Early morning transfer from the hotel to the airport for the 50-minute flight to Cusco. Transfer from airport to hotel. After a morning free to acclimatise, you will be picked-up for a tour of the city. We begin with a visit to the cathedral, which was built between 1560 and 1654 on the site of the palace of the Inca Wiracocha. Its main altar is completely covered in silver, and the church contains many fine paintings from the Cusco School of religious art. From the cathedral we move on to Qoricancha, the Inca Temple of the Sun, where we see some of the finest remaining examples of Inca stonemasonry. From the city we will go on to explore the Inca remains in the hills around Cusco. The Sacsaywaman Archaeological Park is home to the great fortress temple of Sacsaywaman itself, as well as the ritual baths of Tambomachay, the temple site of Qenqo and the fortified construction known as Puka Pukara.  In the evening you will have the opportunity to enjoy Cusco’s fine Novo Andino cuisine – based on traditional local ingredients and international gourmet techniques – and a show featuring Andean music or dance.

Today will be spent in the Urubamba Valley - also known as the Sacred Valley of the Incas. Apart from the valley’s breathtaking scenery – with fertile slopes surrounded by towering peaks – the main attractions include ancient ruins, colonial villages and traditional markets. The quiet village of Pisac is home to a colourful market and high above the village stand the ruins of the Inca ceremonial and fortress site of the same name. At the far end of the valley, Ollantaytambo is the only remaining example of Inca urban architecture, where descendants of the Incas live beneath the imposing ruins of the temple built by their ancestors.  We will spend the night in a valley hotel where typical colonial architecture and the quiet village atmosphere provide the perfect backdrop for all the comforts of the modern world.

In the early morning we will drive from our valley hotel to the trail head to begin hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, which passes high mountains down to cloud forest, passing through a number of diverse ecological zones filled with an enormous variety of plants and birdlife. The route is also studded with archaeological sites en route to Machu Picchu. On the first day we follow the Urubamba River, accompanied by fine views of Mount Veronica (5,850 m). After lunch we will visit the ruins of the Inca settlement of Llactapata, before continuing through the Huayllabamba Valley to camp near the village of the same name.

From Huayllabamba the trail climbs steadily through high Andean woodland to the plain of Llulluchapampa just before the first pass, from where there are excellent views of the Huayanay mountain chain. After another two hours walking we will reach the highest point of the trail at Warmiwañuska Pass (4050m/13,280ft), before descending as far as the canyon of the Pacaymayo River, where we make our second camp.

The trail now climbs to the second pass at Runcuracay, from where we will be able to see the Vilcabamba and Urubamba mountain ranges. After a short rest we descend along a paved Inca road to the ruins of Runcuracay and Sayacmarca, which have been recently restored. Here we enter the cloud forest and in the afternoon the trail descends via a stone staircase past the ruins of Phuyupatamarca to Wiñay Wayna, where we camp for the night.

From the beautiful ruins of Wiñay Wayna it is about a two hour walk to Inti Punku, or the Sun Gate, from where we will get our first glimpse of Machu Picchu. On arriving at the city we will have the whole day to tour its temples, houses, agricultural terraces and palaces, before returning to Cusco by train in the afternoon. Evening transfer to hotel in Cusco from a free evening in the city.

After breakfast in the hotel, you will be transferred to the airport for your return flight to Lima, for your home flight or transfer to the hotel of your choice and an optional city tour of Lima..