Peru Tour for Riders Horse riding Sacred Valley - Machu Picchu - Lake Titicaca

Arrival in Lima early in the morning and take the early flight to Cuzco. Reception and transfer to your hotel. Morning at leisure to acclimatise to the high altitude.
Afternoon guided visit of the four ruins nearby; the Sacsayhuaman Fortress overlooking the city of Cuzco, a pre Inca architectural masterpiece; Kenko, a rock sanctuary whose main attraction is the monolithic altar representing a puma, the red Fortress of Puca-Pucara and Tambomachay, a beautiful fountain fed by a spring forming a series of basins continue to the city of Cuzco; the Main Square, the Cathedral and the Koricancha or Temple of the Sun.

After breakfast, you will be collected from your hotel for the one-hour drive to the ranch in the Sacred Valley of the Incas. The riding centre is perfectly located in the heart of the Sacred Valley, between Cusco and Machu Picchu, the famous lost city of the Incas. Today you will have the opportunity to become familiar with beautiful Peruvian Paso horses and traditional Peruvian riding gear. To enjoy the journey you should be a competent and experienced rider and above all be happy to ride a forward-going horse and try out a new way of riding, Peruvian style. Upon arrival at the ranch you will be given a fantastic display of Peruvian Equitation by your host. After the demonstration you will then have the opportunity to have a go yourself. After evaluation of your riding ability and in accordance with your horse-preference, we will match riders to their mounts and inform you about our safety instructions on the trails.
Around 12:30 pm, we will enjoy a typical Peruvian barbecue at the ranch. A Pisco Sour (our national cocktail) is part of the Peruvian tradition and, of course, included. As the day cools we will climb with the horses almost 800 m (2,600 ft.) to reach the Andean altiplano. The climb takes about two hours, and will be at an easy pace. Once at 3600 m / 11,800 ft., the stunning scenery and the snow-capped mountains of Chicon, Veronica and Pumahuanca are awesome. On our way up we pass Salinas, the saltpans from Inca times, still being used by the locals to extract salt from the mountain spring water. The saltpans consist of a series of platforms where the salty water is channelled through an impressive irrigation system and left to evaporate in the sun. We will ride to Maras, a typical Andean village, where we meet our back-up car and staff, leave the horses with our grooms for the night at a safe place nearby, and drive back to the valley. Night's accommodation. Dinner.

Meals: B & L

Riding time: 4-5 hours.

Today we depart at 8:30 am to visit the agricultural terraces of Moray by private car.
Moray is an enigmatic Inca site. Hundreds of years ago, people in this region took four huge natural depressions in the landscape and sculpted them into levels of agricultural terraces that served as an experimental agricultural station for the development of different crop strains. This was possible due to a fascinating phenomenon: the climates of several different ecological zones were present at a single site. In the thirty or so metres of altitude between the bottom and top levels of Moray's main depression, scientist John Earls recorded a full 15 degrees Celsius (59 deg. F) difference in temperature. That is equal to the difference between the mean annual temperatures of London and Bombay. It is likely that Moray played a key role in the original transformation of maize into a high-altitude crop.
We are then driven back to our horses, and continue the ride to Lake Huaypo, where we have a picnic lunch. From Lake Huaypo we decend to the village of Huarocondo, located at the end of a beautiful deep gorge spliced by the Rio Huarocondo. From Huaracondo we ride in the direction of the Pumatales Valley. In the afternoon we will leave the horses with the grooms near the gorge of Santa Maria and our car will take you to your comfortable hotel in the Sacred Valley.

Meals: B & L

After breakfast, both of you will transfer to the railway station for the train to Machu Picchu.
Arrival and check in to your hotel. Then a guided visit of the most spectacular ancient city in the world. This fabulous city contains houses, temples, warehouses, a large central square; and all connected by narrow roads and steps that are surrounded by terraces cut into the mountain side. After the tour, free time to enjoy this spiritual wonder. Opportunity for a guided trek (approx 1 hour) up to the sungate (Intipunku), which is a part of the Inca Trail, for a magical view of the sanctuary or alternatively a climb to the top of Wayna Picchu, with a magnificent view of the whole Sanctuary (recommended for fit individuals only). Return to your hotel.

Meals: B

Opportunity to return to the site for another visit. Return in the afternoon by train to Cuzco and accommodation.

Meals: B

Spectacular road journey across the stunning altiplano to Puno. Lying on the shores of Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world, Puno is also the folkloric capital of Peru. Accommodation at your hotel.

Meals: B & L

Full day excursion to the islands of Uros and Taquile. Uros, a group of islands made entirely of tortora reeds is home to a small community dating back to a pre-Inca culture. The inhabitants of Taquile are more closely related to the Aymara people of Bolivia than the Quechua Incas of Peru. Basic lunch on the island prepared by the local inhabitants. Return to your Puno hotel.

Meals: B & L

After breakfast, transfer to the airport for the return flight to Lima and connect with your international flight home.

Meals: B