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Departures:
Weekly. Itineraries are flexible.
Day 1 Monday
- 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 Tuesday - 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 Wednesday - 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 Thursday - 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 Friday - 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, 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
6 Saturday - Arequipa / Colca Canyon
Breakfast at your hotel. 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. Continue to La Calera
to enjoy the thermal baths under the stars. (B,L,D)
Day
7 Sunday - Colca Canyon / Puno
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, which grants visitors spectacular
views of condors wheeling across the Colca Canyon, the world's
deepest. Drive a little further in to the canyon to see some pre-Inca
ruins, pre-Inca burial grounds, to watch the way of life in this
remote land and to admire the impressive irrigation system and
the fertile mountains terraced for farming of the Colca valley.
The afternoon ride to Puno features unique natural scenery of
the Peruvian Highlands. (B,L)
Day
8 Monday - Puno
Breakfast at your hotel. Visit to the Uros Indian and Taquile
Island at Lake Titikaka - This full day excursion will take you
to the highest navigable lake in the world, to visit the floating
islands of the Uros Indians, considered themselves Lords of the
Lake, and they were convinced they had black blood because they
did not feel the cold of the lake and the winter. Continuing to
Taquile where a native community of about 400 families still lives
with the traditions of the XIV century that respect the principals
of an Incan way life. Taquile is a very important site on Lake
Titikaka for its a archeological remains, the sacred and ceremonial
sites, the festive activities, their rituals and for the daily
life of the inhabitants which is dedicated to farming, textile
production and fishing. (B,L)
Day
9 Tuesday - Puno / Cusco
Breakfast at your hotel. Bus journey through the Peruvian
Andes from Puno - Today one of South America's most extraordinary
overland trips takes you by bus to Cusco passing through striking
highland scenery and picturesque Andean villages. Upon your arrival
in Cusco, the former capital of the Inca Empire, a host will meet
and assist you in transferring to the hotel and help you to register.
(B,L)
Day
10 Wednesday - Cusco
Breakfast at your hotel. Free morning. 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
11 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
12 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
13 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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