Machu Picchu and Sacred Valley 2-Day Tour

Briefing

The day before departure, your coordinator will visit you at your hotel or a place of your choice for the tour briefing. This is a short meeting where they will explain the important details of the Machu Picchu Sacred Valley tour, give you the pick-up time and location, and give you the train and entrance ticket to Machu Picchu.

Pick up in Cuzco

The first day of the tour begins with pick up at your hotel between 7:00 am and 7:30 am in the shuttle bus you’ll be sharing with the other travelers in the group.

Pisac Traditional Market

Following an hour's drive, we’ll arrive at the first stop in the Sacred Valley, the town of Pisac, known for its handcrafted goods. If you’d like to see more of the town, we recommend asking your guide about the Mercado de la Plaza or Mercado Tradicional de Pisac, just a few meters from the stop and well worth a visit.

The archaeological complex of Pisac

The tour continues at the archaeological complex of Pisac. Your guide will lead you through the site while explaining its history. After the guided tour you’ll have time to explore on your own. If you don’t have a tourist ticket for Cuzco don't worry, your guide will help you purchase it (it’s necessary to access the archaeological zone).

💬 Cuzco Tourist Ticket

The ticket to accessing the main Cuzco tourist sites has two types: the partial ticket, valid for two days, and provides access to the locations visited in the Sacred Valley. The second is the integral ticket, which is valid for ten days and provides access to most of the tourist sites in Cuzco and its surrounding areas.

Urubamba

Next stop: Urubamba, where you’ll enjoy a traditional meal in a top-rated restaurant.

Fortress of Ollantaytambo

After lunch, you’ll return to the shuttle bus that will take you to the final stop on this excursion through the Sacred Valley of the Incas: the remarkable fortress of Ollantaytambo.

Free time in Ollantaytambo

After visiting the fortress, the shuttle bus will take you to the main square of Ollantaytambo, a 5-minute walk from the train station. At this point, your guide will head back to Cuzco and you’ll have the freedom to explore the lovely town until departing on your train to Aguas Calientes (based on the train ticket schedule).

🚂 Aguas Calientes

Enjoy the iconic train ride to Vilcanota River Valley (an hour-and-a-half-long trip) offering spectacular views of the snow-capped mountains, the semi-tropical zone, and the high jungle area.

You’ll arrive at Aguas Calientes, where your host will be waiting to take you to your accommodation. They will give you the exact pick-up time for the next day, and you’ll have time to eat dinner in the village.

Breakfast in Aguas Calientes

Breakfast is served at the selected accommodation in Aguas Calientes (not applicable if you selected the option "without lodging") and at the predetermined time, your guide will pick you up to take you 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 booking the tour in advance, so a more convenient entrance schedule and itinerary will be assigned. 

Machu Picchu Visit

Once in Machu Picchu, you will follow the itinerary corresponding to your entrance ticket.

The itinerary will depend on the assigned entrance, as there are different circuits. At the end, you will have free time to enjoy some of the areas of Machu Picchu following the indications. Currently, it is not possible 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 tour, you get to choose when to hop on the bus back to Aguas Calientes. There are tons of restaurants there, so you can grab a bite to eat wherever you like!

After that, you'll catch the panoramic train to Ollantaytambo. Just a heads up, the train schedule depends on availability, but they'll fill you in on all the details during the meeting before the tour starts.

🚐 Ollantaytambo - Cuzco

Upon arriving at Ollantaytambo, the train company's shuttle bus will take your group to their respective accommodations in Cusco. Arrival time is around 9:00 pm (depending on the train schedule). This is where your Machu Picchu Sacred Valley Tour ends. A truly unforgettable experience!

👉 If you have booked the extra "Private Transfer Ollantaytambo-Cuzco" the driver will be waiting to take you to your accommodations in Cuzco, where you will arrive close to 8:30 pm.