6-Day Cusco, Sacred Valley & Machu Picchu Private Tour

Six days through Inca ruins and mountain passes, guided and transported the whole way

A 6-day private tour of Cusco, the Sacred Valley, and Machu Picchu with a professional guide, private transport, and four-star hotel stays throughout. You visit Qorikancha and Sacsayhuamán in Cusco; trek Pisaq and Ollantaytambo in the Sacred Valley; spend a night in Aguas Calientes to reach Machu Picchu at dawn; explore the salt pools and agricultural center at Maras-Moray; and hike Rainbow Mountain at high altitude. Machu Picchu tickets are subject to availability through Peru's Ministry of Culture, and circuits 1 and 2 are standard. Other circuits carry an additional charge.

Step-by-step itinerary

Day 1: Airport pickup and Cusco city tour

• Pick up from hotel at 1:45 pm
• Visit Koricancha Temple of the Sun
• Travel to Sacsayhuaman archaeological site
• Visit Qenqo ritual center
• Visit PucaPucara red fortress
• Visit Tambomachay Inca Bath
• Return to Cusco hotel by 7:00 pm

Day 2: Sacred Valley and Aguas Calientes

• Pick up from hotel at 8:00 am
• Visit Pisaq archaeological site
• Buffet lunch in Urubamba
• Visit Ollantaytambo archaeological site
• Train to Aguas Calientes
• Guide briefing for Machu Picchu visit

Day 3: Machu Picchu guided tour

• Early bus to Machu Picchu
• Guided tour of Machu Picchu (2.5 hours)
• Free time in Aguas Calientes for lunch
• Train to Ollantaytambo
• Transfer to Cusco hotel

Day 4: Maras and Moray tour

• Pick up from hotel at 8:00 am
• Visit town of Maras
• Guided tour of Moray agricultural laboratory
• Visit Maras salt mines
• Return to Cusco by 3:00 pm

Day 5: Rainbow Mountain trek

• Pick up from hotel at 4:20 am
• Breakfast in Cusipata district
• Travel to Wasipata area
• Trek to Rainbow Mountain (1.5 hours)
• Visit Rainbow Mountain (40 minutes)
• Return trek to mobility (1 hour 15 minutes)
• Lunch in Cusipata district
• Return to Cusco city by 5:30 pm

Day 6: Departure or optional tour

• Free morning to relax
• Optional Peruvian gastronomy and pisco sour tour

The experience

Day one starts with a 1:45 p.m. pickup from your hotel for the Cusco city tour. You spend 45 minutes inside Qorikancha, the Temple of the Sun, then drive 30 minutes to Sacsayhuamán, the massive stone fortress overlooking the city. The route continues to Qenqo, a ritual center carved into rock, then PucaPucara, a red military construction, and finishes at Tambomachay, the Inca Bath where water was venerated. You return to Cusco by 7 p.m.

Day two begins at 8 a.m. with a 90-minute drive to Pisaq, where you walk the terraced ruins for an hour with your guide. You continue down the Willkamayu (Sacred River) to Urubamba for a buffet lunch of typical Andean food, then spend another hour at Ollantaytambo, exploring the Temple of the Sun, the Intihuatana stone, and the Princess Baths carved into the mountainside. In the evening you board a train to Aguas Calientes, where your guide briefs you that night on what to expect at Machu Picchu the next morning.

Day three is the Machu Picchu day. You take a bus up the mountain at dawn and walk the ruins with your guide for two and a half hours, then have free time in Aguas Calientes for lunch before the train back to Ollantaytambo. A driver meets you there and takes you back to Cusco, arriving in the evening.

Day four focuses on the agricultural and mineral heritage of the Sacred Valley. You start at 8 a.m. heading to Moray, an Inca agricultural laboratory built in concentric terraces that descend into the earth: your guide spends 40 minutes explaining how the Incas used the temperature differences between levels to test crops. After 30 minutes of driving you reach the Maras salt pools, where thousands of small terraces have been harvested for salt for centuries. You have an hour to walk among them and buy salt or souvenirs before returning to Cusco by 3 p.m.

Day five is Rainbow Mountain. You're picked up at 4:20 a.m., drive to the Cusipata district for a 30-minute breakfast, then continue to the trailhead. The trek to Winicunca (Mountain of Colors) takes about 90 minutes uphill. You spend 40 minutes on the mountain itself, then hike back down in roughly 75 minutes. After lunch in Cusipata at 1 p.m., you drive back to Cusco, arriving around 5:30 p.m. Day six is a free morning to rest before your departure transfer to the airport or bus station.

What’s included

• Private professional guide in English, Spanish or Portuguese.
• private transportation throughout.
• hotel stays in 4-star accommodations in Cusco (nights 1, 2, 5, 6) and Aguas Calientes (night 3).
• airport pickup on day one and departure transfer on day six.
• admission to Qorikancha, Sacsayhuamán, and other city tour sites.
• guided tours at Pisaq and Ollantaytambo in the Sacred Valley.
• Machu Picchu entry and guided tour.
• train tickets from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes and return.
• bus from Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu.
• admission to Maras salt pools.
• buffet lunch in Urubamba on day two.
• breakfast and lunch on day five (Rainbow Mountain).
• walking sticks for the treks.

Before you book

Days and timesEvery day11 departure times: the first at 05:00, the last at 14:00

Meeting point and pickupHotel pickup included.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24h before the start. After that, no refund.

Prices and times updated 2 days ago

Good to know

Moderate physical levelNot for pregnant travelersNot for back problems

Operated by Chullos Travel Peru

Is this one for you?Choose this 6-day version if you want to explore Cusco, the Sacred Valley, Maras-Moray, and Rainbow Mountain before Machu Picchu, with guided time at each site. Shorter itineraries skip one or two of these stops.

Traveler reviews

5.00★★★★★★★★★★

1 verified traveler review

Read all the reviews ›

Top questions

What languages is the guide in?

Live guide in English, Spanish and Portuguese.

What is Qorikancha and why does the tour start there?

Qorikancha is the Temple of the Sun, the most sacred shrine in the Inca empire, located in the heart of Cusco. Your guide leads a 45-minute tour through it on day one, making it the first stop after pickup because it anchors your understanding of Inca cosmology before you move to the larger fortress sites outside the city.

Do I need to book Machu Picchu tickets separately, or are they included?

Machu Picchu tickets are included in the tour price, but they are subject to availability through Peru's Ministry of Culture. Standard circuits 1 and 2 are booked according to what is available on your travel dates. Other circuits can be arranged for an additional charge. If no tickets are available, you receive a full refund of the entire tour package.

How much walking and climbing is involved in Rainbow Mountain?

Rainbow Mountain involves a trek of roughly 90 minutes uphill to the summit at high altitude, followed by 75 minutes downhill. The hike is at elevation and requires a moderate level of physical fitness. You spend about 40 minutes on the mountain itself before descending.

What happens on the train rides between the Sacred Valley and Aguas Calientes?

Two train rides are included: one from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes on day two (Voyager or Expedition class), and the return from Aguas Calientes to Ollantaytambo on day three after your Machu Picchu visit. Both are part of the private tour arrangement, and a driver meets you at Ollantaytambo to drive you back to Cusco.

Are meals included throughout the 6 days?

Lunch is included on day two in Urubamba and on day five during the Rainbow Mountain trek. Breakfast is included on day five. Other meals are not included, so you'll arrange dinner and breakfast on the other days, though your guide can recommend restaurants in Cusco and Aguas Calientes.

What is Maras-Moray and why is it worth a full day?

Maras-Moray on day four shows two different Inca innovations: Moray is an agricultural laboratory of concentric terraces built into the earth, where the Incas tested crops at different altitudes and temperatures. Maras is a series of thousands of salt pools still harvested today, operating the same way for over 500 years. Together they reveal how the Incas engineered food production and resource extraction across the landscape.