Post-Extension to
Cuzco & Machu Picchu

Days 1/2 - Cusco/Yucay/Ollantaytambo/Pisac
This morning fly to Cusco where upon arrival you will board your bus to Yucay in the heart of the Urubamba Valley, the sacred Valley of the Incas.  A vital Incan road once snaked its way up the canyon that enters the Urubamba Valley at Pisac.  The citadel at the entrance to this gorge, now in ruins, controlled a route which connected the Incan Empire with the eastern jungles.  Set high above a valley floor, the stonework and panoramas at Pisac’s Inca citadel are magnificent.  Terraces, water ducts and steps have been cut out of solid rock.  The main Sun Temple is equal to anything at Machu Picchu.  Pisac also offers a colorful market where you can barter for handcrafted jewelry, leather, woolens, carpets and alpaca products.  Explore Ollantaytambo, an Incan temple turned fortress against the Spanish.  Optional activities (at additional cost) include horseback riding and white-water rafting.  POSADA DEL INCA HOTEL YUCAY. (B; B,L)

Days 3/4 - Machu Picchu
Board your train for a scenic journey to Machu Picchu, a World Heritage Site and mountain-top city of the Incas that remained hidden from the world until 1911.  Machu Picchu straddles a high ridge with sheer cliffs on three sides, and the Urubamba River curves around it to fill the canyon with its roar.  In all directions, there are the Andean peaks covered in jungle green, a spectacular setting for these ancient ruins.  There are temples, houses, crop terraces, gardens and a sacrificial altar. Your beautiful hotel offers a wide variety of ecotourism activities that promote contact with nature and the local culture, plus implements projects for researching and conserving the local flora and fauna. Don’t miss their orchid trail through the world’s largest native species orchid garden with 372 native species.  MACHU PICCHU PUEBLO HOTEL. (B,L Daily)

Day 5 - Machu Picchu/Cusco
Awaken early to experience the magic of Machu Picchu at dawn.  Your morning is free to hike to the citadel of Winaywayna, just three miles from Machu Picchu, passing by the Inti Punku (sun gate) via the Inca trail.  Return to Cusco by train in the evening and check into your charming hotel.  HOTEL NOVOTEL CUSCO. (B,L)

Day 6 - Cusco
Stroll down the picturesque streets of Cusco past Inca descendants dressed in tradition clothes and speaking Quechua (a derivative of the Incan language).  In this oldest continuously inhabited city in the Western hemisphere many of the roads and stone walls from the mighty Incan empire live side-by-side with the Spanish colonial structures.  This afternoon take a guided tour of some of Cusco’s treasures such as the Inca Temples of the Sun and the Moon, the gigantic Incan fortress of Sacsayhuaman, the Kenko amphitheatre with its unusual stone carvings and Tambo Machay, the traditional bathing place for Incan royalty.  HOTEL NOVOTEL CUSCO. (B)

Days 7/8 - Cusco/Lima/Miami
Fly to Lima where the remainder of your day and evening is at leisure.  The next morning, return to the airport for your flight home. EL OLIVAR HOTEL. (B, Meals Aloft)