Airport Transfer and Cusco City Orientation Walk : On arrival in Cusco airport please proceed to the baggage hall. At the exit to the building your guide will be waiting for you with a sign at the barrier outside the arrivals gate. They will escort you to the hotel for the night. As in all Peruvian hotels, reception will need to take a copy of your passport when you are checking in. You will have an expert guide at your disposal to show you some of the highlights of this beautiful city. Tell him what you like and he can advise as to the best route for your tour. You may choose to start with the Plaza de Armas and a visit to its impressive cathedral. Qoricancha temple, once home to life sized statues in solid gold is another very popular option. If time permits, you could visit one of the bustling markets, full of tropical fruits fresh from the Amazon or even head up through the San Blas artisan district to San Cristobal church for a spectacular view over the red tiled rooftops of Cusco. At a convenient time, your guide will arrange a full briefing for the days ahead. Museo del Cafe : Lunch today is in a beautifully converted colonial building just off the main square complete with an in house factory and museum dedicated to Peruvian Coffee production. Night at Hotel Ananay Quinta San Blas (Deluxe Room) Included: trip briefing , airport transfer , water , English-speaking guide , lunch , Cathedral and Qoricancha entrance , room & breakfast next day

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Lunch

Accommodation:

• Private Tour: Quinta San Blas by Ananay Hotels

Drive to Cachora and trek to Chikiska : You leave Cusco and drive on good tarmac road until turning off to the beautiful village of Cachora. Your trekking team will be waiting for you near the trailhead. After an early lunch you start to descend the switchback trail, 1600m (5250ft) into the Apurimac canyon and the small settlement of Chikiska where you camp for the night. Included: English-speaking guide , transport , cook , camp assistants , snacks & water , lunch , dinner , emergency horse , mule support , camping equipment (except sleeping bag) , camping fees

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Lunch, Dinner, Snacks

Chikiska to Choquequirao : After a delicious breakfast, you continue down to cross the roaring Apurimac river. Now it is time to climb past the small communities of Santa Rosa and Maranpata to your camp next to the Choquequirao ruins. The path is good though steep and it can get very hot. This is a long tough day requiring an early start but the scenery more than makes up for the hardships endured. Included: English-speaking guide , cook , camp assistants , breakfast , snacks & water , lunch , dinner , emergency horse , mule support , camping equipment (except sleeping bag) , camping fees

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Snacks

Explore Choquequirao : A fifteen minute walk takes you to the main square of the amazing Choquequirao ruins. Perched on a tiny hilltop 1,700m (5580ft) above the Apurimac, the location and views are awe-inspiring. The ruins cover an area far bigger than Machu Picchu. Enormous curving terraces, ritual baths and a fine main plaza are just some of the highlights. Those with the energy can even descend to see the famous white stone llamas laid into the rock. Choquequirao remains a mystery. It was not mentioned in the Spanish chronicles and although Hiram Bingham visited it before Machu Picchu he failed to realise its importance. Large areas still remain covered in the thick cloud forest, giving you a true Indiana Jones experience. Even today it receives very few visitors, protected by its remote location. After a great day exploring you return to base camp to relax and ponder upon all that you have learnt and seen. Included: English-speaking guide , cook , camp assistants , breakfast , snacks & water , lunch , dinner , emergency horse , mule support , camping equipment (except sleeping bag) , camping fees

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Snacks

Choquequirao to Maizal : You leave early for the short climb to the pass. Then it is downhill 1400m (4600ft) past the recently discovered ruins of Pincha Unuyoc to the Rio Blanco where you can dip your feet in the cool waters. Just beware of the biting sand-flies. Known as “Pumahuacachi”, their name means “makes the puma cry”. Refreshed, you climb steeply again, 1,200m (3900ft) to the small and beautifully located campsite of Maizal at an altitude of 3,000m (9840ft). This is probably the toughest day of the trip but if you have prepared well and are determined, you will succeed. And the cold beer on arrival will taste even better. Included: English-speaking guide , cook , camp assistants , breakfast , snacks & water , lunch , dinner , emergency horse , mule support , camping equipment (except sleeping bag) , camping fees

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Snacks

Maizal to Yanama, drive to Lucmabamba : You leave camp behind and climb past old silver mines to the highest pass of the trip. Abra San Juan at 4,000m (13123ft), affords spectacular views of the Cordillera Vilcabamba mountain range. You then take a delightful and at times precipitous path down to the charming Andean village of Yanama. Here we reach the road head and say farewell to our muleteers. We drive from here down through coffee plantations to the small village of Lucmabamba and our final camp. Included: English-speaking guide , cook , camp assistants , breakfast , snacks & water , lunch , dinner (no drinks) , emergency horse , mule support , camping equipment (except sleeping bag) , camping fees

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Snacks

Lucmabamba to Llactapata to Machu Picchu Pueblo : Your final day of hiking: you take a spectacular royal Inca trail up through lush coffee and tropical fruit plantations, into pristine cloud forest. As the path crests the ridge, old Inca walls appear out of the forest and you step into the recently cleared ruins of Llactapata. Hiram Bingham got here too, but the map he drew was so bad, neither he nor anyone else could find the ruins again for 80 years. In the mid 1990’s an Anglo-American team found them once more, totally covered over by thick jungle vines. Step a few metres further and you will see just why the Incas built here. The view across to Machu Picchu is magnificent. And few tourists have ever seen it from this side. After some time to sit, contemplate the view and watch the Andean Swifts playing overhead, you descend steeply to the Urubamba valley and the hydroelectric plant train station. From here you have the option to either wait for the short but spectacular train ride, or hike two to three hours along the rail-track to the bustling town of Machu Picchu Pueblo and your hotel for the night. Night at hotel Inkaterra El Mapi- includes dinner (Superior Deluxe) Included: English-speaking guide , cook , camp assistants , emergency horse , mule support , train ticket , guide's train ticket , transport , dinner , room & breakfast next day

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Snacks

Accommodation:

• Private Tour: Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel

Machu Picchu : Today you explore the pinnacle of Inca engineering - Machu Picchu. For years it was lost to the jungle. Rediscovered in 1911 by the Yale professor Hiram Bingham, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 and one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in 2007, Machu Picchu exceeds all expectations. This astounding site lies in an even more astonishing location. Perched high on an inaccessible hilltop it is protected by huge cliffs and the raging Urubamba river. Things are slightly easier now than in the time of the Incas and so you start your day with a twenty minute bus ride up to the site. Please discus with your guide exactly what time you wish to arrive at Machu Picchu; entrances are carefully controlled and time in the site is restricted to four hours. The guided tour takes around two hours leaving you a few hours free to wander amongst the old Inca walls and just sit and take in the scale of the place on your own. For those who want to walk a bit more, you could take the hour long trail up to the Sun Gate, or a shorter trail to visit the Inca Bridge which once spanned a sheer cliff face. Eventually the time comes to catch the bus down to Machu Picchu Pueblo and board your train back along the Urubamba River. The scenery is beautiful and the train jolts softly along, allowing you to sit, stare out the window and reflect on all you have seen. Machu Picchu Entrance from 0800 to 1200. Lunch in restaurant Night at Hotel Ananay Quinta San Blas (Deluxe Room) Included: bus ticket , Machu Picchu entrance , lunch , water , Train ticket return , guide's train ticket return , transport , room & breakfast next day

Guide: Included for the day

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Snacks

Accommodation:

• Private Tour: Quinta San Blas by Ananay Hotels