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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. 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)
*** END OF OUR
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Departures:
Weekly. Itineraries are flexible.
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Hotels to use: Please
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