Peru » Cusco

Cusco & Machu Picchu: 6-Day Peru Tour with Lake Titicaca

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Duration6d

GroupUp to 12

LanguagesEN · ES

PickupAt your hotel

Six days across Peru's three worlds: mountain ruins, floating islands, and the train ride between them

You arrive in Cusco and spend six days moving through Peru's three signature landscapes: the Sacred Valley ruins and markets, Machu Picchu with a local guide, and Lake Titicaca's floating and island communities. Hotels, trains, buses, entry fees, and airport transfers are included; you book once and the logistics are handled. The early start on Machu Picchu day (5:30am breakfast) is what lets you see the site with a guide and still have time in Aguas Calientes before the return train.

Step-by-step itinerary

Day 1 — Arrival and leisure in Cusco

Arrive at Cusco airport
Meet representative and transfer to hotel
Check-in and leisure time

Day 2 — Sacred Valley tour and train to Aguas Calientes

Breakfast at Cusco hotel
Meet guide and depart to Sacred Valley
Visit animal rescue center
Stop at Taray viewpoint
Explore Pisac Archaeological Park
Visit Pisac Market
Drive to Urubamba for lunch
Visit Ollantaytambo Archaeological Park
Board train to Aguas Calientes
Arrive and transfer to hotel
Leisure time in Aguas Calientes

Day 3 — Machupicchu tour and return to Cusco

Breakfast at Aguas Calientes hotel
Meet guide and walk to bus station
Bus to Machupicchu entrance
Guided tour of Machupicchu
Bus back to Aguas Calientes
Free time and lunch in town
Train to Ollantaytambo
Transfer to Cusco hotel

Day 4 — Sun Route bus tour to Puno

Breakfast at Cusco hotel
Transfer to bus station
Bus departs for Sun Route tour
Visit Andahuaylillas church
Visit Raqchi archaeological site
Lunch stop at Sicuani restaurant
Stop at Abra La Raya viewpoint
Visit Pucará Lithic Museum
Arrive at Puno and transfer to hotel
Leisure time in Puno

Day 5 — Lake Titicaca islands tour

Breakfast at Puno hotel
Transfer to Lake Titicaca harbor
Visit Uros Floating Islands
Boat to Taquile Island
Hike to host family restaurant
Traditional lunch with dance and music
Walk back to harbor
Boat back to Puno harbor
Transfer to hotel and leisure time

Day 6 — Departure from Puno

Breakfast at Puno hotel
Private transfer to Juliaca Airport

The Experience

"You will see things here that most people only read about," our guide told us on the first morning in Cusco, and he wasn't exaggerating. This 6-day tour moves through three distinct landscapes—the high valleys where the Incas built their cities, the cloud forest where Machu Picchu sits hidden, and the highest navigable lake on Earth where people still live on islands made of reeds. The pace is steady but not rushed. You spend two nights in Cusco, one in Aguas Calientes (the town below Machu Picchu), and two in Puno on Lake Titicaca, which means you're not constantly packing and unpacking.

Day two takes you into the Sacred Valley with stops at Pisac—both the archaeological site high above the valley floor and the market below where locals sell textiles and crafts. Then Ollantaytambo, a fortress-temple that rises straight from the Urubamba River, before you board the train to Aguas Calientes in the late afternoon. The train itself is part of the experience; it follows the river gorge for 90 minutes and the scenery shifts from dry highlands to green cloud forest. Day three is the Machu Picchu day. You start at 5:30am with breakfast, take a shuttle bus up at 6:20am, and have a guided tour with a local expert before heading back down by 10am. It's early and it's crowded, but you avoid the worst of the midday crush. The guide walks you through the Temple of the Sun, the agricultural terraces, and explains how the Incas built this place without mortar—stones fit so tight you can't slide a knife blade between them.

The journey to Puno on day four is a long bus ride (about 10 hours with stops), but it's not empty time. You visit Andahuaylillas, a small church with gold leaf and frescoes so ornate it's called the Sistine Chapel of the Americas. Then Raqchi, where the Incas built the largest single-roofed structure of their empire—14-meter adobe walls and rows of storage buildings still standing. You cross Abra La Raya, the border between Cusco and Puno regions, where the altitude peaks and you see vicuñas and alpacas grazing. The last two days belong to Lake Titicaca. You take a boat to the Uros Floating Islands, where families live on islands woven entirely from totora reeds. Then a 90-minute sail to Taquile Island, where you walk up terraced slopes to a family's private restaurant for lunch with traditional music and dancing. The whole experience—the floating islands, the boat rides, the lunch—is included.

What makes this work is the detail. Airport pickups are included, so you don't negotiate a taxi fare when you land. Hotels are 3-star properties in the city centers, not on the outskirts. The train tickets, bus tickets, entry fees to Machu Picchu, Lake Titicaca, and the Sun Route archaeological sites are all paid for. You get a professional English-speaking guide for the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu. One bottle of water is provided on day two. The only meals not covered are lunch in Urubamba and lunch in Aguas Calientes, which gives you flexibility to eat where you want. Groups stay small—this is not a 40-person bus tour. If you're traveling with young children, car seats and prams are available. If you need to extend your stay, the company can arrange onward travel to La Paz, Bolivia or Arequipa and the Colca Canyon.

What’s included

All overland transportation during the 6 days.
round-trip train tickets between Ollantaytambo and Aguas Calientes.
round-trip shuttle bus tickets to and from Machu Picchu.
full-day Lake Titicaca adventure including boats to Uros and Taquile Islands.
5 nights' hotel accommodation with private bathroom (3-star properties in Cusco, Aguas Calientes, and Puno).
entry tickets to Machu Picchu, the Sun Route archaeological sites (Andahuaylillas, Raqchi, Pucará Museum), and Lake Titicaca.
guided tours of the Sacred Valley (Pisac and Ollantaytambo), Machu Picchu with a local expert guide, and the Sun Route sightseeing bus.
airport and hotel pickup and drop-off.
professional English-speaking guide per itinerary.
one bottle of water on day two.
and traditional lunch with folk music on Taquile Island.

Good to know

Easy physical levelStroller friendlyInfant seats availableInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Machupicchu Latin America

Is this one for you?Book this tour if you want to see Machu Picchu, the Sacred Valley, and Lake Titicaca in one trip without arranging trains, buses, hotels, or entry fees separately—the fixed itinerary and included logistics are what make all three regions fit into six days.