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Departures:
Weekly. Itineraries are flexible.
Day
1 Sunday - 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 Monday – Lima
Breakfast at your hotel. In the afternoon 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, it 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, is surrounded by beautiful gardens. 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 Tuesday – 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.
In the afternoon 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 entirely to prayer. (B)
Day
4 Wednesday – Arequipa / Colca Canyon
Breakfast at your hotel. Colca Canyon 2 Day/1 Night - 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. Drive
to La Calera to enjoy the thermal baths under the stars. Return
to Chivay for overnight. (B,L,D)
Day
5 Thursday – Colca Canyon / Arequipa
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. Drive a little further in
to the canyon to see some pre-Inca ruins and watch the way of
life in this remote land. Return to Chivay for lunch and afternoon
return to Arequipa. (B,L)
Day
6 Friday – Arequipa / Cusco
Breakfast
at your hotel. Transfer to the airport for your flight to Cusco.
Upon arrival at the airport a host will meet and assist you in
transferring to the hotel and help you in registering. 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 center
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
7 Saturday - Cusco / Sacred Valley
Breakfast
at your hotel. Full Day Excursion to Moray, Maras and Quechuas
(Daily) – Pass through unspoiled and picturesque Andean communities
on your way to the Incan agricultural experimental center of Moray,
famous for its sunken amphitheater, made up of four circular terraces,
which appear to fade away into the earth like an artificial crater.
The site was apparently an Inca agricultural research station
filled with fertile earth and watered by complex irrigation systems,
designed for experimenting with crops at various altitudes (some
of which run down to depths of 100 meters).
Continue to the impressive Maras salt pools formed by water emerging
from a lake inside a mountain in the Urubamba Valley. An amazing
view of evaporating ponds for the extraction of salt. Learn about
ancestral techniques, which are still used, in agricultural, irrigation
and salt-recollection tasks, as well as in Andean festivals and
rites. After lunch, visit an authentic Quechua Village to feel
the way of life of the Inca's ancestors. The Inca himself was
a noble Quechua. They live off the land and are always wearing
their colorful ponchos, see Quechua children scamper about while
woman are weaving their family's clothes. A meaningful experience!
(B,L).
Day
8 Sunday - Sacred Valley
Breakfast
at your hotel. Full Day Excursion to the Pisac Indian Market and
the Ollantaytambo Fortress (Daily) -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 jewelry. After lunch the tour continues
to the village of Ollantaytambo for a visit to its impressive
Inca fortress.(BL)
Day
9 Monday – Sacred Valley / Machu Picchu
Breakfast
at your hotel. Excursion to Machu Picchu with overnight stay -
Early wake up for a train ride through the sacred valley of Urubamba
to the "Lost City of the Incas," Machu Picchu. Perched 8,200 feet
above the valley, it was hidden by mountains and semi-tropical
jungles for 400 years until discovered by Hiram Bingham of Yale
University in 1911. Archaeologists believe that the Inca "Virgins
of the Sun" took refuge from the Spanish Conquistadors here. Guided
tour of the ruins and lunch are included. (B,L).
Day
10 Tuesday – Machu Picchu / Cusco
Breakfast
at your hotel. Free morning to enjoy one of the most incredible
sights on earth, the ruins of Machu Picchu. Take as much time
as you need to study the mysterious ruins, hike Huayna Picchu,
stroll to the Inca Bridge or walk toward the Inca Trail to find
the legendary Sun Gate. Afternoon shuttle bus to the train station
for your return trip to Cusco. Upon arrival transfer from rail
station to hotel. (B)
Day
11 Wednesday – Cusco
Breakfast
at your hotel. Free day in Cusco for independent activities -
Wandering through this lovely city, exploring the astonishing
narrow streets of this tile roof colonial town will be your unforgettable
experience. Great buys are the traditional Peruvian handicrafts,
alpaca-wool sweaters and rugs, ponchos, pottery, gold and silver
jewelry, leather goods, etc. Because there is such a variety of
products, we strongly suggest that when you like any particular
item, you should buy it - you may not find the same item in other
store. (B)
Day
12 Thursday – Cusco / Puerto Maldonado / Posada Amazonas
Breakfast at your hotel.
Transfer to the airport for your flight to Puerto Maldonado. Upon
arrival from Cusco, we will welcome you at the airport and drive
you ten minutes to our Puerto Maldonado headquarters. While enjoying
your first taste of the forest in our gardens we will ask you
to pack only the necessary gear for your next few days, and leave
the rest at our safe deposit. This helps us keep the boats and
cargo light. Puerto Maldonado to Tambopata River Port. Skirting
Puerto Maldonado, we drive 20 kilometers to the Tambopata River
Port, entering the Native Community of Infierno. The port is a
communal business. Boxed Lunch.
Tambopata River Port to Posada Amazonas. The forty five minute
boat ride from the Tambopata Port to Posada Amazonas will take
us into the Community´s Primary Forest Private Reserve.
Orientation. Upon arrival, the lodge manager will welcome you
and brief you with important navigation and security tips.
A twenty minute walk from Posada Amazonas leads to the 30 meter
scaffolding canopy tower. A bannistered staircase running through
the middle provides safe access to the platforms above. From atop
you obtain spectacular views of the vast expanses of standing
forest cut by the Tambopata River winding through the middle.
Now and then toucans, parrots or macaws are seen flying against
the horizon, or mixed species canopy flocks land in the treetop
next to you. Dinner. Ecotourism Lecture. A daily presentation
on the Infierno ecotourism project is available every night from
a staff member. Overnight in Posada Amazonas.
(B,L,D)
Day
13 Friday – Posada Amazonas
Breakfast.
Tres Chimbadas Oxbow Lake: Tres Chimbadas is thirty minutes by
boat and forty five minutes hiking from Posada Amazonas. Once
there you will paddle around the lake in a catamaran, searching
for the resident family of nine giant river otters (seen by 60%
of our lake visitors) and other lakeside wildlife such as caiman,
hoatzin and horned screamers.
Parrot clay lick: This clay lick is only a twenty minute walk
from Posada Amazonas. From a blind located about twenty meters
away you will see dozens of parrots and parakeets descend on most
clear mornings to ingest the clay on a river bank. Species such
as Mealy and Yellow- headed Amazon, Blue-headed Parrot and Dusky
headed Parakeet descend at this clay lick. The clay lick is most
active at dawn and during the late mornings and mid-afternoons.
Lunch.
Ethnobotanical Tour: A twenty minute boat drive downriver leads
you to a trail designed by the staff of the Centro Ñape.
The Centro Ñape is a communal organization that produces
medicines out of forest plants and administers them to patients
who choose their little clinic. They have produced a trail which
explains the different medicinal (and other) uses of selected
plants.
Dinner. Night walk. You will have the option of hiking out at
night, when most of the mammals are active but rarely seen. Much
easier to find are frogs with shapes and sounds as bizarre as
their natural histories. Overnight in Posada Amazonas.
(B,L,D)
Day
14 Saturday – Posada Amazonas / Puerto Maldonado / Lima / Home
Breakfast.
Transfer Boat - Posada Amazonas to Tambopata River Port. Transfer
Tambopata River Port to Pto Maldonado Headquarters. Transfer Pto
Maldonado Headquarters - Airport. We retrace our river and road
journey back to Puerto Maldonado for our flight to
Lima and then take your connecting flight to home. (B)
*** END OF OUR
SERVICES ***
Departures:
Weekly. Itineraries are flexible.
Tour Includes: Please
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Hotels to use: Please
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Useful Information: Please
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