From Cusco: South Valley, Tipón & Andahuaylillas

South Valley Short Description Explore Cusco’s South Valley and visit Tipón, Pikillaqta, and Andahuaylillas on a half-day journey through history, culture, and beautiful Andean landscapes.
The sightseeing tour starts with pick-up from Cusco's Main Square or nearby hotels between 8:30 and 8:50 a.m. Our guide will contact you to make arrangements. We'll set off at 9:00 am heading south and, after about 40 minutes, we'll arrive at the Choquepata community, the main access to the archaeological park, where we'll see an exhibit of the first photographs of Machu Picchu, interpreted by an archaeologist. Here you can buy snacks, souvenirs, or use the restrooms.

In 10 minutes, we'll arrive at TIPÓN, known as the Temple of Water for its stone canals, ceremonial fountains, and terraces that, after more than 500 years, are still in operation. It was a royal estate associated with Inca Viracocha in the 15th century and is a masterpiece of Inca engineering. The water comes from a spring at the top and flows through the site in channels with different gradients to control its speed. The Main Fountain stands out, dividing the water into four jets, corresponding to the four suyus of the Tahuantinsuyu. Its 12 terraces may have served as an agricultural experimentation center similar to Moray.

We'll then pass through Oropesa, the National Capital of Bread, famous for pan chuta, a large sweet bread measuring 30 to 40 cm and baked in wood-fired clay ovens with anise, panela sugar, and butter. Here, you can try it and use the restrooms.

After 15 minutes, we'll visit PIKILLAQTA, in Lucre, one of the best-preserved pre-Inca cities in Peru. It was built by the Wari culture between 600 and 1000 AD as an administrative center from which it dominated the Cusco Valley. Its Quechua name means "town of fleas." It stands out for its grid-based layout, with more than 700 structures, straight streets, and stone and adobe walls up to 12 meters high, originally whitewashed. Nearby are the Rumicolca Gate, an ancient Wari aqueduct converted by the Incas into an access control gate to Cusco, and the Huacarpay Lagoon.

We'll end the tour in ANDAHUAYLILLAS, with its Temple of San Pedro Apóstol, known as the "Sistine Chapel of the Americas." Built between the late 16th and early 17th centuries on Inca structures, its simple façade conceals an Andean Baroque interior covered with murals, paintings from the Cusco School, altarpieces with gold leaf, and a Mudejar ceiling. Highlights include the mural "The Way to Heaven and The Way to Hell" by Luis de Riaño, the baptistery portal with inscriptions in five languages, and its two colonial organs, among the oldest in the Americas. Photography is not permitted inside.

We will return to Cusco at around 3:30 PM (depending on traffic), dropping you off one block away from Plaza de Armas.

To guarantee availability book as soon as possible. Early booking is worth consideration especially if you planning the trip during high season like public holidays or weekends.

This excursion you can cancel with no cost up to 24 hours before the start of the trip. If you cancel it after 24 hours or not show up on the excursion you will still be charged the full price of the activity. Being late on pick-up or departure will be considered as not showing up.