Rainbow Mountain and Machu Picchu Tour

In the morning, we pick you up from your hotel and transfer you to a railway station (either at Poroy, which is 30 minutes far away from Cusco, or at Ollantaytambo which takes 1 hour and 40 minutes from Cusco). There you board a train and travel for about 1 hour 45 minutes experiencing spectacular changeable landscapes passing through lush fields and colorful villages placed on the foothill of the Andes. The highlight of the way is wonderful views of mountains and the marvelous Urubamba River that runs through the Sacred Valley of the Incas. In the end, you reach Aguas Calientes, a town just below Machu Picchu, where our Representative welcomes you at the railway station to accompany you to a bus stop. There you get on a shuttle bus taking you up to the archaeological complex of Machu Picchu following a zigzag path for about 25 minutes.

Once in Machu Picchu, your Tour Guide introduces you to the most important attractions of this antique Incan site such as its main square, the Sun Temple, Intiwatana (Sun Clock), the Royal Rooms, the Temple of the Three Windows, and the Royal Incas Cemetery. This guided tour takes about 2 and a half an hour and then you are given time off to explore the complex and climb Huayna Picchu (or Machu Picchu Mountain) to take some amazing panoramic photos of Machu Picchu. So please do not forget your camera and enjoy the visit of "One of the New 7 Wonders of the World" !!

When you have enjoyed the site enough, you take a shuttle bus down to Aguas Calientes where you can have lunch (not included in the package) in one of many lovely restaurants offering traditional Andean as well as international cuisine. Afterward, you can visit the thermal baths of Aguas Calientes or the Museum of the Site (neither entrance of these is included in the package).

In the afternoon, we take a train back to Ollantaytambo (alternatively to Poroy) where our driver expects us in front of the railway station to transfer us to Cusco.

The adventure begins very early between 4:30-5:00 am when we collect you from your accommodation to take you for a ride to the town of Chirihuani in the Cusipata district, south of Cusco city. On the way, we stop for a while to buy the last food supplies (e.g. water or energy drinks, snacks, cereals, etc.). Afterwards, we continue the ride observing multicolored landscapes and diverse crops that are mixed between the mysterious mountains and snowy peaks, and the deep valley where you can admire cute Andean animals such as llamas, alpacas, sheep, and vicuñas. At 7:30 am, we arrive at the picturesque Chirihuani town, where our Cook serves us a delicious breakfast.

Then, we return to our minibus and head to the starting point of our tour. We start climbing up for 1 hour and 30 minutes until we reach the slopes of the Red Valley, the place of access to the mystical location of Vinicunca. We follow a path along which the mountain landscape gradually changes its intense colors, while small streams of ice water feed and enliven the valley. Later on, we reach an altitude of 5,200 meters above sea level - the top of the mysterious 7-coloured mountain (or Vinicunca). This is the right point to take enough pictures and videos. In addition, we have refreshments, while our eyes enjoy the magic of the mountains enclosed behind a veil of clouds and snow-capped peaks. 

When our eyes have had enough, we take a walk back to Chirihuani. Here, we have a well-deserved delicious lunch buffet prepared by our Cook. After that, we board our minibus and return to Cusco arriving there at around 5 pm. We say goodbye to each other in our accommodation and you can view your Rainbow Mountain photos for the rest of the evening.

• Pre trek briefing with a proffesional tour guide
• Transportation by tourist bus Cusco - Ollantaytambo - Cusco
• Entrance fee to Machu Picchu
• Train round trip to Machu Picchu
• Bus up and down to Machu Picchu
• Tourist transportation in the Sacred Valley
• Pre-trek briefing (Our guide visits your hotel a day prior to the trek for your briefing);
• Professional and experienced English-speaking Guide;
• Meals: 1x breakfast (European Continental style), 1x buffet lunch;
• Tourist transportation from your hotel to the trailhead and back.
• Emergency oxygen bottle; 
• First-aid kit.

• Meals not details
• Entrance fee to Huayna Picchu Mountain (U$ 80)

Meals budget: Please allow USD 20 - 30 for meals not included.

Solo traveler: If you do not like to share your room with someone else, please book the "Solo Traveler" option

Local flights: No local flight is included in the cost of the tours.

Many people include Peru in their “Things to do” list before they depart the planet, the main reason may be to Trek the Classic Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, although what most people don’t know is that there are various Inca Trails Trips to Machu Picchu to pick from in the Cusco region. The difference lies in what kind of an experience you want, hiking the Inca trail and how challenging you like your treks.

If you want to say that you’ve hiked the famous Inca Trail, usually you will need to book in advance, in case it is fully booked, we recommend the Inca Trail alternatives:

• Short Inca Trail to Machu Picchu (2 days / 1 night)
• Salkantay Short Trek to Machu Picchu (4 days / 3 nights)
• Inca Quarry Trek to Machu Picchu (4 days / 3 nights)
• Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu (5 days / 4 nights)

TOUR GUIDE & A REPRESENTATIVE

All Salkantay Trek Machu tours are accompanied by a Salkantay Trek Machu Tour Guide, a Representative or an expedition team. The aim of our Tour Guides is to take a hassle out of our customers’ trips and to help them to have the best trip possible. The Tour Guides provide information on places visited, offer suggestions of what to see and to do, recommend a good place to eat and introduce to his/her colleagues. The Guides have a broad general knowledge of each country visited during a tour, including historical, cultural, religious and social aspects.
We also use local Tour Guides where we think that more specific knowledge could add more enjoyment to visited places.

SUGGEST ITEMS

A kind of luggage you need to take with depends on a kind of tour you plan to undertake, a part of the country you like to visit, a year season and a length of your trip. In general, you should pack as lightly as possible because you carry your own luggage during most of our tours (however, there are not long walking distances – up to 30 minutes). We recommend you to keep weight of your luggage under 7 kg (20 lb.).

Most of travelers use a suitcase. However, a big backpack would be more suitable. In any case, please do not forget a small rucksack that you will need for daily travels (to carry your bottled water, camera, snacks, etc.). It is better to avoid a wheeled luggage and use luggage with shoulder straps.

What Kind of Clothing to Pack to Peru

Clothing to take with you depends on a year season in Peru and a part of country you plan to visit.

If you plan to visit Cusco and Machu Picchu (Andean mountain range or Altiplano), then we recommend you to take some trousers suitable for hiking, shorts, T-shirts and trekking shoes for the days; and sweaters, fleeces, hats, scarves and warm jackets for the nights. You also should take a sun protection cream, sun glasses and in some cases, mosquito repellent (depending on a route chosen). It is very convenient to have a light rain-gear available in a daypack (e.g. a waterproof poncho or jacket and/or waterproof trousers) as weather changes quickly and rains can suddenly occur. For more details, please check the below link of What to Bring on the “Sacred Valley To Machu Picchu Tour”.

WHAT WE RECOMMEND TO BRING

• Passport Original and copies
• Travel insurance(+ copies for a case of lost),
• Cash in USD or credit cards,
• Day pack (to carry your personal items during daily travels),
• Rain gear (a rain-jacket and a waterproof trousers or a rain poncho - this can be purchased in Cusco),
• Resistible footwear, waterproof trekking shoes are recommended,
• Sandals (for a higher comfort while at a hotspring in Aguas Calientes),
• Hat or a cap (to protect you against the Sun, rain as well as cold), Sun block
• Small towel and toiletries,
• Sufficient reserve of underwear,
• Swimsuit (to visit the thermal baths of Aguas Calientes),
• After-sun cream or hydrating cream for face and body,
• Insect repellent– recommended minimum is 20% DEET (please note that no malaria has been reported during this trip!),
• Camera and its charger/batteries (please note that batteries are consumed quickly under cold conditions),
• Snacks (biscuits, energy bars, chocolate, raw fruits, muesli, etc.)
  Please note: we do provide a daily morning snack and our meal service is very complete and well supplied. The recommendation of taken own snack applies only for customers who like a specific snack that might not be in our menu.
• Bottled water for the first morning and a water bottle.