Cusco Intense, 5 days: what each day includes, what you pay separately and how much cash to bring (2026)

Cusco Intense is 5 days for CLP $270,000: Sacred Valley, Humantay Lake, Vinicunca and Machu Picchu via Hidroeléctrica, with 8 meals and one night in Aguas Calientes. This guide goes day by day: departure times, altitude, what you pay separately and how many soles to carry.

Seasonal promo price, checked 28 September 2026: the checkout wins. Times, meals, altitude and what you pay separately come from the Cusco Intense listing on Tuki; figures in soles that are not on the listing are orders of magnitude and you confirm them with the operator when you book. The checkout charges in Chilean pesos (CLP); US dollar figures use roughly 960 CLP per dollar as a reference only.

Cusco Intense costs <strong>CLP $270,000 per person</strong> (≈US$280) and runs five days in a row from your accommodation in Cusco: Sacred Valley on day 1, Humantay Lake on day 2, Vinicunca on day 3 and Machu Picchu via Hidroeléctrica on days 4 and 5, with one night in Aguas Calientes. The price covers door-to-door transport for all four excursions, a guide in Spanish and English, 8 meals, the hostel in Aguas Calientes, the guide inside the sanctuary and the Machu Picchu ticket if you book at least two months ahead.

What is not covered, and what decides how much cash you carry: your hotel in Cusco (four or five nights you arrange yourself), the Sacred Valley Tourist Ticket (about US$24, paid on site), 25 soles to enter Humantay and another 25 at Vinicunca, the bus between Aguas Calientes and the citadel (you walk up and down), flights, and four loose meals. Added up, cash in soles for the five days comes to roughly 250 to 350 per person. Below it goes day by day.

The order is the altitude: Valley at 3,760, Humantay at 4,200, Vinicunca at 5,200, Machu Picchu at 2,400. Arrive one or two days early, book two months ahead and carry about 300 soles in cash.

Cusco Intense, 5 days — CLP $270,000

It is Tuki's long Cusco pack: four excursions normally sold separately, lined up in the order that best respects altitude. Groups of up to 12, pickup at your accommodation in central Cusco every morning, and each day's exact time confirmed by WhatsApp. You pay in Chilean pesos at Tuki's checkout; if you travel as a group of friends, Tuki sets up a shared payment link where each person pays their own spot. This is how the five days break down, with the maximum altitude and what you pay separately that day:

Day 1 — Sacred Valley — up to about 3,760 m at Chinchero — buffet lunch included — separate: Tourist Ticket (~US$24), breakfast and dinner
Day 2 — Humantay Lake — 4,200 m, 1h30 uphill walk and 1 h down — breakfast and lunch included — separate: 25 soles entrance, optional horse, dinner
Day 3 — Vinicunca via Hanchipata — 5,200 m, 1h20 walk to the viewpoint — light breakfast and lunch included — separate: 25 soles entrance, optional horse, dinner
Day 4 — Van to Hidroeléctrica over the Abra Málaga pass (4,316 m) and a 2h30 walk to Aguas Calientes — lunch, dinner and hostel included — separate: almost nothing
Day 5 — Walk up to Machu Picchu from 4:00, 2 h guided visit and van back to Cusco — breakfast included, ticket included if you booked 2 months ahead — separate: optional bus and lunch if it is not on your inclusions list

Experiencia: cusco-para-valientes-by-tuki-5-dias — Desde $270.000

Before day 1: arrive one or two days early

The pack does not include your flight or your nights in Cusco. From Chile you connect through Lima; the Lima–Cusco leg takes an hour and a half and the airport sits inside the city, about 20 minutes from the centre.

Cusco is at about 3,400 m and the listing asks for two or three days of acclimatisation before Vinicunca. The Valley and Humantay on days 1 and 2 count, so the minimum is one night in Cusco before day 1, and two is comfortable. If you want something gentle for that day, the half-day city tour (CLP $53,000, ≈US$55) covers Qorikancha, Sacsayhuamán, Qenqo, Puka Pukara and Tambomachay with short walks. Entrances are not included: the ruins need the Cusco Tourist Ticket (Circuit I) and Qorikancha is paid at the door. If you do both the city tour and the Sacred Valley, ask for the 10-day full ticket: on the order of 130 soles in 2026, versus 70 for each partial one.

Experiencia: city-tour-cusco — Desde $53.000

Day 1 — Sacred Valley: the gentle day, up to 3,760 m

Early pickup at your accommodation and a long day in the vehicle: five archaeological sites and two community workshops, with short uphill walks inside each one. Chinchero opens with its weaving workshop and is the high point of the day, about 3,760 m; then Moray and its circular terraces (up to 12 °C difference between the bottom and the top), the Maras salt pans, buffet lunch with vegan options, Ollantaytambo and Pisac to close. The rest of the valley sits lower than Cusco, between 2,800 and 2,900 m, which is why your body welcomes it as a first day. Today's included meal is one: lunch. Dinner you sort out in Cusco when you get back, after dark.

Sacred Valley Tourist Ticket: about US$24 according to the listing, paid on site, covers the five stops of the day. It is charged in soles; bring a few extra in case Maras charges a separate entrance.
Breakfast and dinner on day 1: not included, on the order of 15 to 25 soles each at a market or set menu.
Water, snacks and anything you buy at the weaving workshops: cash.

Day 2 — Humantay Lake, 4,200 m

Pre-dawn departure. It is four hours by van to Soraypampa, at 3,850 m, where the included breakfast is served. From there, an hour and a half uphill to the turquoise glacial lake at 4,200 m, at the foot of the Humantay and Salkantay peaks, and an hour back down. Lunch included on return, with vegetarian options, and back in Cusco by the afternoon.

It is the first real day at altitude and the one that tells you how you will do at Vinicunca. The climb is short but steep; the guide carries oxygen and a first-aid kit, and there are horses if you would rather not continue on foot, paid directly on site.

Humantay Lake park entrance: 25 soles, cash on site.
Horse for the climb: optional, hired and paid there.
Dinner in Cusco: not included. Breakfast and lunch: included.

Day 3 — Vinicunca via Hanchipata, 5,200 m: the hardest day

Pre-dawn again, the earliest of the pack. The listing does not fix the time, but Rainbow Mountain departures from Cusco leave between 4:00 and 5:00 and yours is confirmed by WhatsApp the day before. It is three and a half hours by bus to Hanchipata, light breakfast included, and an hour and twenty minutes on foot to the viewpoint at 5,200 m: higher than any point in Cusco or Machu Picchu. You see the Red Valley on the way and the Ausangate peak from the top. Lunch included on the way down and back in Cusco after dark.

This is not the same Vinicunca as Classics and Icons, which go up via Cusipata to 5,036 m: the Intense goes in through Hanchipata and tops out 160 m higher. The listing is explicit: two or three days of acclimatisation beforehand, and not recommended for anyone with heart or respiratory problems. The guide carries oxygen and there are horses up to near the viewpoint.

Vinicunca / Rainbow Mountain entrance: 25 soles, cash on site.
Horse: optional, paid directly at the trailhead.
Dinner back in Cusco: not included. Light breakfast and lunch: included.

Day 4 — Hidroeléctrica and the night in Aguas Calientes

No summit today, but you cross the cordillera. The van leaves your accommodation early (Tuki's packs on this route pick up around 06:00; the exact time comes by WhatsApp), passes Ollantaytambo and climbs to the Abra Málaga pass at 4,316 m before dropping into the cloud forest. It is about six hours to Hidroeléctrica, where the included lunch is served.

From there you walk: two and a half hours along the railway line, flat, with the Urubamba river beside you, to Aguas Calientes. It is the classic backpacker route and the reason the pack costs what it costs: there is no train. In town, dinner and the hostel night are waiting, both included; it is the only night inside the price, and at about 2,000 m the air feels much lighter than in Cusco.

Lunch, dinner and hostel: included.
Water and snacks for the 2h30 walk: cash.
Small daypack with your day 5 kit and a change of clothes: the big bag stays in Cusco.

Day 5 — Machu Picchu at dawn and back to Cusco

The climb to the citadel is on foot and starts at 4 in the morning: about 40 minutes of steps from Aguas Calientes to be at the gate at sunrise. Inside, a two-hour guided visit with a certified guide. Then you walk back down, return to Hidroeléctrica along the same line and the van drops you in Cusco after dark; on the sister packs on this route, arrival is between 21:00 and 21:30.

The bus between Aguas Calientes and the citadel is not included in either direction. If you would rather skip the 4:00 steps, it is bought in town and costs on the order of US$12 per leg; tell the guide the night before. Breakfast on day 5 is included. Lunch appears in the itinerary but not on the inclusions list: bring soles in case you pay for it at Hidroeléctrica, where a set menu is about 15 soles.

Machu Picchu ticket: included if you booked 2 months or more ahead. Bring the ID you booked with: the ticket is nominative.
Bus Aguas Calientes ↔ Machu Picchu: not included, optional, on the order of US$12 per leg.
Breakfast: included. Lunch: confirm with the operator; bring about 15 soles just in case.
Tips for the guide and driver: separate.

The Machu Picchu ticket: the two-month condition

It is the most important fine print in the pack and the listing states it plainly: the Machu Picchu ticket is included in the CLP $270,000 only if you book at least two months in advance. With less time, the operator confirms real availability before charging you, and the date may need to move or an extra night in Aguas Calientes may need to be arranged.

The reason is that tickets are nominative, with a daily quota per circuit, and in high season they sell out weeks ahead. If you arrive with less than two months, the alternative is to buy your ticket yourself on the official site and say so when you book: in 2026 a foreign adult ticket for a standard circuit costs on the order of 163 soles (152 plus an 11-sol conservation fee since May), and routes with Huayna Picchu or Machu Picchu Mountain rise to around 200. With two months or more, none of this is yours to pay.

What you pay separately, with the listing's figures

This is exactly what the Intense listing leaves out of the price, with its amounts as of 28 September 2026; confirm with the operator before travelling.

Sacred Valley Tourist Ticket: approx. US$24, paid on site, covers the 5 stops of day 1.
Humantay Lake park entrance: 25 soles, paid on site.
Vinicunca / Rainbow Mountain entrance: 25 soles, paid on site.
Horses for the climb at Humantay or Vinicunca: hired and paid on site.
Bus up and down between Aguas Calientes and Machu Picchu: the day 4 and day 5 legs are on foot.
Accommodation in Cusco: the nights before and between tours are on you.
Breakfast and dinner on day 1, and any meals not mentioned in the inclusions.
Flights or buses to Cusco.
Tips.

How much cash in soles to bring

Cusco has ATMs and exchange houses, but Soraypampa, Hanchipata, Hidroeléctrica and the valley ticket booths have none, and entrances are cash only. The count for one person, adding only what the listing leaves out:

Fixed entrances: 25 soles at Humantay and 25 at Vinicunca, 50 in total. Sacred Valley Tourist Ticket: the listing's US$24, charged in soles, on the order of 70 to 90 depending on which ticket you are sold. Meals not included: breakfast and dinner on day 1, dinners on days 2 and 3, and lunch on day 5 if it is not covered: five meals at 15 to 25 soles, so 75 to 125. Water, snacks and tips: another 50 to 80.

That gives 250 to 350 soles per person for the five days. If you want the option of a horse or the bus at Machu Picchu, add a cushion of 100 soles and about US$25. The pack's CLP $270,000 is paid in pesos before travelling; in soles you carry nothing for the tour itself.

Where you sleep each night

The pack includes a single night: day 4, in a hostel in Aguas Calientes. Everything else is Cusco and you book it: the night before day 1 (or two, if you acclimatise properly), the nights of days 1, 2 and 3, and the night of day 5, because the van drops you in Cusco after dark and you will not make a flight that day. The practical move is the same accommodation for all of them, in the centre or in San Blas where pickups are door to door, and to leave the big bag there on day 4: you go to Aguas Calientes with a daypack.

Why the Sacred Valley comes first: the acclimatisation order

The Intense order is not aesthetic, it is physiological. Cusco is already at 3,400 m; day 1 touches 3,760 at Chinchero for a while and spends most of its time lower: it is the day that gives you one more night at altitude without asking anything of you. Day 2 climbs to 4,200 with a short but steep walk: the rehearsal. Day 3 reaches 5,200, the ceiling of the trip, with two days of altitude already in your body. And days 4 and 5 drop to 2,000 and 2,400 m, where there is air to spare.

The other way round, starting with Vinicunca, you would climb to 5,200 m with a single day in Cusco behind you, exactly what the listing says not to do. If you want an extra day of margin, add it before day 1 in Cusco, not in the middle.

What to pack

Two sub-zero dawns and an afternoon in the cloud forest call for layers, not a parka. What actually earns its place, in a 25 to 30 litre pack:

The ID you booked with (national ID card or passport): the Machu Picchu ticket is nominative and checked at the gate.
Cash in soles, on the order of 250 to 350, exchanged in Cusco before day 1.
Thermal base layer, fleece and windbreaker: at 4:00 in Hanchipata it is properly cold, and at midday in the valley you are in a T-shirt.
Poncho or waterproof jacket, mandatory between November and March and advisable year-round for Aguas Calientes.
Broken-in trail shoes or boots: 1h30 uphill at Humantay, 1h20 at Vinicunca, 2h30 along the line and 40 minutes of steps.
Hat, sunglasses and high-factor sunscreen: at 5,200 m the sun burns even when it is cold. Repellent for the cloud forest.
A 1-litre bottle, snacks and coca sweets. Poles if you use them: the Intense does not list them as included.
A change of clothes and basic toiletries for Aguas Calientes, plus a power bank: the sunrise photo comes after 30 hours without a socket.

Who it is not for

The Intense is the pack you do with your legs, and it is worth saying before you pay. It is not for anyone with heart or respiratory problems: the listing says so for Vinicunca and it applies equally to Humantay. It is not for anyone who cannot walk two and a half hours straight with a daypack and, the next morning, 40 minutes of steps at 4:00: that part has no included bus version. Nor for anyone who wants Machu Picchu by train and with a hotel.

It is not for anyone with fewer than seven days in Cusco: five of pack plus one or two of acclimatisation is the real minimum. And it is not for anyone travelling with less than two months who needs a fixed Machu Picchu date with no margin. It is for the group of friends who want all four places in a single payment, do not mind three pre-dawn starts and would rather spend on days of touring than on a train.

If you have fewer days: Classics (4) and Icons (3)

Tuki's two shorter Cusco packs use the same route to Machu Picchu via Hidroeléctrica and the same pickup logic. Classics, 4 days for CLP $250,000 (≈US$260), drops Humantay and does Vinicunca via Cusipata on day 2, with the Machu Picchu ticket included when you book 7 days ahead. Icons, 3 days for CLP $220,000 (≈US$230), keeps only Vinicunca and Machu Picchu, and asks for at least one acclimatisation day in Cusco beforehand, because day 1 already climbs to 5,036 m.

Experiencia: cusco-completo-by-tuki-city-tour-montana-de-col — Desde $250.000

Experiencia: cusco-stars-by-tuki-montana-colores-machu-picchu — Desde $220.000

To plan the rest of the trip

This guide covers the five days of the Intense and nothing else. If you have not yet chosen between the three packs, the peso comparison is in <a href="https://tuki.cl/guias/cusco-3-4-5-dias-intense-classics-icons-2026">Cusco in 3, 4 or 5 days: Intense, Classics and Icons</a>. If what you need is the whole trip (total days, what to book before flying, ID or passport, budget with flights and hotel) it is in <a href="https://tuki.cl/guias/cusco-how-many-days-order-budget-2026">Cusco: how many days you need, the right tour order and a real peso budget</a>.

What matters fits in three lines: book two months ahead so the Machu Picchu ticket is inside the price, arrive in Cusco one or two days before the Sacred Valley, and exchange about 300 soles before the day 2 van comes past. Your legs do the rest.

Destino: machu-picchu

Frequently asked questions

What does each day of the 5-day Cusco Intense pack include?

Day 1, Sacred Valley with buffet lunch. Day 2, Humantay Lake at 4,200 m with breakfast and lunch. Day 3, Vinicunca via Hanchipata at 5,200 m with light breakfast and lunch. Day 4, van to Hidroeléctrica, 2h30 walk to Aguas Calientes, lunch, dinner and a hostel night. Day 5, walk up to Machu Picchu from 4:00, 2 h guided visit, breakfast and return to Cusco. Door-to-door transport and a guide in Spanish and English every day. Price CLP $270,000 per person as of 28 September 2026.

How much cash in soles do I need for Cusco Intense?

On the order of 250 to 350 soles per person for the five days: 25 to enter Humantay, 25 at Vinicunca, the Sacred Valley Tourist Ticket (about US$24, charged in soles), four or five meals not included at 15 to 25 soles each, plus water, snacks and tips. Add a cushion of 100 soles and about US$25 if you want the option of a horse or the bus at Machu Picchu. Exchange in Cusco before day 1: there are no ATMs on the route.

Is the Machu Picchu ticket included in Cusco Intense?

Yes, but only if you book at least two months in advance. With less time, the operator confirms real availability before charging and the date may move or an extra night in Aguas Calientes may be needed. If you buy the ticket yourself, in 2026 the standard circuit for a foreign adult costs on the order of 163 soles. The bus up and down is never included: you walk.

Where do you sleep on day 4 and which nights do I pay for?

Day 4 is spent in Aguas Calientes, in a hostel included in the price, with dinner and breakfast. It is the pack's only night. The Cusco nights are on you: the one before day 1 (ideally two), those of days 1, 2 and 3, and day 5, because the van reaches Cusco after dark. That is four or five nights in Cusco.

What is paid separately on Cusco Intense according to the listing?

Sacred Valley Tourist Ticket (approx. US$24, on site), Humantay Lake entrance (25 soles), Vinicunca entrance (25 soles), optional horses at Humantay or Vinicunca, the Aguas Calientes–Machu Picchu bus in both directions, accommodation in Cusco, breakfast and dinner on day 1 and unlisted meals, flights or buses to Cusco, and tips.

Why is the Sacred Valley on day 1 and Vinicunca on day 3?

Altitude. Cusco is at 3,400 m; the Valley touches 3,760 m at Chinchero and spends the rest of the day lower, with short walks. Humantay climbs to 4,200 m on day 2 and Vinicunca to 5,200 m on day 3, with two days of altitude already in your body. The listing asks for two or three days of acclimatisation before Vinicunca and days 1 and 2 do that job. Then Machu Picchu drops to 2,400 m.

What time do the excursions leave and how much do you walk each day?

Day 1 early pickup, a long vehicle day with short walks. Day 2 pre-dawn departure, 4 h by van, 1h30 up and 1 h down. Day 3 pre-dawn (Rainbow Mountain departures from Cusco leave between 4:00 and 5:00), 3h30 by bus and 1h20 on foot to the viewpoint. Day 4 early departure, about 6 h by van and 2h30 walking along the line. Day 5 a 40-minute climb of steps from 4:00 and back down on foot. Each day's exact time is confirmed by WhatsApp.

Who is Cusco Intense not for?

Anyone with heart or respiratory problems, anyone who cannot walk 2h30 straight with a daypack and 40 minutes of steps before dawn, anyone who wants Machu Picchu by train and with a hotel, anyone with fewer than seven days in Cusco, and anyone travelling with less than two months who needs a fixed Machu Picchu date with no margin. With fewer days, Classics (CLP $250,000, 4 days) or Icons (CLP $220,000, 3 days) use the same route via Hidroeléctrica.