Machu Picchu and Sacred Valley 2 day tour
Visit Pisac and Ollantaytambo on the way to Machu Picchu. Includes train transportation, entrance fees and guided tour.
🚨 Machu Picchu tickets are likely to sold out! 🚨 Book in advance
Briefing
Discover all the secrets of the Inca culture with this 2-day Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu tour.
The train tour is preferred by travelers to visit Machu Picchu because, during the journey from Cusco, you will visit different areas of the Sacred Valley: Pisac, Urubamba, and the fortress of Ollantaytambo, always accompanied by a professional guide. Afterward, you will onboard the iconic train that will take you to Aguas Calientes, the gateway to the Inca city.
👉Find below all the details of this 2-day excursion to Machu Picchu:
✅ At Howlanders we offer this tour with the best guides, train schedules, and access to Machu Picchu (based on availability), so you can enjoy a high-quality experience., and access to Machu Picchu (based on availability), so you can enjoy a high-quality experience.
Tour details
Included
- Sacred Valley guided tour to Ollantaytambo
- Lunch in Urubamba
- Train Ollantaytambo - Aguas Calientes, category Voyager / Expedition (round trip)egory)
- Accommodation and breakfast in Aguas Calientes (based on the option selected)
- Bus Aguas Calientes - Machu Picchu (roundtrip)
- Machu Picchu entrance ticket
- Guided tour in Machu Picchu
- Transfer Ollantaytambo > Cusco
Not included
- Tourist Ticket of Cusco (70 soles / $20 aprox.)
- Dinner on the first day
- Lunch on the second day
Important information
To guarantee the conservation of Machu Picchu, 4 different itineraries have been designed inside the citadel. When you make your reservation, you will be assigned the best itinerary and schedule available.
In addition to the general entrance fee, if you wish to visit an additional area (Huayna Picchu, Huchuy Picchu, or Machu Picchu Mountain) an additional entrance will be included in your reservation.
❌ It is not possible to visit two of the additional zones on the same day due to lack of time.
💡 To learn more about tickets and circuits available in Machu Picchu please contact us.
Cancellation policy
If you cancel more than 15 days before the tour start time you will receive a 70% refund*. If you cancel less than 15 days before the tour start time you will receive a 50% refund*. After this time, or in case of no-show, you will not be entitled to a refund.
Tour itinerary
PREVIOUS DAY Briefing - Cusco
Location: Your lodging in Cuzco
Informative briefing
The day before departure, our coordinator will visit you at your hotel or the place of your choice for the tour briefing. A small meeting in which he will explain all the details of the Machu Picchu Sacred Valley tour, tell you the exact time of pick up and give you the train tickets and your entrance ticket to Machu Picchu.
DAY 1 Cusco - Pisac - Urubamba - Ollantaytambo - Aguas Calientes
Group size in Sacred Valley tour: 16-18 travelers
Difficulty: Easy
Pick up in Cuzco
On the first day of the tour, the guide will pick you up at your hotel between 7:00 and 7:30 am in a minibus that you will share with the other travelers in the group.
Pisac Traditional Market
After an hour's drive, we will arrive at the first stop in the Sacred Valley, the town of Pisac, and its handicraft stores. If you want to know another area of the town, we recommend that you ask the guide, who will tell you how to get to the Mercado de la plaza or Mercado Tradicional de Pisac. It is located just a few meters from the stop and is definitely worth a visit.
The archaeological complex of Pisac
The tour continues to the archaeological complex of Pisac. The guide will give you some historical explanations and you will be able to explore it on your own. If you do not have the tourist ticket of Cuzco don't worry, the guide will assist you to buy it, since it is necessary to be able to access the archaeological zone.
💬 Tourist ticket of Cuzco
It is the ticket that gives access to the main tourist sites of Cuzco. There are two types of tickets: the partial ticket, which is valid for 2 days and only gives access to the places visited in the Sacred Valley. And the integral ticket, which is valid for 10 days and gives access to most of the tourist sites in Cuzco and its surroundings.
Urubamba
You will continue on to Urubamba, where you will enjoy a traditional meal in one of the best-rated restaurants in the area.
Fortress of Ollantaytambo
After lunch, you will get back on the minibus that will take you to the last stop of this excursion through the Sacred Valley of the Incas: the incredible fortress of Ollantaytambo, which you will discover with the tour guide.
Free time in Ollantaytambo
After the visit, the minibus will take you to the main square of Ollantaytambo, located 5-minute walk from the train station. At this point, the guide will return to Cuzco and you will have free time in this beautiful town until the departure of your train to Aguas Calientes (based on your train ticket schedule).
🚂 Aguas Calientes
You will enjoy this iconic train ride for an hour and a half, traveling along the Vilcanota River valley, which offers spectacular views of the snow-capped mountains, the semi-tropical zone, and the high jungle area.
When you arrive in Aguas Calientes, they will be waiting for you to bring you to your accommodation. They will tell you the exact pick-up time for the next day, and you will have time to have dinner on your own in the village.
DAY 2 Aguas Calientes - Machu Picchu - Cusco
Group size in Machu Picchu tour: 8 travelers
Difficulty: easy
Breakfast in Aguas Calientes
You will have breakfast at the selected accommodation in Aguas Calientes (except in case of selecting the option "without lodging") and at the indicated time the guide will pick you up to walk with the rest of the group to the bus stop.
👉 The exact time of pick up at the hotel and departure of the bus will depend on your Machu Picchu entrance schedule, so we advise you to book the tour in advance, so a better entrance schedule and itinerary will be assigned.
Machu Picchu
Once in Machu Picchu, you will take a two-hour guided tour in a small group of a maximum of 8 travelers.
The itinerary of the guided tour depends on the assigned entrance, as there are 4 different circuits. At the end of the 2-hour guided tour, you will have free time to enjoy some of the areas of Machu Picchu, but you will not be able to walk freely through the archaeological site, since the mobility of visitors has been limited in order to preserve it.
🚶Aguas Calientes
At the end of the guided tour, the guide will say goodbye to the group and you will decide when to take the bus down to Machu Picchu town (Aguas Calientes), where you can have lunch at one of the many restaurants on your own.
Then, you will take the train to Ollantaytambo (the train schedule is subject to availability and will be indicated in the briefing).
🚐 Ollantaytambo - Cuzco
Upon arrival at Ollantaytambo, the train company's minibus will take you to your accommodation in Cusco, where you will arrive around 9:00 PM (depending on your train schedule). Here ends the tour to Machu Picchu Sacred Valley, an experience you will remember forever!
👉 If you have included the extra "Private Transfer Ollantaytambo-Cuzco" the driver will be waiting for you when you get off the train to take you to your accommodation in Cuzco, where you will arrive around 8:30 PM.
What to bring to Machu Picchu and Sacred Valley 2 day tour
- Backpack for two days
- Sunscreen
- Insect repellent
- Sunglasses
- Warm clothing
- Comfortable footwear
- Water bottle
- Raincoat/waterproof poncho
- Passport
- Bathing suit and towel (only if you want to visit the hot springs of Aguas Calientes)
- Medication to avoid altitude sickness (in case you consider it necessary).
Where does the tour Machu Picchu and Sacred Valley 2 day tour start
📍 The tour starts in Cuzco, and includes pick up from your accommodation, as long as it is located in the historic center of the city. If the street where you are located is not accessible for the minibus, the coordinator will accompany you from your accommodation to the pick-up point. In case your hotel is not located in the city center, the minibus will not be able to deviate so much from its pick-up route and you will be offered a pick-up point as close as possible to your accommodation.
Questions & Answers
When to book the tour?
During Easter and the months from June to September, it is high season. In order to ensure good timetables on the trains it is advisable to book more than a month in advance. In the case of including Huayna Picchu we recommend booking more than 3 months in advance.What ticket does my reservation include?
Due to the high demand for tickets to Machu Picchu Citadel, we cannot guarantee the exact circuit and schedule of your entrance. Your reservation will include the best circuit and schedule available.
What is the best time to travel to Machu Picchu?
Any time of the year is a good time to visit Machu Picchu. During the months of June to September it is the dry season and you will avoid possible rainy days but there are more tourists for being in high season.Has this tour ever been cancelled during the rainy season?
No, Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu tour is never cancelled due to the weather. The stretch between Ollantaytambo and Aguas Calientes (Machu Picchu town) is done by train and not by road, which sometimes can be closed, especially in the rainy season.What is the difference between the trains?
There are two companies that operate the route between Ollantaytambo and Aguas Calientes (Machu Picchu town): Inca Rail and Peru Rail. Their trains are for tourist, with panoramic windows and circulate at low speed to be able to appreciate the landscape during the route. They offer mainly 2 categories, the standard category, called Expedition or Voyager and the superior category called 360 or Vistadome. In case you want a more luxurious category or customize your tour, contact us.
What is the tourist ticket for Cusco or the Sacred Valley?
It is the ticket that gives access to the main tourist places. There are two types of tickets: the partial ticket, which is valid for 2 days (70 soles) and only gives access to the places visited in the Sacred Valley, and the integral ticket, which is valid for 10 days (130 soles) and gives access to the majority of tourist places in Cusco and its surroundings. We do not include it in the tour because each traveler has their own plans with some travelers prefering to buy the integral to visit more areas in later days, both the Valley and all Cusco. In case you don't buy it beforehand, the guide will help you to buy it during the tour.What is the difference between Huayna Picchu and Machu Picchu Mountain?
Two mountains can be accessed from the citadel of Machu Picchu. Huayna Picchu is an area that takes about an hour and a half to cover, with a lot of inclination and steps, not suitable for people with vertigo and not only are there few daily entries sold but they are also sold rapidly. On the other hand, Machu Picchu Mountain is an extra excursion of approximately 4 hours along a wider and less inclined road. Keep in mind that Montaña de Machu Picchu takes a long time to tour and therefore you will have very little free time in Machu Picchu after the guided tour.What to take to the Machu Picchu and Sacred Valley tour?
In addition to what is indicated in the section "to take" we want to clarify that the temperature oscillates a lot on the same day and the sun can be strong, so it is important to wear several layers of clothing, a rain poncho, in addition to sunglasses, sunscreen and a hat or cap. A small backpack will be very comfortable for you to carry everything. We recommend that you leave some of your luggage at your accommodation in Cusco (yes, all hotels offer this service) and take only what is necessary for the tour. In addition Machu Picchu has lockers for the price of 5 soles.Is it possible to have a discount on the price of entrance, train or accomodation if I have already booked them in advance?
Yes, we offer various discounts depending on the services you do not want to include. If you want to customize your tour, contact us.
Do you offer discounts to students or children and other groups?
Yes, we offer a 20 USD discount to children and students under the age of 25 who have a valid student card. The student discount is applied at the entrance to Machu Picchu but the organization in charge of managing the tickets is very demanding, so it is necessary that the card includes the period of validity, otherwise the discount will not be applied.Is it possible to stay an extra night in Aguas Calientes and return to Cusco the next day?
Yes, it is possible to include one more night in the accommodation in Machu Picchu town (Aguas Calientes) and adapt the transport back to Cusco. You simply have to select the accommodation you want as an extra.Do you recommend me the additional area of Machu Picchu Mountain?
From Howlanders we want to inform you that visiting this additional area can take up to 4 hours and will greatly reduce the free time you have in Machu Picchu which is free, which we consider important, but in no case is the time of the guided tour reduced.
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