South Valley Cusco Tour

Availability: Available now
Group size: 2-10
Tour Type: Historical and informative
Max. Elevation: 3500 meters above sea level

50 USD Per person

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The Incas built all over its empire and specially in Cusco impressive citadels, shrines, temples, royal retreats, farming terraces and a huge network of Inca trails. Besides Machu Picchu and the buildings located in the sacred valley of the Incas, you can also explore marvelous Inca constructions in the south part of Cusco. The south valley Cusco tour combines in a 1-day visit pre-Inca, Inca and colonial architectural styles.

Explore the south valley of Cusco and visit Tipon, a stunning royal Inca retreat adorned with pretty farming areas and water fountains. Make a tour around Pikillaqta, a big and majestic pre-Inca citadel. Finally, you will visit the church of San Pedro Apostol de Andahuaylillas, which has been called «the Sistine Chapel of America», and in some sense, the subordinate simile would be justified: this architecture is one of the most surprising and beautiful songs of religious art, silent testimony of the Andean people.

South Valley Cusco Tour Trip Overview

Tour localization: South Valley of the Incas
Tour type: Half day by bus
Good for: Everybody, done in small groups or privately
Difficulty: Not hiking, but a lot of walking around the inca sites
Highlights: Tipon, Hydraulic Engineering Center, the pre Inca urban city of Pikillacta and the sistine chapel of America, Andahuaylillas
Language: All our tours are done only in English; If you need a Spanish tour, it must be booked privately and done at the initial booking.
Season: All year around

Day 1: Tipon- Pikillacta- Andahuaylillas

This premium tour around the south valley of Cusco will start picking you up, from your hotel at 08:00 in the morning. Then you will be driven by bus to Tipon. Along the driving journey, you will pass via one of the gastronomic corridors of Cusco, the town of Saylla offers exquisite dishes made of pork, hen and guinea pig. You will be driven also through Huasao known as the town of the sorcerers and Oropesa the capital of bread in Peru. Upon arrival to Tipon, you will be impressed by the perfect stone buildings that match perfectly farming terraces and water fountains. The Cusco historian Víctor Angles maintains that Tipon could have been the Royal House of Yahuar Huaca, who retired to this place after he left Cusco during the attack of the brave Chancas. Huiracocha, his son, faced the invaders and defeated them, triumphantly entering Cusco, being crowned Inca king instead of his father. The American hydrogeologist engineer Kenneth Right has published a book on these Tipon hydraulic structures, which have earned the title of «Marvel of Civil Engineering» in the Association of Civil Engineers of the United States.

To continue this informative and cultural tour in Cusco, you will be driven for 25 minutes to visit the pre-Inca ruins of Pikillaqta. Pikillaqta is located in the southern part of the Cusco valley and belonged to the Wari culture that spread from Ayacucho In total it has 700 buildings, 200 courts and 508 warehouses (others consider it homes), among other buildings. For the most part, the walls of the houses are covered with plaster and some are even painted with well-defined anthropomorphic motifs; There is also evidence that many buildings were two or even three stories tall. All of which gives the impression that its inhabitants were very well developed in many aspects. It is estimated that it housed a population of ten thousand people.

Finally, you will conclude this journey in the south part of Cusco visiting the beautiful church of Andahuaylillas; a small jewel of the colonial period and the religious art, also known as «the Sistine chapel of America», inside there are an impressive collection of canvases with frames bathed in gold leaf, wall paintings, baroque altarpieces and a gate containing an inscription in 5 languages. After finishing this must do tour in Cusco, you will be driven for two hours back to Cusco, where you will arrive around 3 pm.

** This south valley Cusco tour has a door to door service.

Included on our South Valley Cusco Tour

Professional local english speaker Guides: all our super leaders grew up in cusco region and studied tourism for five years at cusco’s university, they are friendly, funny charming, knowledgeable, professional and will care your safety into our South Valley Cusco Tour

Permits: As soon as we get your details and deposit, we will purchase your permits for the inca ruins located into the South Valley Cusco Tour.

Briefing: you should come to our office at least one day prior to your tour to pay the balance, provide exact information about your accommodation and receive some details for the tour.

Transportation: Incas Path will be providing all transportation for this South Valley Cusco Tour. You will be picked up from your hotel at 8 am, and brought into all the inca sites located in the South Valley Cusco Tour and then back to your hotel in Cusco.

Details: We profess that it is the attention to small details that separates us from other travel agencies. Each tourist will recieve an umbrella for rain that you can also use for protection against the sun, due the solar radiation is very high in places located near the equator.

First Aid: Every guide has got training in first aid from a clinic and firemen. We elaborate mandatory training sessions every February on our tours, which every Incas Path tour guide must attend. Your tour leader is going to have always a first-aid kit for basic medical problems.

Not Included on our South Valley Cusco Tour

Gratuities for our staff: Incas Path ensures all staff are fairly paid and therefore gratuities are optional and at your own discretion

Travel Insurance: Highly recommended for all tourist

Daypack: We suggest you to use a daypack that not exceed 25L to carry passport, water, sunhat, sunglasses, suncream, bug spray, rain jacket and a warm jacket

Water bottle

Flight tickets

Hotel in Cusco

Prices

We would love to tour the South Valley of the Incas with you and your loved ones and take care of immortalizing your visit to the lost city of the Incas.

We can leave any day of the year as long as we meet at least two people, our bus tours can leave any day of the week, twelve months a year.

$50 per person

Important Note: This South Valley Cusco Tour is only done privately and our prices are based on a group of two to four; you will travel in a private van.

If your group is larger than four, please ask to an Incas Path representative for a special offer.

Important Note ll: We sometimes offer to combine private tours (with your permission) into small groups with a discount. Let us know if you would like to others joining you.

Student Discount:

– $ 10 discount per person

Student discounts apply to anyone who has a valid International Student Card (ISIC) at the beginning of the tour or who is 17 years old or younger. For those who use an international student card or for children under 17, we need to see a copy of their card or passport at the time of booking to receive the discount of Machu Picchu.

Please send everything to info@cuscodigital.com

Packing list

We suggest you to carry lightweight backpack that the is key to feeling good during this South Valley Cusco Tour

Essentials:

Original Passport ,
STUDENT CARD (if you booked as a student)
Good daypack (the smaller, the better)
Comfortable athletic shoes (lightweight with good soles)

Inside Your Daypacks:

Daypacks can be any size for walking, but we always recommend the smaller, the better. Some items are listed below

Sunhat
Rain gear
Fleece
Rain jacket
Camera
Music (IPhone)
Handsanitizer
Extra Money for Souvenirs, Drinks & Tips
Personal medication
Sunscreen
Handsanitizer

Journey Info

Arriving to Cusco

The airport in Cusco at the present time is only for domestic flights, so all international travelers by plane must disembark in Lima and go through Customs. Even if your flight to Cusco is the same day by the same airline carrier, you must grab your bags in Lima and then check them back in.

The best way to arrive to Cusco is by air and there are several options in airlines. LATAM tends to be the most expensive, but has the most options and flights.

Expect delays or flight cancellations; due to the high altitude of Cusco, it tends to be difficult to land and any weather inconvenience will stop air traffic.

Bus travel is always available and while the trip can be long, especially from Lima, the buses company such as Oltursa, Cruz del Sur, etc, are very well maintained and comfortable; this option is strongly encouraged if coming from a city closer to Cusco, like Puno or Arequipa.

Luggage Storage

Even though this is an overnight tour by train to Machu Picchu, your luggage allowance is still limited due to restrictions on the train; all bags brought to Aguas Calientes (Machu Picchu) need to be carry on size.

Any extra luggage you have with you, can be left safely in Cusco at either your hotel or with us at the Incas Path deposit while you enjoy your tour: We will grab the extra luggage from you the morning of your tour and return once you are back in Cusco.

Make sure your suitcase have some kind of identification on them so they are easy to locate.

Altitude

As soon as people book their trip to Peru, specifically Cusco, they start wondering about altitude sickness. The air at high altitudes contains less oxygen than at sea level and forces your body to work harder to get the oxygen it needs. Over several days at high altitude, your body adjusts to the lower amount of oxygen in the air; that is why we advice you to arrive in Cusco three days prior your trek begin or taking a tour of easy physical demand.

With altitude sickness, you may first feel like you have the flu or a hangover. You may have a headache, tiredness, loss of appetite, nausea or vomiting, dizziness, trouble sleeping, trouble breathing during exercise. If any of these effects become severe, please contact our representatives and we will help you get to a physician.

Most of the time, these symptoms will be mild. We always recommend easing into activity slowly, allowing your body to adjust, drink plenty of fluids such as water, electrolites or coca tea: coca tea has been used since ancient times to help prevent altitude sickness, leaves from the coca plant contain alkaloids like the globulin alkaloid which helps creating red cells in your body that captures the oxygen faster, so helping your body avoid the effects of altitude sickness.

Avoid drinking a lot of alcohol it will cause you to urinate more often and become dehydrated, avoid smoking due it will make more difficult for your body to get oxygen and also avoid sleeping pills because it may cause shallow breathing at night, making it more difficult for your body to absorb oxygen while you sleep.

Your healthcare provider may prescribe medicines, such as acetazolamide better know as the brand Diamox and dexamethasone, to help prevent altitude sickness; start medication two days prior you get to a high altitude and continue to take it while you are at high altitude.

Weather

Of course weather is unpredictable. Typically the dry season in Cusco is from April through October, but this does not stop rain from falling in June or the sun from coming out in December, just be prepared; no matter what month you are doing the trek or tour, please make sure that you have rain gear that includes a waterproof jacket, pants, poncho and waterproof gloves.

Travel Insurance

To protect your journey investment, we highly recommend the purchase of travel insurance; acquiring travel insurance before you leave home, is strongly encouraged and very easy.

Vaccinations

The body’s immune system helps protect against pathogens that cause infection; most of the time, it’s an efficient system, it either keeps microorganisms out or tracks them down and gets rid of them.

However, some pathogens can overwhelm the immune system; when this happens, it can cause serious illness.

The pathogens most likely to cause problems are the ones the body doesn’t recognize: vaccination is a way to “teach” the immune system how to recognize and eliminate an organism; that way, your body is prepared if you’re ever exposed.

Vaccinations are an important form of primary prevention; that means they can protect people from getting sick, vaccinations have allowed us to control diseases that once threatened many lives, such as: measles, poliotetanus, and whooping cough.

You may require some additional vaccinations before traveling to Peru; it is adviced you consult to your physician specially if your are taking any trip to the jungle