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Departures:
Weekly. Itineraries are flexible.
Day 1 Tuesday
- 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 Wednesday – 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 Thursday – Lima / Chiclayo
Breakfast at your hotel. Transfer to the airport for your
flight to Chiclayo. Upon arrival at the airport a host will meet
and assist you in transferring to the hotel and help you in registering.
Visit the complex of Huaja Rajada which comprises two huge pyramids
mad of adobe mud in front of which there is a platform which is
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 modeled 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 splendor of his tomb :
hundreds of pieces of pottery and exquisite gold jewelry. (B)
Day
4 Friday – 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
5 Saturday – 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 seashore village of Huanchaco,
known for its totora seahorses - a typical small reed boat used
for fishing. Then visit one of the most important centers 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 meters,
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 center 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
and assist you in transferring to the hotel and help you in registering.
(B)
Day
6 Sunday – Lima / Nazca
Breakfast at your hotel. Transfer in bus to Nazca. Upon arrival
a host will meet and assist you in transferring to the hotel and
help you in registering. (B)
Day
7 Monday – Nazca
Breakfast at your hotel.
Morning flight over the Nazca Lines that form drawings of birds,
spiders, fishes, a monkey, and even a few unidentifiable creatures.
What are these mysterious line formations of gigantic figures
and who made them?…Visit to the Cantayoc aqueducts, close to town,
a complex system of underground aqueducts that allowed the Nazca
culture to take advantage of underground water provides evidence
of this culture´s technological development in the exploitation
of the land. They belong to the Nazca culture (550 AD) and are
located in the Nazca, Taruga and Las Trancas valleys. These aqueducts
were built in stone by "hydraulic engineers" of the Nazca Culture.
It consists of a network of irrigation channels and underground
aqueducts. These Aqueducts are really filtering galleries which
can reach down to around 12 meters in depth. The channels have
air vents which form spirals that descend to the water current
and are still in use today by local farmers. Then visit to the
Antonini Museum opened in 1999 that displays the discoveries of
Professor Orefici and his team in the pre-Incan city Cahuachi.
Supposedly the discoveries hold the key to understanding the Nazca
lines. This Italian initiative presents finds of the sophisticated
Nazca culture and details the process of archaeological excavations.
(B)
Day
8 Tuesday – Nazca / Paracas
Breakfast at your hotel. Visit to The National Reserve of
Pampa Galeras was established in 1967. This reserve is made up
of 6500 hectares which are owned by the peasant community Lucanas
located in the department of Ayacucho, province and district of
Lucanas. The vicuna (Vicugna vicugna) is the most representative
animal in Pampa Galeras and the purpose of this reserve is to
protect these animals. We can also find the guanaco (Lama guanicoe),
which live free in the pampas. The most impressive bird is the
Andean condor (Vultor gryphus); we can see the pissaca (Nothoprocta
ornata) and the kiula (Tinamotis penhaldii) as well. With regard
to the birds, we can also find the pato jerga (Anas georgica)
and the pato sutro (Anas flavirosatris). Transfer to Paracas.
(B,BL)
Day
9 Wednesday – Paracas / Lima
Breakfast at your hotel. Ballestas Islands Excursion - Early
morning 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. Afternoon return to Lima by regular bus.
(B)
Day
10 Thursday – 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
11 Friday – 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
12 Saturday – 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
13 Sunday – 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
14 Monday – 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
15 Tuesday – 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.(B,L)
Day
16 Wednesday – 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
17 Thursday – 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
18 Friday – 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
19 Saturday – Cusco / Lima / Home
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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Departures:
Weekly. Itineraries are flexible.
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