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Best Day Hikes Cusco & Sacred Valley

Peru is famous for the Inca Trail and other multi-day hikes, but if you are short on time or looking for a day to acclimate for a multi-day trek, there are plenty of trails to discover in this part of Peru. From the snowcapped peaks of Rainbow Mountain and Ausangate 7 Lakes to the Sacred Valley Urubamba, These one-day day hikes are the best way to explore the amazing mountains in the Sacred Valley and Cusco. 

Best Day Hikes Cusco & Sacred Valley

Day Hikes in Cusco & Sacred Valley with a Local Guide

Join us on our Day hikes in Cusco and Sacred Valley! Peru is famous for the Inca Trail and other multi-day hikes, but if you are short on time or looking for a day to acclimate for a strenuous multi-day trek, there are plenty of excellent day hikes throughout the Sacred Valley and Cusco. These hikes are a great way to visit some of the rural communities and lesser-visited ruins throughout the Valley. 

For those with a few extra days to explore, Cusco and the Sacred Valley offers a great selection of amazing day hikes. The Sacred Valley of the Incas is a must-see destination in Peru. Just one hour away from Cusco, it’s a destination full of adventure, culture, and glimpses into local Andean life. The best hikes enable travelers to explore ancient Inca Ruins, remote mountain communities and stunning landscapes, then return to their hotel in time for dinner. Explore an Inca fortress perched atop a spectacular waterfall, Hike through ancient terraces with sweeping views of the Sacred Valley, Enjoy a picnic lunch from a unique vantage point over Ollantaytambo. Chat with local farmers and learn about a way of life that has remained largely unchanged since Inca times. 

Looking for a more serious multi-day hike, check out our Machu Picchu treks and our Alternative treks. The following are the best hiking experiences in Cusco and the Sacred Valley, these hikes are enhanced local experiences and you will be accompanied by your own local private tour guide.

Cusco - Sacred Valley Hike - Huaypo Lake
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Sacred Valley Hike Huaypo Lake, A Walk Through The Quinoa Fields Sacred Valley Hike Huaypo Lake Tour--Want to hike to go on an off-the-beaten path and explore
  • Hiking
  • Local Culture
  • Family
  • Culinary
  • Scenic Vistas
Full Day from
$ 120
Cusco - Huchuy Qosqo Ruins - Lamay - Sacred Valley
21
Sacred Valley Hike to Hidden Inca Ruins, Huchuy Qosqo Hike A full-day hike through the highlands of Cusco to Huchuy Qosqo ruins, with spectacular Andean scener
  • Hiking
  • Local Culture
  • Archaeology
  • Scenic Vistas
Full Day from
$ 160
Cusco - Pacchanta Village- Ausangate 7 Lakes
28
Ausangate 7 Lakes Day Trip from Cusco Explore one of the Highest Mountains in Peru, Ausangate on a day trip from Cusco. Avoid the massive crowds with our exclu
  • Hiking
  • Local Culture
  • Wildlife
  • Culinary
  • Scenic Vistas
Full Day from
$ 160
Cusco - Chinchero - Urquillos hike
29
Sacred Valley Hike, Hidden Inca Trail, Urquillos 1 Day Hike This is a picturesque and charming trail with impressive ancient Inca ruins, some remains of Inca T
  • Hiking
  • Local Culture
  • Archaeology
  • Family
  • Scenic Vistas
Full Day from
$ 160
Ollanta Train Station - Km 104 - Sun Gate - Machu Picchu
128
Experience our Private Short Inca Trail 2 Days to Machu Picchu Embark on the Short Inca Trail 2 days to Machu Picchu with a private tour guide - This is a perf
  • Hiking
  • Archaeology
  • Wildlife
  • Train journeys
  • Scenic Vistas
2 Days from
$ 690
Cusco - Rainbow Mountain - Red Valley
65
Experience our exclusive Private Rainbow Mountain Tour with late departure Experience the now-famous Rainbow Mountains Tour without the crowds with o
  • Hiking
  • Local Culture
  • Wildlife
  • Scenic Vistas
Full Day from
$ 150
Cusco - Soraypampa - Humantay Lake
42
Embark on the Humantay Lake Day Trip from Cusco Humantay Lake Day Tour from Cusco - Experience a one-day adventure to one of the most picturesque lakes in Peru
  • Hiking
  • Local Culture
  • Wildlife
  • Scenic Vistas
Full Day from
$ 150

Why Travel with us

Local Knowledge & Expertise

It's great to travel with professional experts from the same destination you are going, that's how you get first-hand information. With deep in-country knowledge, We know the ins and outs of all the logistics, we will ensure you can make the most of your time away.

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Your time is precious - we know that. Your experience is our top priority. No big bus groups, No flags to follow! Traveling with a private guide and driver you’ll do what you want, when you want with the freedom to change your plans on the fly.

Friendly Local Guides

Great sights don’t make an amazing tour. Great guides do! Our guides don’t read from a script, we give them the freedom to make each tour their own, and your experience unique. We love what we do and it shows. From the moment you arrive, you'll feel the buzz and excitement that Cusco Local Friend to offer.

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It’s not all about the destination, it’s also about the journey. We offer only the best itineraries and tours. As local experts, we know first-hand what tours or experiences are the ones that most travelers enjoy and request. Escape the crowds! Never waste any minute, never miss any highlight!

Reviews

Cusco Local Friend has been awarded the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence due to the most consistent 5-star reviews in Cusco, the Sacred Valley & Machu Picchu for exceptional levels of service and care.

Ammar B
Ammar B
September 4, 2023.
Tour with Abraham! People of Peru 🙂 Highly recommend Abraham! Was one of the highlights for our trip for sure and we enjoyed it thoroughly, definitely book and request him. He was so funny and we got to joke a lot throughout the whole trip. Peru is known for the people and Abraham is one of them for sure!
Romil B
Romil B
September 2, 2023.
Amazing Experience - Highly recommended We booked full day sacred valley tour with Cusco Local Friend and our experience was amazing. Let me start by mentioning the ease of booking the tour by chatting with Percy via Watsapp. Percy provided us complete guide on the tour in details and booking was done with in minutes. On the day the tour, we met our guide Juan Pablo. He was awesome. Throughout the whole tour from Pisac Ruins, Salt Mines, Moray to Tempe del sol - Juan Pablo provided us intricate details of the history of Peru and kept us engaged. Since we are vegetarians, Juan Pablo took extra precautions of finding a nice restaurant which catered to our dietary restrictions. I would highly recommend Cusco Local Friend for Sacred Valley Tours !!!
Getaway40980607404
Getaway40980607404
August 30, 2023.
Perfect Experience! Cusco Local Friend put together the perfect vacation package for my mother (77) and I. It included Ollantaytambo, The Sacred Valley, and Machu Picchu. Our entire experience with the company was an absolute pleasure. Abraham, our guide had a passion for sharing his knowledge of Inkan culture, and was a joy to be around. Each of our drivers (Romulo and Edgar) were skillful and made us feel safe and in good hands. Percy and Hugo were both available at any time to answer questions via instant message, and made sure that we knew what to expect on each leg of the journey, and made sure we have any necessary documents well in advance. I would book through Cusco Local Friend again in an instant.
Diana T
Diana T
August 29, 2023.
Interesting tour of Sacred Valley sites This tour was so informative and interesting! Our guide, Pablo, knew so much about the history of the sites we visited, we learned so much. He and the driver were friendly and nice. The sites we visited were some of our favorites on the trip. Would definitely recommend!
Shilesh J
Shilesh J
August 9, 2023.
Great Tours and Team My family of 3 found Cusco Local Friends (CLF) during online research. We were going to Peru for a wedding in Arequipa and decided to make an extended vacation out of the trip. Our private trip with CLF included a full day in Sacred Valley, late afternoon followed by early morning entrances to Machu Picchu, horse-back ride up to Humantay Lake, followed by Rainbow Mountain. The team I worked with these arrangements was Hugo primarily and Percy in the background paperwork. I worked extensively with Hugo via WhatsApp, email, and on the phone to plan the tour. Hugo gave great advice on the sequence to make sure we were properly acclimatized to high altitude prior to Humantay and Rainbow portions of the tour. Our guide was Ferdinand, and the driver was Edgar. Everyone in this team was just fantastic. I have the highest recommendation for CLF as tour operator. We were met at CUZ airport by Hugo and driver Edgar. The minivan was spacious, clean, and comfortable. During the drive into town, Hugo spent a lot of time explaining everything to us, went over the plans, and most importantly gave us great advice on what to eat, what to avoid, and how best to gradually acclimatize. He helped us change USD to PEN at a great rate, provided us with bottles of water before exiting the van as he left us in the capable hands of Edgar to drive us to Ollantaytambo. Hugo had advised us to visit a free site in Ollantaytambo adjacent to the actual ruins. We did that in the later afternoon. Our tour started the next day when we were met by Edgar and guide Ferdinand. Ferdinand spoke perfect English and was a pleasure company for entirety of our tours. He is knowledgeable of the history of all the sites we visited. He had the foresight of bringing us walking sticks for our downhill walks from Humantay Lake, which was a challenging walk for us. He helped in every possible way during the tours. The team even planned our trip schedule to Humantay to account for a road closure, to make sure we had the least amount of waiting time for the road to reopen. I cannot emphasize enough how this was slick planning. Peru is a great country to visit, the people are very friendly and there is so much more to explore. We barely covered a small portion in capable hands of CLF team. My family thanks Hugo, Ferdinand, Edgar, and Percy for a great, safe, informative introduction to a small portion of Peru. I recommend CLF without any reservations. PS: I forgot to add that Hugo gave a complimentary ride from hotel to CUZ airport day after our final trip. See my review in google for pictures
MFerraro
MFerraro
August 4, 2023.
Absolutely perfect & wonderful friends Hugo, Abraham & their team were beyond incredible. They became friends from the moment we met them. It was such a pleasure having them w our group throughout our stay as they made everything effortless on our end. They have every piece of information you need and/or want & were incredibly knowledgeable & passionate about sharing their knowledge w us. They were able to answer every question we had about the history of Peru & all the wonderful sights we saw on our adventure together. Thank you Hugo for your incredible team. Can’t wait to come back & see you again.
Francesca B
Francesca B
August 3, 2023.
Good views, great experiences, excellent staff! This tour was worth every dollar spent! Our group was able to see so much of the Sacred Valley while traveling comfortably and having lots of fun. Our tour guides Hugo and Abraham were very kind, knowledgeable, efficient and had a trip packed full of adventures for us. We experienced Machupicchu while our guides passionately explained the history. They truly thought of everything and we hardly waited in any lines since they knew the most efficient times to visit. I would absolutely do this tour again if I ever visit Peru again! Will recommend to anyone visiting the Sacred Valley.
Lily Z
Lily Z
August 3, 2023.
Amazing experience These guys are pros! They have a wealth of history knowledge and were so attentive to our groups needs. They made our trip more full filling and they treated us like family!
Katie S
Katie S
August 3, 2023.
Amazing experience and awesome guides! Hugo and Abraham were excellent guides. They were knowledgeable, caring, and friendly. Couldn’t have asked for a better experience in Cusco! Highly recommend!!
Marissa L
Marissa L
August 2, 2023.
Amazing experience with the best guides! Hugo and Abraham are the best guides ever! They welcomed and guided us through Cusco for a week with Kula Adventures. We had the best experiences and quickly became family by the end of the trip. Hugo and Abraham are so warm, welcoming, and passionate which made our trip so memorable and powerful!

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