS, HOMESTAY AND WORKSHOPS IN CHICHUBAMBA COMMUNITY OR EVENING TRAIN TO MACHU PICCHU VILLAGE AND STAY THERE.
After breakfast (7-7.30am), we collect our bags, say goodbye to the family, and continue to our next destination.
Photos: Typical food and accommodation in the village of Amaru.
We will take a picnic for lunch and then continue by local transport and/or Tuk-tuk to the start of the trail that leads to Pichingoto, the starting point of the trail to the Salt Terraces of Maras.
We can get to the trailhead by taking local tuk-tuks (known as moto-taxis). The Salt Terraces of Maras are thousands of small plots where salt naturally precipitates, forming deposits. The salt is then harvested and processed into the products we use at dinner tables in Cusco and beyond. You can buy salt ornaments, bath salts, spiced salts, and salty chocolate at the various on-site shops.
We trek up in around 40 minutes and take some time to explore and take photos. By around 3-3.30pm, a car will meet us to drive us to our next destination, the village of Chichubamba.
Note - If time and tiredness are an issue, we can offer a taxi to go directly instead.
In the late afternoon, we arrive at Nery’s house, where she and her sister Monica run local workshops and community stays. This afternoon, we participate in a cacao/chocolate-making workshop with a family who has worked on Cacao plantations for generations.
Here, we get to peel, roast, taste, and mold the chocolate. We also get to enjoy a hot chocolate drink.
OPTION B
Go to the train station in Ollantaytambo (30 minutes from Chichubamba), then take the train to Machu Picchu Village (Aguas Calientes).
Accommodation: Aguas Calientes (Machu Picchu village). Mantu Boutique 3-star hostal with breakfast included.
DAY 3
TRAIN TO MACHU PICCHU, VISIT THE INCA RUINS, TRAIN BACK TO OLLANTAYTAMBO/VAN TO CUSCO
Today is the day to visit the famous ruins of Machu Picchu.
After an early breakfast around 6am, we will leave to transfer to the train station. The train departs at 7.45am, and after a shuttle at 9.30am, we will arrive at the entrance to Machu Picchu at 10am or shortly after.
We will then explore the main citadel and the most important parts of this magnificent Inca city. The tour includes a guide for groups larger than four people.
Due to the allocated time slot, we will only have a few hours to explore, but with an early start, many visitors will already be hungry. We can either walk down to town to get lunch (which takes about 1 hour) or take the optional bus for an extra cost of $12 USD per person.
After lunch, we will board our train at 4.20pm, arriving back in Ollantaytambo in about 1.5 hours. From there, we will drive back to Cusco, arriving around 7.45 pm, leaving you time to enjoy a meal in the evening.
END OF SERVICES
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