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Luxury Inca Trail
Lima - Sacred Valley - Cuzco - Inca Trail - Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu, the Lost City of the Incas.
Photo: Mylene d'Auriol Stoessel. Luxury Inca Trail.
Follow in the footsteps of the Incas...
-- Kimberly Fay, LuxuryLink.com, May 2003
Land Price (13 days/12 nights)
Royal US$ 11,215 Imperial US$ 7,285 De Luxe US$ 6,685 Platinum Upgrade US$ 885
The land price includes escorted transfers, private excursions with professional guides and chauffeurs, private trek (with professional guide, porters and equipment), entrance fees, selected category of accommodations, all meals (see details) with full board while on the Inca Trail, all land and water transportation, and travel insurance for guests through the age of 59 years. Over that age, there is a supplementary fee. The Platinum Upgrade adds a relaxing massage and wine at the end of each day on the trail. All prices are per person based on two people sharing a guest room. For a detailed description of our services, see Opulent Itineraries.
Map
Detail Map
Intra-Tour Flights & Fares
Air fares are in addition to the land price.
Lima - Cuzco - Lima: US$ 300
Porter on the trail toward Wiñayhuayna, Inca Trail to Machu Picchu.
Photo: Mylene d'Auriol Stoessel. Luxury Inca Trail.
In the imperial city of Cuzco, fabled Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley; you'll experience the glory of the Inca Empire, all brought to vivid life during your four-day trek on the Inca Trail. The timeless landscape and the archaeological sites will take you back to ancient times, as you hike on the stone roads, cross the hanging bridges and walk in the footsteps of the Incas to their sacred citadel.
All international flights arrive in Lima, a five-century-old Spanish colonial city and home to the country's major museums. The next morning, enter the historic district's crown jewels. In the afternoon, discover the treasures of the Incas at the Museo Larco and Museo Amano.
A morning flight into the Andes takes you to Cuzco, the ancient capital. You'll have two days to explore its Inca and colonial monuments and two days for the reknowned archaeological sites and native markets of the Sacred Valley, before starting your private trek on the Inca Trail. During the tour's spectacular focal point, you will relive the journey of the Incas from imperial Cuzco to the winter palace at the top of an Andean peak called Machu Picchu.
Enjoy the trek in Inca style: your personal porter will carry your pack, freeing you to admire and photograph the magnificent landscapes, flora, fauna and archaeological sites along the trail. Other porters will carry the equipment, set up camp and prepare exceptional meals. "Roughing it" has never been so luxurious! After four days of hiking and three nights of camping, you'll arrive at the Sun Gate, the ancient entrance to Machu Picchu, which reveals a majestic panorama of the citadel -- the first view that the Incas had upon arriving from Cuzco. Descend to the ruins and walk among them. After a night of luxury in the Orient-Express Sanctuary Lodge, witness sunrise over the "Lost City" and explore its temples and terraces before returning by train to Cuzco. More about the trek.
Return to Lima to explore the Pachacamac archaeological site. After a lunch of Peruvian Criollo cuisine next to a 1,500-year-old adobe pyramid, walk in the artists' quarter of Barranco, dine in style and transfer to the airport for your overnight flight home, completing your trek on the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu.
Sayacmarca, Inca Trail
to Machu Picchu.
Photo: Renzo Uccelli. Luxury Inca Trail.
What our clients have to say:
We camped off the beaten path and felt we had a unique experience
compared to other groups.
We had an wonderful time! Everything went totally smoothly without hitch or hangup. Our guide, Manuel Usca was absolutely incredible. A totally excellent person and master of the Inca Trail. We camped off the beaten path and felt we had a unique experience compared to other groups. I would recommend him HIGHLY to anyone wanting a once in a lifetime experience. Our porters and chef were also top notch -- they earned our admiration and respect. Thank you for arranging an amazing trip!
-- Matthew Dugan, Chelsea Dugan & Brian Jeffery
I'm infinitely glad that I engaged the services of Inka's Empire Tours...
Yes! We had a fantastic time. The tour was incredible and the quality of service impeccable. I must admit that the hike was harder than I had imagined but all the more spectacular and satisfying... Teddy was the best guide we could have hoped for. His knowledge of the flora and fauna combined with his understanding of history and archeology was amazing. We managed to camp in 3 beautiful spots and rarely saw other tourists along the way, except for at the highest pass. I think this had to do with Teddy's understanding of timing and the fact that we were doing the 5-day tour instead of the 4 day one. Most recommended because the feeling of having the Inca Trail all to yourself is well worth it... Both the evenings in the Sanctuary Lodge and the Monasterio were wonderful, a most appreciated luxury after 3 nights in tents.
-- Valerie Seefried
I don't know what to really say about this hike except that it is really amazing...
With respect to the porters, guide, chef everything was perfect. In fact, I actually preferred our chef's cooking to any of the restaurants. A little simpler food, which I enjoy. He did a great job with Jessica's dietary needs, in fact lots of the food was entirely vegetarian and I also enjoyed it. We had fun playing cards and drinking wine with the group. The wine was excellent. Having the portable toilet is a huge plus. I can say without that I don't think Jessica would have enjoyed herself. The tent and sleeping bags were good. We had followed the instructions you provided and were well prepared.
-- Edwin Upson & Jessica Sklute
What Luxury Link has to say about Inca Trail to Machu Picchu.
If your time is limited, consider our 11-night Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, which omits the day to explore Cuzco on your own.
Facade, La Iglesia y Convento de San Francisco, Lima.
Photo: Mylene d'Auriol Stoessel. Luxury Inca Trail.
Highlights
Lima
Day 1: Flight to Lima. International arrival in the afternoon or evening, reception and transfer to your hotel. Overnight in the Orient-Express Miraflores Park Hotel.
Day 2: Lima. Morning walking tour in the colonial quarter, visiting the Plaza de Armas and entering La Casa de Aliaga, La Iglesia y Convento de Santo Domingo, La Catedral and La Iglesia y Convento de San Francisco. In contrast to the religious structures, the Torre Tagle Palace is the city's best surviving example of secular colonial architecture. Lunch at the Café del Museo. Afternoon at the Museo Larco and the Museo Amano. Dine on Criollo cuisine at Astrid & Gastón, one of the highest notes in the Peruvian culinary scene. Overnight in the Orient-Express Miraflores Park Hotel.
Sacred Valley
Day 3: Lima - Cuzco - Sacred Valley (Chinchero - Maras - Moray). Transfer to the airport. Flight to Cuzco. Reception and drive to the Sacred Valley of the Incas. Visit to the Chinchero market and church. Private weaving demonstration. Continue to the Moray archaeological site and the ancient salt pans of Maras. If you like, walk down rural paths to the Urubamba River. A lunch of nouvelle Andean cuisine at chef Ricardo Behar's 3 Keros. Arrival at your hotel. Dinner and overnight in the Urubamba Villas.
Day 4: Sacred Valley (Pisaq - Ollantaytambo). Hike in the Pisaq ruins. Afterward, a short visit to the Pisaq market. Gourmet lunch of fusion cuisine in the patio of chef Pio's El Huacatay. Tour of the Ollantaytambo ruins. Return to your hotel. Dinner and overnight in the Urubamba Villas.
Cuzco
Day 5: Sacred Valley - Cuzco (A Walk in the Colonial Quarter). Drive to Cuzco. Morning walking tour in the colonial quarter. Inca monuments include Qorikancha (Temple of the Sun), the fine Inca walls of Inti Q'ijllo, Ajlla Wasi (House of the Virgins of the Sun), the Stone of Twelve Angles and Huacaypata (Leisure Square), now dominated by the Spanish colonial Cathedral. Traditional lunch at Pachapapa before a visit to artisans' workshops and the Church of San Blas. Afternoon free to stroll around Cuzco. San Blas, the Museo Inka, La Compañia de Jesus, La Merced and the Archbishop's Palace are recommended. This evening, your guide will meet you for a tour of the Museo de Arte Precolombino. Afterward, a dinner of nouvelle Andean cuisine in the museum's courtyard. Overnight in the Orient-Express Hotel Monasterio.
Day 6: Cuzco (The Collasuyu Road - Nearby Inca Monuments). Morning excursion beyond the ancient fortress that guarded the Valley of Cuzco. Coming back from the colonial village of Andahuaylillas on the Collasuyu Road, follow the route of early travelers from the southern quarter of the empire. Pass through the ancient gate of Rumicolca, gaze at the pre-Inca ruins of Pikillaqta, taste the traditional bread of Oropesa and admire the royal garden of Tipon before your arrival in the Imperial City of the Incas. Lunch of Italian-Peruvian cuisine at Incanto. Afternoon excursion to the nearby Inca monuments of Saqsaywaman, the Temple of the Moon, Puka Pukara and Tambomachay. This evening, Mediterranean cuisine at the tapas bar or in the dining room of La Cicciolina. Overnight in the Orient-Express Hotel Monasterio.
Inca Trail (Llaqtapata) Pre-Departure Information
Day 7: Cuzco - Inca Trail (Chillca - Llaqtapata). Drive through the Sacred Valley to Chillca, our trailhead at Km. 77 of the Cuzco-Machu Picchu railroad. Forty-seven kilometers away, hidden in the mist, lies the fabled Inca citadel of Machu Picchu. Crossing a footbridge, we trek through a dry cactus zone beneath soaring views of Mt. Veronica, with the turbulent Urubamba River on our right. We reach our campsite at the terraces of Llaqtapata, and explore the outlying areas of this ancient and massive complex.
Inca Trail (Llulluchapampa)
Day 8: Inca Trail (Llaqtapata - Llulluchapampa). The trail climbs gently into the mountains through the last inhabited village of Huayllabamba, and then more steeply past a rushing stream through enchanted, native polylepis woodland. Crossing the rim of a small plateau, we abruptly find ourselves in the puna, the treeless grasslands of the high Andes. We camp below mighty crags, looking eastward to the snowpeaks and valleys of the Huayanay massif.
Inca Trail (Phuyupatamarca)
Day 9: Inca Trail (Llulluchapampa - Phuyupatamarca). We climb to the first and highest pass, Warmiwañusca (4,200 m/13,776 ft). Descending to the forested Pacamayo Valley, we pick up an Inca stairway and ascend again, past the small Inca site of Runkuracay. We reach the second pass, then descend to the ruins of Sayacmarca, an intricate labyrinth of houses, plazas and water channels perched precariously on a rocky spur overlooking the Aobamba Valley. At the third pass, we camp by pinnacles topped with Inca viewing platforms overlooking the archaeological complex of Phuyupatamarca.
Inca Trail (Machu Picchu)
Day 10: Inca Trail (Phuyupatamarca - Wiñayhuayna - Machu Picchu). We explore Phuyupatamarca, then begin a long descent through cloud forest. An Inca stairway partly cut from living granite leads us finally to the site of Wiñay Wayna. In the afternoon, we follow the last stretch of trail to Intipunku and encounter a backdrop of twisting gorge and forested peaks framing the magical city of Machu Picchu. We descend the royal flagstone walkway through the heart of Machu Picchu before staying overnight in the Sanctuary Lodge. Dinner and overnight in the Orient-Express Sanctuary Lodge.
Cuzco
Day 11: Machu Picchu - Orient-Express Vistadome - Cuzco. We spend the day in both guided and individual exploration. After a full-on experience of this glorious monument to the Inca achievement, we return to Aguas Calientes and board the train to Cuzco. Evening arrival at the Poroy Station, on the outskirts of Cuzco, reception and transfer to your hotel. Dinner and overnight in the Orient-Express Hotel Monasterio.
Lima
Day 12: Cuzco - Lima. Transfer to the airport. Flight to Lima. Arrival, reception and transfer to your hotel. Morning drive to Pachacamac, the most reknowned pre-Inca and Inca pilgrimage site of the coast. Upon returning to Lima, lunch at the extraordinary Huaca Pucllana restaurant, which reinterprets the Peruvian Criollo tradition. Afterward, continue to Barranco for visits to one of the country's finest crafts shops, the Museo de Arte Colonial Pedro de Osma, La Puente de los Suspiros and La Iglesia de La Ermita. Arrival at your hotel, dinner in its Poissonnerie and transfer to the airport tonight for your Overnight Flight Home. Day Room in the Orient-Express Miraflores Park Hotel.
Note: During December through April, the restaurants used for lunch and dinner are reversed.
Home
Day 13: Lima - Home. Flight and arrival home.
Wooden balcony of the Torre Tagle Palace, Lima.
Photo: Mylene d'Auriol Stoessel. Luxury Inca Trail.
At ancient Peru's most exalted pilgrimage site, eroded temples speak of the pre-Columbian cultures that flourished in the Lima Valley, worshipping the earth god Pachacamac ("he who gives life to the universe"). When the Incas arrived, they respected the temples and religion of those people, allowing them to worship that god alongside the Incas' own god, the Sun. For their deity, the Incas erected a great stone temple on a cliff above the sea. When the Spaniards arrived, they destroyed the holiest place in their lust for gold but found that the only treasure it contained was spiritual.
Nearby Lima, founded by the conquistador Francisco Pizarro in 1535, came to be the capital of the New World for a period of three hundred years, reaching its grandest splendor in the 17th and 18th centuries. The city has two principal attractions: the colonial quarter, where a visit to La Casa de Aliaga is to go back in time to the earliest years of the Spanish conquest, and the archaeological museums, which display gold, ceramic and textile masterpieces of Peru's pre-Inca and Inca civilizations. The country's independence movement was led by Jose de San Martin of Argentina and Simon Bolivar of Venezuela. San Martin proclaimed Peruvian independence from Spain on July 28, 1821, marking the end of the colonial period and the beginning of the republican era.
Huaca de Huallamarca, Lima.
Photo: Mylene d'Auriol Stoessel. Luxury Inca Trail.
Day 1: Flight to Lima
International arrival this afternoon or evening in the five-century-old colonial city of Lima, "City of the Kings" and the capital of Peru. Reception and escorted transfer to your hotel in the garden district of Miraflores, high above the Pacific Ocean and home to the city's grand 19th century mansions. Overnight in the Orient-Express Miraflores Park Hotel.
Entry door of the Casa Aliaga, Lima.
Photo: Mylene d'Auriol Stoessel. Luxury Inca Trail.
Day 2: Lima
Breakfast. This morning, walk with your guide in the heart of the city, which preserves its Spanish colonial heritage of the 16th-18th centuries. It was Francisco Pizarro, the founder of Lima, who determined the area for the Plaza de Armas as well as the location of the structures around it. In the center of the plaza is a splendid bronze fountain of 1650. Around the plaza and originally dating back to the city's beginnings in 1535 are the Cathedral, destroyed in the earthquake of 1746 and rebuilt in 1758; the Archbishop's Palace, rebuilt in 1924; and the Presidential Palace, rebuilt in 1937. Surviving intact is La Casa de Aliaga. Built in 1535 by Don Jeronimo de Aliaga, a member of Pizarro's conquering forces and co-founder of the city, it is still inhabited by the original family. A visit to this antique-filled mansion is to go back in time to the earliest years of the Spanish conquest of Peru.
17th century library, La Iglesia y Convento de San Francisco, Lima.
Photo: Mylene d'Auriol Stoessel. Luxury Inca Trail.
On your walking tour, enter the 1599 La Iglesia y Convento de Santo Domingo, Lima's oldest convent; the 1758 La Catedral; and the 1674 La Iglesia y Convento de San Francisco, the most spectacular of Lima's colonial-era churches. It features cloisters and interiors of Spanish tiles; Moorish-style, carved-wood ceilings; a fine museum of religious art; a 17th century library of twenty-thousand books, many dating from the first years of the city's founding; and catacombs begun in 1546. In contrast to the religious structures, the 1735 Torre Tagle Palace, with its gorgeous baroque stone doorway and carved-wood balconies, is the city's best surviving example of secular colonial architecture.
"Huaco" depicting a fisherman in a reed boat.
Lambayeque culture, c. 500 AD, Museo Larco, Lima.
Photo: Mylene d'Auriol Stoessel. Luxury Inca Trail.
Lunch of traditional Peruvian cuisine at the Café del Museo, directed by Peru's most prestigious chef, Gastón Acurio, and located in the gardens of the Museo Larco. Founded in 1926, the Museo Larco exhibits the world's largest private collection of pre-Columbian art -- a treasure trove of gold, silver, semi-precious stones and textiles. The collection's predominant strength is in Mochica ceramics, of which the erotic ones are the most famous. Their notariety ought not to obscure the fact that the museum presents a complete view of the cultural development of ancient Peru through a selection of its 45,000 pieces, housed in a colonial building of the 18th century. For a preview, see Inka's exclusive online exhibition, Art of the Ancient Peruvians, courtesy of the Museo Larco.
Museo Amano, Lima.
Photo: Mylene d'Auriol Stoessel. Luxury Inca Trail.
Spend the rest of the afternoon at the Museo Amano, which features a collection of artifacts from some of Peru's most important coastal civilizations, including the Chimú, Chancay and Nazca. Its textiles and ceramics are among the best displayed in Lima. A donation to the museum will be made in your name.
Return to your hotel to relax. This evening, dine at Astrid & Gastón. When the restaurant was founded a decade ago by Gastón Acurio and Astrid Gutsche, the restaurant's cuisine was largely French. Both chefs had studied in Paris' Le Cordon Bleu. Gradually, though, as they rediscovered Peruvian flavors and culinary traditions, the kitchen began to incorporate local dishes and ingredients, moving towards the current sophisticated Criollo concept that characterizes the restaurant today and makes it one of the highest notes in the Peruvian culinary scene. Overnight in the Orient-Express Miraflores Park Hotel.
Terraces of Pisaq, Sacred Valley.
Photo: Mylene d'Auriol Stoessel. Luxury Inca Trail.
But the favorite residence of the Incas was at Yucay, about four leagues distant from the capital. In this delicious valley, locked up within the friendly arms of the sierra, which sheltered it from the rude breezes of the east, and refreshed by gushing fountains and streams of running water, they built the most beautiful of their palaces. Here, when wearied with the dust and toil of the city, they loved to retreat, and solace themselves with the society of their favorite concubines, wandering amidst groves and airy gardens, that shed around their soft, intoxicating odors, and lulled the senses to voluptuous repose. Here, too, they loved to indulge in the luxury of their baths, replenished by streams of crystal water which were conducted through subterraneous silver channels into basins of gold. The spacious gardens were stocked with numerous varieties of plants and flowers that grew without effort in this temperate region of the tropics, while parterres of a more extraordinary kind were planted by their side, glowing with the various forms of vegetable life skilfully imitated in gold and silver! Among them the Indian corn, the most beautiful of American grains, is particularly commemorated, and the curious workmanship is noticed with which the golden ear was half disclosed amidst the broad leaves of silver, and the light tassel of the same material that floated gracefully from its top.
-- William H. Prescott, The History of the Conquest of Peru, 1847
Weaver of Chinchero, Sacred Valley.
Photo: Mylene d'Auriol Stoessel. Luxury Inca Trail.
Day 3: Lima - Cuzco - Sacred Valley (Chinchero - Maras - Moray)
Breakfast. Early transfer to the airport for the flight to Cuzco, the capital of the ancient Inca Empire, called Tawantinsuyo. The name of Cuzco is a Spanish version of the native word Q'osqo, which means the "Navel of the Universe". Arrival, reception and drive to the Sacred Valley of the Incas. On the way, visit Chinchero, the birthplace of the rainbow, according to Inca legend. The village is on the altiplano, or highlands, above Cuzco and the Sacred Valley, at an elevation of 12,340 feet, and rises against a superb Andean landscape dominated by eternally snow-capped peaks. This late 15th century agricultural center maintains its Inca traditions, one being its composition of "ayllus", or groups of indigenous, related families that work communally in the cultivation of their fields.
Sunken agricultural terraces of Moray, Sacred Valley.
Photo: Mylene d'Auriol Stoessel. Luxury Inca Trail.
Traditional weaving is preserved, in part, through the efforts of The Center for Traditional Textiles of Cusco, which has arranged a private demonstration by one of the finest weavers. Another tradition that traces it roots back to the Incas is the barter, or "trueque", market. In Chinchero, people still meet to trade good for goods, just as in ancient times, when money did not exist. The market, noted for its textiles, takes place in the main square, at the foot of an Inca wall. Such traditions are not unique to Chinchero; they still exist throughout the altiplano of Peru. The pueblo exhibits a peculiar Andean-Hispanic architectural style, and paintings by the famous native artist Chiwantito hang in a beautiful colonial church. The canvases are in the Cuzqueña style, dating back to the early Spanish period.
Yucay Church, Sacred Valley.
Photo: Mylene d'Auriol Stoessel. Luxury Inca Trail.
Afterward, visit the impressive archaeological site of Moray. These circular terraces were built by the Incas in natural sinkholes on a limestone plateau overlooking the Sacred Valley and, according to experts, were used to grow crops in different microclimates. Nearby, below the colonial town of Maras, are age-old, terraced salt mines. If you like, take a three-quarter-hour walk down rural paths to the Urubamba River, where your driver and car will be waiting.
A lunch of nouvelle Andean cuisine at 3 Keros, of chef Ricardo Behar. 3 Keros and El Huacatay fight for the title of the best restaurant in the Sacred Valley. The two restaurants greatly elevate the gastronomic offering of the valley. Arrival at your hotel. Dinner and overnight in the Urubamba Villas.
Ruins of Pisaq surrounding the solar calendar, Sacred Valley.
Photo: Mylene d'Auriol Stoessel. Luxury Inca Trail.
Day 4: Sacred Valley (Pisaq - Ollantaytambo)
Breakfast. Private car this morning to Pisaq. High on a mountain above the Sacred Valley and the Urubamba River, tower the imposing remains of an ancient settlement. The Pisaq ruins take up the entire mountain and are made up of different neighborhoods, or squares, the main one being Intihuatana, which is admired for the architectural skill of its constructions. Its central feature is a monumental solar calendar on a promontory from which there are spectacular outlooks. At the same time, the pre-Hispanic cemetery is of great interest, as it is the largest found in this part of the continent, containing thousands of tombs, some of them looted. The complex is also famous for the colossal terraces that circle the mountains and the fabulous watchtowers, which were used as observation points as well as for control and military defense.
Girl of Pisaq adorned in traditional attire and cantuta flowers, Sacred Valley.
Photo: Mylene d'Auriol Stoessel. Luxury Inca Trail.
Far below, in the colonial town of Pisaq, a popular handicraft fair take place under the main square's century-old tree, with wares displayed on vividly patterned and colored textiles. On Sundays, the traditional mass is held in Quechua, the Inca language, at the local church, which is attended by the village leaders from the surrounding communities. They wear their typical costumes and carry their traditional scepter of authority, or vara, that gives origin to their name of Varayoc.
Fortress of Ollantaytambo, Sacred Valley.
Photo: Mylene d'Auriol Stoessel. Luxury Inca Trail.
Linger over a gourmet lunch of Mediterranean-Asian-Peruvian fusion cuisine in the patio of El Huacatay, a country restaurant with big-city sophistication. Indeed, Pio Vazquez de Velasco Jimenez (known simply as chef Pio) is making a name for himself throughout Peru after mastering his skills in the kitchen of Lima's culinary landmark, Astrid & Gaston.
Agricultural terraces, Fortress of Ollantaytambo, Sacred Valley.
Photo: Mylene d'Auriol Stoessel. Luxury Inca Trail.
Continue to the Ollantaytambo archeological site, a gigantic agricultural, administrative, social, religious and military center in the era of Tawantinsuyo. The Spaniards called it the Fortress of Ollantaytambo. The architectural style of its streets and squares reflects Inca town planning, with enormous polyhedral stones forming the walls and trapezoidal doorways of temples and palaces set along rectilinear and narrow streets, which have been inhabited continuously since Inca times.
Incan town of Ollantaytambo, Sacred Valley.
Photo: Mylene d'Auriol Stoessel. Luxury Inca Trail.
Above the city, a mountain rises which houses innumerable Inca constructions, such as magnificently-crafted temples and terraces. One striking construction is the partially-destroyed main temple, believed to be the Temple of the Sun, whose carved-stone facade is made up of six perfectly-sculpted, red monoliths. The mountainside on which this enormous fortress is built is strategic: it dominates three valleys that come together at this point. Across one valley, tremendous blocks of stone lie abandoned along the route from the quarry site to Ollantaytambo, their uncompleted journey marking the arrival of the "Conquistadores". According to a legend that inspired the Quechua drama Apu-Ollanta, the fortress belonged to a powerful lord who fell in love with Princess Cusi Coillor, daughter of Inca Pachakuteq. It later served Manco Inca after his defeat by the Spaniards at Saqsaywaman. Return to your hotel. Dinner and overnight in the Urubamba Villas.
The Stone of Twelve Angles, Cuzco.
Photo: Mylene d'Auriol Stoessel. Luxury Inca Trail.
... the most renowned of the Peruvian temples,
the pride of the capital, and the wonder of the empire, was at Cuzco,
where, under the munificence of successive sovereigns,
it had become so enriched, that it received the name of Coricancha,
or "the Place of Gold."
-- William H. Prescott, The History of the Conquest of Peru, 1847
Day 5: Sacred Valley - Cuzco (A Walk in the Colonial Quarter)
Breakfast. Morning walking tour of the imperial city of the Incas to their ancient monuments of Qorikancha (the Temple of the Sun); the fine Inca walls of Inti Q'ijllo; the Ajlla Wasi (the House of the Virgins of the Sun); the Stone of Twelve Angles; and Huacaypata (Leisure Square). All of these constructions date from the era of 1440 A.D., when Inca Pachakuteq, desiring a capital befitting his great empire, pulled down the adobe city and rebuilt Cuzco in stone.
The Inca palaces were in the form of "canchas", or enclosures, formed by massive stone walls with living quarters, temples and courtyards within. Throughout Cuzco, you will see the Inca walls, built upon by the Spaniards in colonial style. The Cathedral was built over the Inca Wiracocha's palace. The Palacio del Arzobispo, or Archbishop's Palace, was erected in the 16th century in an Arabesque style on the walls of Hatunrumiyoc, the palace of Inca Sinchi Roca, which contains the Stone of Twelve Angles. The Church of Santo Domingo (begun in 1534), was built over Qorikancha, the most important religious structure in the Inca Empire. When the earthquake of 1950 collapsed much of the superimposed colonial architecture, it revealed the ancient Temples of the Sun, the Moon, the Stars, Thunder and Lightning, and the Rainbow.
The interior of the temple was the most worthy of admiration. It was literally a mine of gold. On the western wall was emblazoned a representation of the deity, consisting of a human countenance, looking forth from amidst innumerable rays of light, which emanated from it in every direction, in the same manner as the sun is often personified with us. The figure was engraved on a massive plate of gold of enormous dimensions, thickly powdered with emeralds and precious stones. It was so situated in front of the great eastern portal, that the rays of the morning sun fell directly upon it at its rising, lighting up the whole apartment with an effulgence that seemed more than natural, and which was reflected back from the golden ornaments with which the walls and ceiling were everywhere incrusted. Gold, in the figurative language of the people, was "the tears wept by the sun," and every part of the interior of the temple glowed with burnished plates and studs of the precious metal. The cornices, which surrounded the walls of the sanctuary, were of the same costly material; and a broad belt or frieze of gold, let into the stonework, encompassed the whole exterior of the edifice.
Adjoining the principal structure were several chapels of smaller dimensions. One of them was consecrated to the Moon, the deity held next in reverence, as the mother of the Incas. Her effigy was delineated in the same manner as that of the Sun, on a vast plate that nearly covered one side of the apartment. But this plate, as well as all the decorations of the building, was of silver, as suited to the pale, silvery light of the beautiful planet. There were three other chapels, one of which was dedicated to the host of Stars, who formed the bright court of the Sister of the Sun; another was consecrated to his dread ministers of vengeance, the Thunder and the Lightning; and a third, to the Rainbow, whose many-colored arch spanned the walls of the edifice with hues almost as radiant as its own...
All the plate, the ornaments, the utensils of every description, appropriated to the uses of religion, were of gold or silver. Twelve immense vases of the latter metal stood on the floor of the great saloon, filled with grain of the Indian corn; the censers for the perfumes, the ewers which held the water for sacrifice, the pipes which conducted it through subterraneous channels into the buildings, the reservoirs that received it, even the agricultural implements used in the gardens of the temple, were all of the same rich materials. The gardens, like those described, belonging to the royal palaces, sparkled with flowers of gold and silver, and various imitations of the vegetable kingdom. Animals, also, were to be found there --among which the llama, with its golden fleece, was most conspicuous-- executed in the same style, and with a degree of skill, which, in this instance, probably, did not surpass the excellence of the material.
-- William H. Prescott, The History of the Conquest of Peru, 1847
Qorikancha, the Temple
of the Sun, Cuzco.
Photo: Mylene d'Auriol Stoessel. Luxury Inca Trail.
In the time of the Incas, this garden... was entirely made of gold and silver; and there were similar gardens about all the royal mansions. Here could be seen all sorts of plants, flowers, trees, animals, both small and large, wild and tame, tiny, crawling creatures such as snakes, lizards, and snails, as well as butterflies and birds of every size; each one of these marvels being placed at the spot that best suited the nature of what it represented.
There were a tall corn stalk and another stalk from the grain they call quinoa, as well as other vegetables and fruit trees, the fruits of which were all very faithfully reproduced in gold and silver. There were also, in the house of the Sun, as well as in that of the king, piles of wool made of gold and silver, and large statues of men, women, and children made of the same materials, in addition to storerooms and recipients for storing the grain they called pirua, all of which, together, tended to lend greater splendor and majesty to the house of their god the Sun.
All of these valuable works were made by the goldsmiths attached to the Temple, from the tribute of gold and silver that arrived every year from all the provinces of the Empire, and which was so great that the most modest utensils used in the temple, such as pots and pans, or pitchers, were also made of precious metals. For this reason, the temple and its service quarters were called Coricancha, which means the place of gold.
-- Garcilaso de la Vega, The Royal Commentaries of the Inca, 1609
San Blas artisans' quarter, Cuzco.
Photo: Walter H. Wust. Luxury Inca Trail.
A lunch of traditional Andean cuisine in the patio of Pachapapa. Just across the street, visit artisans' workshops and the Church of San Blas (built in 1562). It houses an imposing pulpit from the late 17th century that, for many, is the finest example of a carved wooden structure in the world. Chiseled from a single cedar trunk, the pulpit features angels, demons, saints, virgins and beasts. A native artist, Juan Thomas Tuirutupa, is believed to have been the sculptor. The main altarpiece is Baroque and exceptionally beautiful.
Afternoon free to stroll around Cuzco on your own. Your tourist ticket includes entrances to many other sites and The Historic City of Cuzco map describes each, all within a few blocks of Huacaypata (commonly called the Plaza de Armas). We recommend that you start in San Blas.
If you walk back down toward the Plaza de Armas, you'll enter the charming Plaza de las Nazarenas, surrounded by early Spanish colonial mansions and religious structures, such as the 16th century House of Cabrera (now the Museo de Arte Precolombino), the 17th century Nazarenas Beguine Convent and the 17th century San Antonio Abad Seminary (now the Hotel Monasterio). A little further down is the 16th century Palacio del Almirante, or Admiral's Palace (now the Museo Inka). Facing the Plaza de Armas, you will find notable Spanish Colonial monuments, such as the Cathedral (begun in 1556) and La Compañia de Jesus (begun in 1576). La Merced Church and Convent (begun in 1536) is one block south. The church is famous for its jeweled monstrance, encrusted with diamonds and precious stones, including rubies, topazes and emeralds. You will have to ask a friar to let you see it. A good place to relax and take in the spectacle is the popular Cafe Ayllu, which offers delicious apple pastries and a memorable view. It's just to the left of the Cathedral, on the corner of the arcade.
Cathedral and Plaza de Armas, Cuzco.
Photo: Mylene d'Auriol Stoessel. Luxury Inca Trail.
Before the Spanish conquest, the main square was twice its current size. The part occupied by the present-day Plaza de Armas was surrounded by Inca palaces, sculpted of finely-crafted stone blocks. On the southwest side of the plaza flowed the river Huatanay. On the far bank was the market square of Cusipata, now occupied by the arcade of buildings known as the Portal de Panes. The only remaining portion of that square is the lovely Plaza Regocijo, with its picturesque Queñuales trees. Happily the Spanish name corresponds to the original Inca meaning of "Joy Square". Although the river was covered over with stone slabs, a division remained: Haucaypata was reserved for the nobles, Cusipata for the commoners. Yet, all could celebrate ceremonies together in the great square of ancient Cuzco, from which two intersecting roads led out to Tawantinsuyo, the "Four Quarters of the Empire". Finish at the 16th century Archbishop's Palace (now the Museum of Religious Art) before returning to your hotel.
This evening, your guide will meet you for a tour of the Museo de Arte Precolombino, which displays 450 pre-Inca and Inca masterpieces dating from 1250 B.C. to 1532 A.D. Afterward, a dinner of nouvelle Andean cuisine at the MAP Café, in the museum's courtyard. Overnight in the Orient-Express Hotel Monasterio.
Fountains of Tipon, the water garden of Inca Wiracocha.
Photo: Mylene d'Auriol Stoessel. Luxury Inca Trail.
Day 6: Cuzco (The Collasuyu Road - Nearby Inca Monuments)
Breakfast. Morning excursion beyond the ancient fortress that guarded the Valley of Cuzco. Coming back from the colonial village of Andahuaylillas on the Collasuyu Road, follow the route of early travelers from the southern quarter of the empire, which reached beyond Lake Titicaca. Pass through the ancient gate of Rumicolca, gaze at the pre-Inca ruins of Pikillaqta, taste the traditional bread of Oropesa and admire the royal garden of Tipon before your arrival in the Imperial City of the Incas.
In Inca times, the name of Andahuaylillas was Antawaylla (anta = copper and waylla = field). Its lands are fertile; its people quiet and friendly. Andahuaylillas has two attractions -- the Church of San Pedro de Andahuaylillas and the huge main square it faces. The square, considered one of the most beautiful in the region, is surrounded by pisonay and palm trees. The church, built in 1580 and known as the Sistine Chapel of the Americas, features a simple facade in marked contrast to its rich Baroque interior of gilded altars, wall paintings and polychromatic ceilings.
Rumicolca, pre-Inca and Inca gateway to the Valley of Cuzco.
Photo: Mylene d'Auriol Stoessel. Luxury Inca Trail.
Departing toward Cuzco, we first encounter Rumicolca, an immense stone fortress at the southeastern entrance to the Valley of Cuzco. It originally served as an entry point into the pre-Inca Huari empire and defended nearby Pikillaqta, their largest city. Centuries later, the Incas fortified and refined the rough construction of the original structure with massive blocks of polished andesite. The fortress became the gateway to their imperial city, guarding the road from Collasuyu, the southern quarter of their "Land of Four Quarters". The southern quarter was the largest, stretching to Lake Titicaca, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina.
The pre-Inca ruins of Pikillaqta.
Photo: Mylene d'Auriol Stoessel. Luxury Inca Trail.
Pikillaqta, the largest Huari city and the major pre-Inca city in the region, reached its cultural height between 800 AD and 1100 AD, in the period corresponding to the Huari regional confederation. A massive hilltop complex of stone structures overlooking Lake Lucre, its long, straight streets and big, rectangular city blocks full of buildings are surrounded by high, flagstone and mud-mortared walls, which taper as they rise. In some of the rooms, little idols made of turquoise were found and now can be seen in the Museo Inka, of Cuzco. "Pikillaqta" translates as the "City of Fleas". The name comes from the presence of many tiny rooms, only four square meters in area, that seem to be part of a military garrison.
Plaza and La Iglesia de Oropesa.
Photo: Mylene d'Auriol Stoessel. Luxury Inca Trail.
Oropesa has long been known as the "Land of Bread". Locals keep numerous domestic ovens for the production of delicious peasant bread. People from Oropesa still use the traditional ovens, fired with eucalyptus leaves, which give the town its peculiar and pleasant aroma. Near the main square, you can recognize the bread stores because each has a big basket outside. Inside, you will be able to see the bread makers in action and even make your own bread.
Tipon, the water garden of Inca Wiracocha.
Photo: Mylene d'Auriol Stoessel. Luxury Inca Trail.
Tipon is exceptional for the harmony achieved in the movement of water through its fine stone structures. This beautiful complex is composed of twelve enormous agriculturual terraces, walls of perfectly polished stone, long stairways, aqueducts (some subterranean) and ornamental waterfalls. According to legend, Tipon was one of the royal gardens ordered by the 8th Inca, Wiracocha. It is believed that the site was earlier the royal farm of his father, the 7th Inca Inca Yawar Huacac, at which time it was dedicated to a religious cult and agricultural experimentation. Return to Cuzco for a lunch of Italian-Peruvian cuisine at Incanto.
Temple and fortress of Saqsaywaman, Cuzco.
Photo: Mylene d'Auriol Stoessel. Luxury Cuzco Tours & Travel.
Afternoon drive to the fortress of Saqsaywaman. To truly appreciate Saqsaywaman, one must realize that what may now be seen is only the base of a colossal construction of a series of three successively-higher, defensive structures made from enormous blocks of stone, joined together with great precision.
Inside this triple enclosure, three tall towers were erected on a large narrow ground. The largest of them was called Mayac Marca, which means the round tower. It was built over a clear, abundant spring, fed by underground canalizations, concerning which nobody knew from where or how they came... This round tower contained rooms with gold and silver paneled walls, on which animals, birds, and plants figured in relief, as though in a tapestry. It was here that the king lived when he came for a rest in the fortress...
The two other towers, which were round, not square, in shape, were called Paucar Marca and Sacllac Marca, and were used to house soldiers of the garrison, which was composed only of Incas by privilege, ordinary men, even combatants, not being allowed inside this fortress, which was the house of the Sun, both its arsenal and its temple...
An underground network of passages, which was as vast as the towers themselves, connected them with one another. This was composed of a quantity of streets and alleyways which ran in every direction, and so many doors, all of them identical, that the most experienced men dared not venture into this labyrinth without a guide, consisting of a long thread tied to the first door, which unwound as they advanced....
It would have been in the interest of the Spaniards to maintain this fortress, and even to repair it at their own expense, because, quite alone, it gave proof of the grandeur of their victory and would have served as a witness to it for all eternity. And yet, not only did they not keep it up, but they hastened its ruin, demolishing its hewn stones, in order to construct their own Cuzco homes at less cost.
They made their portals and thresholds with the big flat stones that formed the ceilings, and to make their stairways, they did not hesitate to tear down entire walls, provided they were based on a few stones that could be used for steps.
And so, that is how the Spaniards destroyed the Cuzco fortress.
-- Garcilaso de la Vega, The Royal Commentaries of the Inca, 1609
Campesina at Saqsaywaman, Cuzco.
Photo: Mylene d'Auriol Stoessel. Luxury Inca Trail.
Saqsaywaman was considered a fortress by the Spaniards, since it was a place of defense, weapons and war. It was considered the House of the Sun by the Incas because, at the same time, it was a place of worship and sacrifice. Notably, it was the site of the most important ceremony of the empire, Inti Raymi, the Festival of the Sun. Its name means "Satiated Hawk" and it was built in approximately 77 years (1431-1508), during the reign of Inca Yupanqui and Wayna Qhapaj. It began being destroyed from 1537 until 1561, becoming the base for the building of the Spanish Cathedral, churches and homes. "Neither the bridge of Segovia, nor the buildings built by Hercules or the Romans, are so worthy of being admired, as this" says the Spanish chronicler and soldier Pedro Sancho de la Hoz, who saw Inca Cuzco intact, along with Pizarro in 1533.
Ritual fountains of Tambomachay, Cuzco.
Photo: Mylene d'Auriol Stoessel. Luxury Inca Trail.
Further up the hill is the Temple of the Moon; one of the few sites preserving its sculptures of pumas, serpents, condors, llamas and female genitalia, carved into the stone. It is located in a rocky outcropping with natural caves that have been sculpted to a minor extent to create ceremonial platforms and symbols, such as an immense snake. The site is