You can design your own itinerary by adding extensions to our Incas and Conquistadors holiday. Select the extensions you would like and click the red button to see full details of the holiday you have chosen.
On the full day excursion to Machu Picchu, you depart early in the morning from Cusco and travel to the railway station to catch the Vistadome Train. The rail journey takes you through beautiful countryside, with wonderful views of snowy peaks of the Andes as you descend the Urubamba Valley. The vegetation becomes increasing tropical as you approach the cloud forest below Machu Picchu. The journey from Cusco to Machu Picchu normally takes around four hours, arriving at 10am. Then take a shuttle bus for the 20 minute journey up the switch-back road to the entrance of Machu Picchu, where you are confronted by a combination of stunning mountain scenery and well preserved Inca ruins, making this one of the wonders of the world.
Take a fascinating guided tour of the site, visiting the Temple of the Sun, the Temple of the Three Windows and the Intihuatana, which the Incas used to ‘tie’ the sun to the earth at the winter solstice. You then have some free time to further explore the ruins independently. After a buffet lunch next to the ruins, board the mid-afternoon train to Cusco, arriving in the evening. Alternatively, spend a night at Machu Picchu (for further details see below).
A night at Machu Picchu allows you to remain at the site after your tour and to explore the ruins in the late afternoon when there are fewer visitors present. Then check into your hotel in the valley below the ruins. The next day you have free day in the area, before catching the afternoon train to Cusco. A visit to Machu Picchu ruins in the morning can be a magical experience as the ruins are often covered in mist, and they slowly reveal themselves as the day progresses. It is possible to walk up to the Sun Gate above the ruins; providing one of the best views of the surrounding area and the ruins themselves, the round trip takes a couple of hours. Alternatively, it is possible to climb Huayna Picchu mountain (for further details see below), or visit the Inca drawbridge. If you prefer not to re-visit ruins, then you can explorer the surrounding area, maybe climb one of the nearby mountains, or relax in the hot springs. If you stay in the beautiful Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel, you can enjoy one of the excellent nature tours perhaps exploring the orchard trails. If you enter the ruins of Machu Picchu on the second day, you will need to purchase a separate entrance ticket. Llama Travel can arrange this for you.
Sanctuary Lodge, Machu Picchu
Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo
El Mapi by Inkaterra, Machu Picchu
The Inca Trail is one of the world’s great mountain treks, and there is no better way to see Machu Picchu then from the Sun Gate at dawn. The trek takes four days and begins in the Sacred Valley of the Incas, before climbing the high passes of the Andes, passing beautiful Inca ruins, before descending to the cloud forest and arriving at Machu Picchu at dawn on the fourth day. The trek involves 3 nights camping, and requires a good level of fitness.
Walk The Inca Trail
Inca Trail Holidays
If you like the idea of arriving at Machu Picchu on foot, after trekking through the Andes, but do not want to walk for four days to get there, the Short Inca Trail is the perfect option. On this 9-mile hike, you take the train to the start point of the trail at Chachabamba. The first section of the trail climbs rapidly, and you will arrive at the spectacular Inca ruins of Winay Wayna in about 3 hours, where you rest for lunch. The path flattens out, and you arrive at the Sun Gate for your first, magnificent view of Machu Picchu in the late afternoon.
Saving the ruins for the next day, you spend the night in a hotel located in the valley below the ruins. The next morning you return to ruins, and you will be given a guided tour of Machu Picchu and some free time to further explore independently. You take the train back to Cusco in the afternoon, arriving in the evening. This optional excursion is available on all our Peru holidays which do not include the full Inca Trail.
Llama Travel offers holidays to Machu Picchu from March to November. The months of May to September tend to receive the least rain, and the days are warm, but the nights are cold. The busiest months to visit Machu Picchu are July and August, as these coincide with the driest weather, and the US and European summer holidays. We do not offer holidays to Peru between December and February, as this is the worst of the rainy season.
In 2011 the Peruvian National Institute of Culture (INC) introduced stricter regulations for visiting Machu Picchu, limiting the number of visitors allowed into Machu Picchu each day, meaning that some people missed out. The INC is currently reviewing how entrances to Machu Picchu will work and there may be further changes in 2012. It is therefore very important if you are planning to visit the ruins, especially in the busiest months (July and August) that you do book well in advance to make sure that the entrance tickets can be confirmed.
The Huayna Picchu Sugarloaf Mountain behind Machu Picchu, can be climbed by the fit and adventurous, and you are rewarded with a unique and wonderful view of Machu Picchu. The climb to Huayna Picchu takes approximately one hour in each direction and includes steep ascents and descents. If the weather is wet, this can be become slippery and the Peruvian National Institute of Culture may close this route. The National Institute of Culture limits the number of people who are able to climb Huayna Picchu or visit the Temple of the Moon to 400 per day, and permits must be bought in advance. Llama Travel is able to arrange the tickets for you.