Two siblings and one week of thin air in
Cusco · Sacred Valley · Machu Picchu
We arrive on Monday, 21 June 2027
24 June 2027
Qorikancha, Plaza de Armas and Sacsayhuamán, Cusco
The festival of the sun, staged by the city of Cusco in three places. It starts at the Qorikancha, goes on to the Plaza de Armas, and the main ceremony takes place at Sacsayhuamán, with the report on the four suyos and rites of chicha and sacred fire. The modern version dates from 1944.
Every year on 24 June. Source ↗
Six days: Cusco, the Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu and the festival of the sun.
Centro Histórico, Cusco
Machu Picchu Pueblo
Nothing planned but the main square and the cathedral. At 3,400 metres, a flat walk counts as sport.
The heart of Cusco, once the Inca ceremonial square of Auqaypata and now ringed by colonial arcades and churches.
Built between 1559 and 1654 in the northeast corner of the Plaza de Armas, on the site of the Inca palace of Viracocha.
The ruins and market of Pisac in the morning, then Ollantaytambo and the evening train. The valley is lower than Cusco, so our lungs say thank you.
An Inca complex on a ridge above the town, built from about 1440, with farming terraces and wide views of the valley. The village below holds a market.
An Inca town with some of the oldest continuously occupied homes in South America, a hillside of terraces above it, and the station for trains to Machu Picchu. It sits at about 2,800 metres.
Up to the citadel for the morning, then a soak in the hot springs and the train back to Cusco, which is a long way round for a bath.
The Inca estate built around 1450, probably for the emperor Pachacuti, on a ridge at 2,430 metres. It was abandoned in the 1500s and became widely known after 1911.
The hot springs that gave Aguas Calientes its name, at the end of Avenida Pachacútec, which runs up from the main square.
Inti Raymi in three acts: the Qorikancha in the morning, the Plaza de Armas, and Sacsayhuamán for the main ceremony. Seats sell out, so the plan is the free areas if we have none.
The most important temple of the Inca Empire, dedicated to the sun, with the colonial convent of Santo Domingo built on its foundations. On 24 June it is the first stage of Inti Raymi.
An Inca fortress on a hill above Cusco, at 3,701 metres, built of enormous stones fitted without mortar. It is where the central ceremony of Inti Raymi takes place.
A quiet day on the high plateau: the circular terraces of Moray and the salt pans of Maras.
Inca terraces laid out in concentric circles inside a deep hollow, thought to have been used to test crops at different altitudes.
Thousands of small salt pools stepped down a hillside, fed by a salty spring and worked by hand for centuries.
San Blas for one more climb we pretend is easy, and the market for the last juice, before the flight home.
A steep district of whitewashed houses and narrow cobbled streets above the Plaza de Armas, where many craftspeople have their workshops.
The city’s main covered market, a busy hall of fruit, cheese, bread, herbs and juice counters.
Every stop and our bases.
What late June is usually like.
Cusco
Typical weather for these dates, not a forecast: the average of 2016–2025, with data from Open-Meteo.com (ERA5). The chance of rain is an estimate.
10 photos from 5 places on our route
Inti Raymi is held in Cusco on 24 June to honour the sun. Chroniclers say Pachacútec established it in the 15th century.
The Spanish banned it as pagan. The modern version was first staged on 24 June 1944 at Sacsayhuamán.
On the route: Day 4, SacsayhuamánThe festival moves from the Qorikancha to the Plaza de Armas and ends at Sacsayhuamán.
On the route: Day 4, the three stagesIn 2024 the 4,100 seats at the Qorikancha and the 3,750 at Sacsayhuamán sold out. The Plaza de Armas has no seats.
Tell us where you’re going. Your draft is free.