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Departures:
Weekly. Itineraries are flexible.
Day 1 Wednesday
- 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 Thursday - 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, 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 Friday - Lima / Ica
Breakfast at your hotel. Nazca Lines 2 Day Excursion with
Overnight in Ica, Locally Hosted - Today you'll travel by bus
(Cruz del Sur) 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? Lunch is included.
After lunch visit the Archaeological Museum of Ica. Dinner is
included. (B,L,D)
Day
4 Saturday - Ica / 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. Lunch is included. Evening arrival in Lima.
(B,L)
Day
5 Sunday - Lima / Puerto Maldonado / Posada Amazonas
Breakfast at your hotel. Transfer to the airport for your
flight to Puerto Maldonado. Upon
arrival from Lima, 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
6 Monday - 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
7 Tuesday - Posada Amazonsa / Puerto Maldonado / Cusco
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 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
8 Wednesday - Cusco / Machu Picchu / Cusco
Breakfast
at your hotel. Full Day Excursion to Machu Picchu - 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 upon arrival. All transfers are included.
Lunch is at the Orient Express' Sanctuary Lodge located just a
few steps from the Inca citadel. Afternoon return to Cusco. (B,L)
Day
9 Thursday - Cusco / Sacred Valley / Cusco
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
Incan fortress. In the afternoon return to Cusco. (B,L)
Day
10 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
11 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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