Day 1: Cusco – Inca Site of Tipon – Pikillacta – Andahuaylillas – Cusco

After your breakfast at your hotel, we will pick you up in our private transportation to begin the South Valley Tour Cusco experience. This private tour to Tipon, Pikillacta & Andahuaylillas from Cusco take you in some of the most beautiful ancient constructions that are somewhat off the beaten path. We start driving through the city of Cusco towards the three of Peru’s ancient wonders located in South Valley of Cusco.

Our first stop will be THE INCA RUINS OF TIPON— is one of the great marvels of Incan hydraulic engineering, famous for its aqueducts, canals, fountains which are laid out over the terraces all of them carefully made by Quechua people “Incas”. In Addition, the Inca ruins of Tipon also have of the most elaborate examples of agricultural terracing created by the Incas and it is made up of baths, a temple complex, canals, aqueducts, and tall terraces. The Tipon Archeological Complex is located 24 km southeast of Cusco is definitely one of the lesser visited sites in the Cusco area but it is equally as impressive as those in the Sacred Valley. Nowadays, The Tipon Archeological Complex has been distinguished as a marvel of civil engineering by the American Society of Civil Engineering. We will spend about an hour in Tipon.

Next, we go to PIKILLACTA— is a pre-Incan archaeological site that belongs to Wari culture and it was built around 700 to 900 years AD, the pre-Inca site was once a cult headquarters and an administrative center for the great pre-Incan Wari culture. In addition, in the area, you can see qolcas (food deposits), athletics fields, houses, temples, narrow streets and buildings up to four stories high. Pikillacta pre-Incan archaeological is a fine example of their planned urban engineering. There is also a small Inca site just a short walk from Pikillacta, known as Rumicolca, a travel checkpoint for the Incas. Overall. The pre-Incan Wari culture is the second largest empire in SouthAmerica after the Incan empire, very well known for its great urban layout, which was the architectural key to inherit the Incan empire. After exploring, the pre-Inca site of Pikillacta, we then continue on to Andahuaylillas.

Finally, we will visit the ANDAHUAYLILLAS – is an astonishing colonial church from XVII century “the Church of St. Peter, the Apostle”, located in Andahuaylillas town in the southeast of Cusco. This colonial era church home to golden altars, paintings with its murals that cover the walls and the ceiling. The artwork is so fine that the church is called “the Sistine Chapel of the Americas” and, was made by local Quechuans during the colony of Spain. Also, some paintings from the famous “Escuela Cuzqueña” can be appreciated. After our fascinating South Valley Tour Cusco, we will return to Cusco. The whole trip takes about 5 and a half hours.