Cusco, Sacred Valley with Salt Mines, Moray and Machu Picchu 4D/3N

You will be welcomed at the Cusco airport by our staff, and escorted to your hotel or hostel.

In the afternoon, you will begin to learn about Peru´s enchanting history and culture on  this  tour  (includes the historic city center, Temple of the Sun, Sacsayhuaman Fortress, Qenko Ruins, Puka Pukara, and  Tambomachay). After exploring these fascinating sites and ruins, you will be transported back to your hotel or hostel at approximately 6:30 pm.

• City Tour Start Time: Approximately 1:30-2:00 pm
• City Tour End Time: Approximately 6:30 pm
• Difficulty: Light
• Weather : Warm and sunny, possible brief showers during the rainy season

We will pick up you from your hotel in Cusco at 6:30 a.m. and travel for one hour by tourist van to Chinchero, a small village with beautiful views of the Sacred Valley. In this charming village, you will see adobe homes, narrow cobbled streets, and people in traditional Peruvian dress. Here, the villagers still practice many Incan traditions and crafts. If you wish, you will see a demonstration of how wool is washed and dyed using native plants and minerals Also the beautiful INKA ARCHAEOLOGICAL SIDE AND COLONIAL TEMPLE OF CHENCHERO.

We will then continue our journey to MORAY in order to see the fascinating site used by the Incas for agricultural experiments and cultivating seeds. There, you will learn how they cleverly designed a drainage system at the bottom of the terraces in order to avoid flooding during the rainy season.

After the tour of Moray, you will take a 20 minute bus ride to THE SALT MINES OF MARAS. At this amazing site, you can see the pans fed by saline spring water that were built on steep terraces along one side of a narrow valley. The water is sent throughout the pans by a network of channels where the water slowly evaporates leaving the salt behind. Salt has been collected from Maras since Pre-Incan times and it is thought that a collective of salt ‘miners’ has maintained the terraces and channels for hundreds of years. Then we will follow the beautiful route to Urubamba, the heart of the Sacred Valley, where we will stop for a BUFFET LUNCH.

We will continue our scenic journey to the amazing town of OLLANTAYTAMBO. Ollantaytambo is a classic Incan city which conserved the traditional Incan urban construction of narrow streets adjacent to flowing streams. As you walk through the stone streets, the gentle sound of flowing water will make it easy for you to imagine the city as it was in the time of the Incas. In the upper part of the town, there is an impressive ceremonial center that was used for water worship and also a mighty fortress that protected the access point to the lower part of the valley

Finally, you will board the 4:30 p.m train to Aguas Calientes, After an hour and forty minute journey through the Andes, you will arrive at the Aguas Calientes train station, where you will be greeted by our staff and escorted to your hotel and hostel. Here you can relax and rest before your day at Machu Picchu. At dinner, you will be briefed on the next day´s tour.

• Tour Start Time: Approximately 6:30 a.m to 7:00.a.m
• Arrival in Aguas Calientes: Approximately 6:15 pm or 9:00.p.m depending on train availability
• Difficulty: Light
• Weather : Warm and sunny, with cooler temperatures at night.

Visiting Machu Picchu
There are two ways to reach Machu Picchu from Aguas Calientes:

Hike: For a more active experience, you can hike from Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu, which takes approximately 1.5 hours.

Bus: The fastest and easiest option. Buses take you directly to the entrance of the site. Each journey lasts 25 minutes, and the ticket is included in the tour package

New Entry Regulations
Your entry time will depend on how early you booked the tour and the circuit you’re assigned

Inside Machu Picchu
Once inside the Inca citadel, you’ll enjoy a guided tour lasting approximately two hours. You’ll explore the most important sectors of this ancient wonder, including temples, houses, terraces, and agricultural areas. The ingenuity of Inca engineering—far ahead of its time—continues to inspire awe and curiosity to this day.

After the Tour
Once your visit to Machu Picchu is over, you’ll take a bus back down to Aguas Calientes. In town, you’ll find plenty of great spots to relax and enjoy lunch. After your meal, make your way to the train station in time for your return departure

Can I Still Climb Huayna Picchu?
Yes, you may still have the chance to climb Huayna Picchu Mountain, but please note:

The climb is only allowed in the morning and is split into two entry groups:

Group 1: 7:00 AM – 8:00 AM
Group 2: 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM

You can choose to climb either before or after your scheduled visit to Machu Picchu, depending on availability and your ticket.

Note: Machu Picchu Inca site is different from Machu Picchu Mountain. When most people refer to Machu Picchu, they are referring to the archeological site. Machu Picchu Mountain requires a separate permit to climb. Please notify us if you are interested and we can book this for you. It must be done in advance and is a part of your entry into the site

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We will pick you up from your hotel and bring you to the airport for your flight to Lima

At Inka Trail Backpacker, we offer you the basic and essential version of the popular treks in the region and because we are a 100% local company we know the real cost of operations and everything you will need. That is why our slogan is “Fun. Not Fancy Trip.”

Inka Trail Backpacker has been a Licensed Inca Trail Tour Operator since 2014. All companies managing the Inca Trail must be certified and have an Inca Trail operators license. This license is issued annually each December; Inka Trail Backpacker is licensed through the year of  2030.

Our license as an Official Travel Agency is under the name Inka Trail Backpacker E.I.R.L. Our License as an Inca Trail Operator is under the name of INKA TRAIL BACKPACKER E.I.R.L

As a traveller, you know that one of the most rewarding and memorable experiences of going to new places is meeting people along the way. When you book a tour with us, you can be confident that your group will be filled with similar travellers looking for adventure in the Peruvian Andes. Our groups provide a great opportunity to meet new people and bond with them in an exciting environment. You never know who you will meet!

We are really proud of the work we do for our community. This is a main focus for our company. We have worked with villages directly to help supply them with needs, buy all our food from local farmers and markets, and serve the freshest ingredients.

Our team of guides are all local to the Cusco area and speak both Spanish and English fluently. Many of them also speaking Quechua (the native language of Peru). With degrees in tourism and with two years minimum of experience under their belts, they are full of energy, information about the native flora and fauna, and the Inca sites, with a vast knowledge of ready sourced stories and legends told by the Andean people.

Group size depends on the day´s activity: the Sacred Valley Tour will have about 25-30 people, and Machu Picchu will have sixteen people maximum.

If you plan to renew or change your name on your passport between making your trek booking and starting your trek, you can book your trek or tour with your current passport number or name, but you must send us a copy of your old passport and a copy of your new passport when you have them. We can then make the change with the government before you arrive. The extra cost to make the change is US$25 per person. (This will cover the change in number or name for your Inca Trail Permit, Machu Picchu Entrance, and train.)

If you do not advise us of the change or do not want to pay the fee, bring the original of both passports (the old and new one). You can enter Peru with your new passport but you must show the government authorities your old passport in order to enter the Inca Trail, Machu Picchu or train. If you cannot do so, you will not be allowed to start your trek by the government officials. All names and numbers must match!!

Tips for porters, cooks and guides are always welcome. The porters are also very grateful for small gifts, such as clothing and school equipment for their children. A normal amount for the group to tip is S/60-80 for each porter and S/120 for the chef. The group will pool money for the tip, this is not an individual amount.

If Inka Trail Backpacker fails to confirm the reservation, your payment will be refunded in full.

A participant must declare if he/she has any sickness or medical disorder and must bring his/her own medication. We recommend that you meet with a doctor before you book the trek if you have questionable health.

We offer standard meals as well as a vegetarian meal option. Just let us know if you want vegetarian meals when you book your tour.
Vegetarian meals have no red meat, chicken or fish. We will assume that eggs and dairy are OK. We can also cater to lactose-intolerant and gluten free diets (mild reactions only, no life threatening allergies accepted- see below). We reserve the right not to accept a tour booking based upon dietary requirements, this may be because we already have several people booked requiring special meals and don’t want to further inconvenience our cook. Thanks for your understanding.

Meal options:
Standard (no dietary requirements, will eat everything),
Vegetarian,
No red meat (chicken & fish ok)
No fish (red meat and chicken ok)
Lactose-free (mild reactions only)
Gluten free (mild reactions only)

Unfortunately, we don’t offer a combination of the above i.e we don’t accept vegetarian AND Gluten-free.

You can leave any of your belongings at your hotel or hostel you were previously staying in. These hostels/hotels usually have a secure, locked room where you can store your belongings. If you do not trust your hostel, we would be more than happy to securely store your belongings for you.

We recommend that you book your trek approximately two months in advance. This allows you maximum choice in selecting the details of your day at Machu Picchu; morning entrances to the site are extremely popular and sell out quickly. Although it is possible to book your trek closer to your expected travel date, your options will be more limited.

Yes, transportation to and from the airport is included in your tour.

The train travels between the town of Ollantaytambo in the Sacred Valley and Aguas Calientes, a small town located below the Machu Picchu complex. The journey from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes is an hour and forty minutes. (The return journey will be about three and a half hours, because the drive from Ollantaytambo station to Cusco is about an hour and forty minutes.) From Aguas Calientes, it is either a fifteen minute bus ride or hour hike up to Machu Picchu. There is no direct train from Cusco to Machu Picchu. Although there is an additional station located at Poroy, about 25 minutes from Cusco, it is not always open. Train service from Ollantaytambo, meanwhile, is constant and reliable. Furthermore, taking the train from the Poroy station extends the total length of your journey between Cusco and Aguas Calientes to more than four hours, instead of three and a half.

A tip is customary, but the amount is at your discretion and whatever you feel is appropriate based on the service you have received; please remember to always be courteous and respectful with our guides.

There is no minimum group size; however, if a group is especially small (fewer than four people), we reserve the right to combine tours and activities with groups from other tour operators in order to keep costs down. We will not combine you with a group from another country.

All of our guides are bilingual and speak both Spanish and English.