Peru The Grand Tour

21 Days / 20 Nights

Lima, Ica, Paracas, Ballestas Island, Nazca Lines, Pampa Galeras Reserve, Arequipa, the Colca Canyon, Puno and Lake Titicaca, Uros Islands and Taquile, Cusco, Pisac Indian Market, Ollantaytambo Fortress, Maras Salt Pools, the Sacred Valley of the Incas and Machu Picchu with overnight stay.

Day 1: 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: Lima

Breakfast at your hotel. Tour of Colonial and Modern Lima - 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. (B)

Day 3: Lima / Paracas

Breakfast at your hotel. Transfer to the bus station to take a bus to Paracas. Upon arrival at the airport a host will meet and assist you in transferring to the hotel and help you in registering. Visit to the Paracas National Reserve and Museum of Paracas. (B,D)

Day 4: Paracas / Ica / Nazcas

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. Private transfer to Ica. Visit of Ica's Regional Museum, one of the most important regional museums in Peru. This Museum, although it is very small, disposes of a great variety of archeological pieces such as pottery and textiles from Nazca and Paracas, which were developed in this area. Bus transfer to Nazca. Upon arrival a host will meet and assist you in transferring to the hotel and help you in registering. (B,L,D)

Day 5: Nazca

Breakfast at your hotel. Transfer to the airport for a flight over the Nazca Lines. Are they merely huge figures or could they be extraterrestrial landing fields? 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 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 , which live free in the pampas. The most impressive bird is the Andean condor; we can see the pissaca and the kiula as well. With regard to the birds, we can also find the pato jerga and the pato sutro. (B,L,D)

Day 6: Nazca / Arequipa

Breakfast at your hotel. 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. Transfer to the bus station to take a bus to Arequipa. (B,L)

Day 7: Arequipa

Upon arrival a host will meet you and assist you in transferring to the hotel and help you in registering. In the afternoon, 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 is open to the public now. (B)

Day 8: Arequipa / Colca Canyon

Breakfast at your hotel. Colca Canyon 3 day/2 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.(B,L,D)

Day 9: Colca Canyon

Breakfast at your hotel. Today, visit La Calera to enjoy the thermal baths. Return to Chivay. (B,L,D)

Day 10: 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 11: Arequipa / Puno

Breakfast at your hotel. Transfer to bus station to take the regular service motorcoach to Puno. Upon arrival a host will meet you and assist you in transferring to the hotel and help you in registering.(B)

Day 12: Uros Island and Taquile Islands on Lake Titikaka

Breakfast at your hotel. Visit to the Uros Indian and Taquile Island at the Titikaka Lake - This half 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 were convinced they had black blood because they did not feel the cold of the lake in 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 it archaeological remains, the sacred and ceremonial sites, the festive activities, their rituals and for the daily life of the inhabitants who are devoted to farming, textile production and fishing.(B,L)

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Day 13: Puno / Cusco

Breakfast at your hotel. 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, a host will meet and assist you in transferring to the hotel and help you to register. Lunch is included. (B,L)

Day 14: Cusco

Breakfast at your hotel. Afternoon tour of the ancient capital of the Inca Empire. Visitors are caught up in the excitement of this city. The tour includes a visit to the Cathedral and Santo Domingo Church, passing the main streets and Plaza de Armas. You will walk through the most astonihing Cusco streets to reach the San Blas Church. Cusco is a delightful combination of Inca and Colonial architecture. The tour includes a visit to the ruins of Kenko, Puca-pucara, Tambomachay and to the Sacsayhuaman fortress.(B)

Day 15: Cusco / The Urubamba Valley

Breakfast at your hotel. Full Day Excursion to the Pisac Indian Market and the Ollantaytambo Fortress (Tu, Th, Su) - Tour begins with a drive through the fertile countryside to the colonial village of Pisac. During your visit to this bustling marketplace you will have the opportunity to bargain with the local artisans for many different types of Peruvian handicraft and jewelry. Alter lunch, the tour continues to the village of Ollantaytambo, an ancient fortress consisting of numerous temples and terraces that tower majestically over the valley. (B,L)

Day 16 : The Urubamba Valley

Breakfast at your hotel. Today guided walking tour of the Urubamba Valley by routes that let you experience a region in a way few get to see.(B)

Day 17: The Urubamba Valley

Breakfast at your hotel. Towards the west of Cusco at an altitude of 3300 mts. (10824 feet); over a plain that in prehistoric times was a huge plateau, is located Moray, a very unique archaeological site in the region, enormous natural depressions or hollows in the ground surface are found here, the Incas used as a prototype of a greenhouse or experimental biological station, very advanced for its age. We continue along the dramatic "Andes" from which it is possible to observe the range of mountains of Urubamba towards Maras the famous " Inca Salt mines" that are constituted by about 3000 small pools with an average area of 5 m² (53.8 ft²), constructed in a slope of a mountain. People is still using the same traditional methods as 500 years ago, to extract the salt. (B,L)

Day 18: Urubamba Valley / Machu Picchu

Breakfast at your hotel. Morning transfer to Ollanta´s train station for your 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. Lunch at Sanctuary Lodge Hotel is included. (B,L)

Day 19: Machu Picchu / Cusco

Breakfast at your hotel. This morning enjoy one of the most incredible sights on earth, the ruins of Machu Picchu. Second entrance to the ruins to explore and study the mysterious ruins, hike Huayna Picchu the pyramid-shape mountain above Machu Picchu, walk to the Inca Bridge a secret entrance used by the Inca's army, or toward the Inca Trail to find the historic Sun Gate. Guide is included. In the afternoon, train back to Cusco and transfer to the hotel.(B)

Day 20: Cusco

Breakfast at the hotel. Today enjoy a guided walking tour of the most traditional areas of Cusco and the artisan neighborhood of San Blas with narrow and writhing streets, most of them steep.(B)

Day 21: Cusco / Lima

Breakfast at your hotel. Transfer to the airport for your flight to Lima. Upon arrival a host will meet you to start your visit to Gold and Larco Herrera Museums. At late afternoon transfer to the airport for your flight home.(B)

Tour includes: All airport-hotel-airport transfers, all listed tours and excursions, all tours are guided by licensed bilingual tour guides, all transportation needed (bus, train, boat) for the operation of the itinerary, all entrance fees to places visited, hotel accommodation at indicated hotels, meals indicated in the itinerary, baggage handling at airports and hotels, hotel taxes and service charge, 24-hour emergency phone numbers.

Not included: Peru international airport departure tax : $31.00 , Peru domestic airport departure tax : $7.40 each city , Expenses of personal nature such as phone calls, laundry, bottled water, etc, Tips to tours guides, waiters and bellboys, Services not listed in the itinerary.

2019 Prices per person in US$:
Prices are available upon request.