DESCRIPTIVE ITINERARY

PERUVIAN TREASURES # 27     12 Days / 11 Nights
Lima, Chiclayo, Trujillo, Arequipa, The Colca Canyon, Cusco, Pisac Indian Market and Ollantaytambo Fortress, Machu Picchu
 

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. 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. Tranfer 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,L)

Day 6 Sunday - 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 includes a visit to the Spanish Colonial Monastery of Santa Catalina, called "a city within a city", which lay closed to the layman and shrouded in mystery for over 400 years. This remarkable relic of colonial times now is open to the public. (B)

Day 7 Monday - 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 8 Tuesday - 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 9 Wednesday - 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 10 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 11 Friday - 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 12 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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