Departures: Weekly. Itineraries are flexible.
Day 1 - Arrival in Lima
Upon arrival at the airport a host will meet and assist you in transferring to the hotel and help you in registering.
Day 2 - Lima
Breakfast at your hotel. City Tour of Lima and Larco Museum - This half day tour visits both the colonial and modern sections of this "City of Kings." Colonial sites include the lovely Plaza de Armas with its cathedral and palace, and the exquisite Torre Tagle Palace, modern day seat of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In modern Lima, drive along the exclusive residential areas of Miraflores and San Isidro. Continue to the Larco Museum, founded in 1926, which showcases remarkable chronological galleries providing an excellent overview on 3000 years of development of Peruvian pre-Columbian history. Located in a unique vice-royal mansion of the 18th century built over a 7th century pre-Columbian pyramid, it is surrounded by beautiful gardens. It features the finest gold and silver collection from Ancient Peru and the famous erotic archaeological collection, one of the most visited Peruvian tourist attractions. (B)
Day 3 - Lima / Ica
Breakfast at your hotel. Nazca Lines 2 Day Excursion with Overnight in Ica, Locally Hosted - Today you'll travel by regular service motor coach along the Peruvian coast to Ica (a four hour ride). Upon arrival in Ica a local host will transfer you to the airport for a flight over the Nazca Lines. Are they merely huge figures or could they be extraterrestrial landing fields? Late Lunch at the hotel Las Dunas. After lunch visit the Archaeological Museum of Ica AND HUACACHINA LAGOON. Dinner. (B,L,D)
Day 4 - Ica / Paracas / Lima
Breakfast at your hotel. Ballestas Islands Excursion - Early morning transfer to Paracas Hotel were you'll take a yacht ride to the Ballestas Islands passing the Candelabro. These islands, also known as the Guano Islands, have large concentrations of sea birds and sea lions in their natural environment. FREE TIME FOR DUNE BUGGIES. Lunch at your hotel. Evening arrival in Lima. (B,L)
Day 5 - Lima / Iquitos / Ceiba Tops
Breakfast at your hotel. Transfer to the airport for your flight to Iquitos. Reception at the airport, brief city orientation and transfer to the Explorama dock. Twenty-five mile journey down the Amazon River to Ceiba Tops, where rooms with air conditioning and private bathrooms provide the comforts of home in the rainforest. Afternoon hike in the beautiful primary rainforest reserve surrounding the lodge which includes many huge trees festooned with epiphytes. After dinner there may be local flute or guitar music at the El Toucan Bar or the guides are always ready to relate some of the many legends of the Amazon forest. Overnight Ceiba Tops. (B,L,D)
Day 6 - Ceiba Tops
Morning boat ride, spotting for dolphins, to visit a small village of Yagua Indians where your guide will explain the local Yagua Indian culture and how it was affected by the arrival of Europeans and the passing of time. There will also be an opportunity to see some of the local crafts and for a demonstration of the blowgun which some of the Yagua elders still use for hunting. Afternoon walking excursion to the neighbouring town of Indiana. Originally a Franciscan mission, Indiana has grown into a large river community with its own market, high school and small hospital. Overnight Ceiba Tops. (B,L,D)
Day 7 - Ceiba Tops / Iquitos / Lima
Your choice of morning walking or boating excursion to enjoy further the rainforest and Amazon River. Afternoon transfer to Iquitos and to the airport. Upon arrival at the airport a host will meet and assist you in transferring to the hotel and help you in registering. (B, Lunch (if departure flight permits))
Day 8 - Lima / Chiclayo
Breakfast at your hotel. Transfer to the airport for your flight to Chiclayo. Upon arrival at the airport a host will meet you and assist you in transferring to the hotel and help you in registering. Visit the complex of Huaja Rajada which comprises two huge pyramids made of adobe in front of which there is a platform which is said to have contained the royal mausoleum. The intact remains of an important Mochica ruler known as the Lord of Sipan were discovered here in 1987. Then continue to the Royal Tombs of Sipan Museum, a museum inaugurated in November 2002. Rated as one of the most outstanding archaeological museums in South America, the building is modelled after an ancient pyramid of the region. Here you can find a reconstruction of the tomb of Sipan, dubbed the "Tutankhamen of the Americas" because of the golden splendour of his tomb : hundreds of pieces of pottery and exquisite gold jewellery. (B)
Day 9 - Chiclayo / Trujillo
Breakfast at your hotel. Transfer in bus to Trujillo. Upon arrival a host will meet and assist you in transferring to the hotel and help you in registering. In the afternoon visit the city of Trujillo, known as "the City of the Eternal Spring", where you will visit the Main Square, the Cathedral and the beautiful residential and commercial areas which contain grandiose colonial houses and well preserved porches, balconies and churches such as the Colonial Mansions of "Casa Iturregui" and "Casa Bracamonte". Transfer to the National University of Trujillo Museum, that contains cultural expressions of Peru´s diverse Pre-Hispanic epochs such as : ceramics, weavings, metal, etc. (B)
Day 10 - Trujillo / Lima
Breakfast at your hotel. Visit to Chan Chan, the former capital of Chimu Empire. This Empire reached its apogee in the 15th century, not long before falling to the Incas. The planning of this huge city, the largest in pre-Columbian America, reflects a strict political and social strategy, marked by the city's division into nine 'citadels' or 'palaces' forming autonomous units. This pre-Columbian adobe city is famous for its archaeological site in South America! From Chan Chan you will visit the seaside village of Huanchaco, known for its totora seahorses - a typical small reed boat used for fishing. Then visit one of the most important centres of the ancient Moche. This pre-Inca civilization, a warrior culture, once dominated the valleys of the northern coast of Peru. Experience the amazing adobe engineering of the Temple of the Sun (sol), the tallest pyramid in the Americas at a height of 48 metres, which is estimated to have involved over 200,000 workers in its construction and over 140 million adobe bricks. Steps away is the temple of the Moon (Luna), the Moche political centre where recently uncovered friezes of mystical images are believed to belong to a divinity of sacrifices. Transfer to the airport for your flight to Lima. Upon arrival at the airport a host will meet you and assist you in transferring to the hotel and help you in registering (B)
Day 11 - Lima / Arequipa
Breakfast at your hotel. Transfer to the airport for your flight to Arequipa. Upon arrival at the airport a host will meet and assist you in transferring to the hotel and help you in registering. Arequipa City Tour and Santa Catalina Convent - Your half day sightseeing of this beautiful city, placed on the World Cultural Heritage list by UNESCO, features Mixed Baroque churches and mansions from the Colonial Period like the Monastery of Santa Catalina, called "a city within a city", a Spanish city in miniature with stone streets, beautiful patios, and plaza. It is a masterpiece of colonial architecture, and houses some of the finest examples of Spanish American religious art. Since 1970 visitors have been able to stroll through the streets and cloisters that during colonial times were the refuge of female nobility who had decided to shut themselves away from the world and dedicate their lives entirely to prayer. (B)
Day 12 - Arequipa / Colca Canyon
Breakfast at your hotel. Early departure towards the highlands passing through Yura-Pampa Cañahuas and La Pulpera with good possibility of observing groups of wild vicuñas and fighting cattle. Stop en route to see petrogliphs in the Caves of Mollepunco and in the town of Callali to see natural hill formations with the appearance of enchanted castles. Continue to La Calera to enjoy the thermal baths under the stars. (B,L,D)
Day 13 - Colca Canyon / Puno
Breakfast at your hotel. To maximize your probability of seeing condors we depart very early towards the "Cross of the Condor" at about an altitude of 15,000 feet, which grants visitors spectacular views of condors wheeling across the Colca Canyon, the world's deepest. Drive a little further in to the canyon to see some pre-Inca ruins, pre-Inca burial grounds, to watch the way of life in this remote land and to admire the impressive irrigation system and the fertile mountains terraced for farming of the Colca valley. The afternoon ride to Puno features unique natural scenery of the Peruvian Highlands. (B,L)
Day 14 - Puno WITH OVERNIGHT IN LAKE TITIKAKA
Breakfast at your hotel. TWO DAY EXCURSION Visit to the Uros Indian and Taquile Island at Lake Titikaka - This full day excursion will take you to the highest navigable lake in the world, to visit the floating islands of the Uros Indians, considered themselves Lords of the Lake, and they were convinced they had black blood because they did not feel the cold of the lake and the winter. Continuing to Taquile where a native community of about 400 families still lives with the traditions of the XIV century that respect the principals of an Incan way life. Taquile is a very important site on Lake Titikaka for its archeological remains, the sacred and ceremonial sites, the festive activities, their rituals and for the daily life of the inhabitants which is dedicated to farming, textile production and fishing. (B,L)
Day 15 - Return to Puno
Day 16 Puno / Cusco
Breakfast at your hotel. Bus journey through the Peruvian Andes from Puno – Today, one of South America's most extraordinary overland trips takes you by bus to Cusco passing through striking highland scenery and picturesque Andean villages. Upon your arrival in Cusco, the former capital of the Inca Empire, a host will meet and assist you in transferring to the hotel and help you to register. (B,L)
Day 17 - Cusco
Breakfast at your hotel. Free morning. Tour of Cusco and its Ruins - This afternoon's tour of the oldest continuously inhabited city in the western hemisphere includes important landmarks of enchanting Cusco and also the nearby ruins of Kenko, Puca-pucara, Tambomachay as well as the Sacsayhuaman fortress. Once the centre of the Inca civilization, modern Cusco is a delightful combination of Inca and colonial architecture. During the tour, you will visit Cusco's Cathedral, Santo Domingo Church and the Plaza de Armas. (B)
Day 18 - Cusco / Machu Picchu
We will pick you up at your hotel and take you to San Pedro railway station to board the train that will take us to km.104 on the Cusco to Machupicchu railway (starting point of the trek), where we will arrive at around 10:00 am. We start visiting the Chachabamba archaeological complex (7095 ft above sea level), located very close to the control point, then to embark upon an 8 km ascending trail, which after four hours will take us to the archaeological complex of Wiñaywayna (8,910 ft above sea level). This is an impressive complex made up of an agricultural centre with numerous terraces, a religious sector and an urban sector. On the way up we will have magnificent views of the Urubamba River valley and the Choquesuysuy archaeological complex located on the other side of the river, and also of a beautiful waterfall located just a few minutes away from Wiñaywayna. We will then go on and climb to Intipunku, or The Sun Gate. This will take an hour of hiking along a trail of flat stones on the edges of cliffs in the highland jungle. From this fabulous spot, we will contemplate the sacred citadel of Machu Picchu. From Intipunku we will descend to Machu Picchu and then by bus to Aguas Calientes. Accommodation and overnight at the selected hotel. Breakfast and Lunch are included. (B,L)
Day 19 - - Machu Picchu / Cusco
We will pick you up early from your hotel, board a bus to go up to Machu Picchu and then immediately begin a complete guided tour of the Inca citadel that will take approximately two hours. You will then have free time to walk around, climb the Huaynapicchu Mountain, where one can experience spectacular views of all of Machu Picchu, the valleys and mountains that surround it, or visit the Temple of the Moon and the fabulous Inca Bridge. In the afternoon, we will meet in the town of Aguas Calientes where, if you like, you can visit and relax in the thermal baths. From here we will take the train back to the city of Cusco, where we will arrive after nightfall. Breakfast and Lunch are included. (B,L)
Day 20 - Cusco / Sacred Valley / Cusco
Breakfast at your hotel. Full Day Excursion to the Pisac Indian Market and the Ollantaytambo Fortress (Tu, Th, Su) -Morning departure for a drive through the fertile countryside to the colonial village of Pisac. During your visit to the bustling marketplace you will have the opportunity to bargain with the natives for many different types of Peruvian handicrafts and jewellery. After lunch the tour continues to the village of Ollantaytambo for a visit to its impressive Incan fortress. In the afternoon return to Cusco. (B,L)
Day 21 - Cusco / Machu Picchu / Cusco
Breakfast at your hotel. Transfer from hotel to the airport for your flight to Lima and then take your connecting flight to home. (B)
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