DAY 1. LIMA:
Arrival in Lima and private transfer, with only driver, to the hotel.
Overnight.
DAY 2. LIMA /
PARACAS: Breakfast at the hotel. We will begin the tour in the
wonderful Larco Museum, located in Pueblo Libre district, where you can see a
complete collection of more than 5000 pieces of ceramic, as well as gold and
silver, and pre-Columbian erotic art.
Then, we will go to the historic center
to visit Casa Aliaga, a colonial mansion with beautiful rooms full of
invaluable art and history. We continue to the Plaza de Armas, where we find
the Government Palace, the Archbishop’s Palace, the Municipal Palace, and other
important buildings of the colonial era, where we will visit the Cathedral
built in the sixteenth century.
After the visit, you will be transferred to the bus
station to take the touristic bus to Paracas. Arrival in Paracas and transfer
to the hotel. Overnight.
DAY 3. PARACAS / NASCA: In
the morning, after breakfast, the transportation service will pick you up at
your hotel to transfer you to the Paracas pier, more precisely to the Chaco
station: boarding point for the boat trip to the Ballestas Islands. It is a
natural reserve of beautiful geological formations, impressive fauna and lags
of a pre-Incan culture, that dominated the desert to install a successful
society in adverse conditions.
The Ballestas Islands are inhabited by bobo
birds, pelicans, sea lions and Humboldt penguins, among other species found in
the archipelago. On the way you can see the still inexplicable lines drawn in
the sand forming a candelabrum.
At the end of the tour, you will be transferred
to the bus station to take the tourist bus to Nazca. Arrival in Nazca and
transfer to the hotel. Overnight.
DAY 4. NASCA / AREQUIPA:
Breakfast at the hotel. Transfer to the airport to take the Nazca Lines
overflight. Upon arrival, we will first go through the corresponding procedure
that takes about 45 minutes, and prepare to fly over these fantastic figures.
You
will see 13 figures such as the whale, trapeze, the dog, the astronaut, the
monkey, the condor, the compass, the spider, the hummingbird, the parrot, the
tree, the hands and alcatraz.
At the end, you will be transferred to the bus
station to take the bus to Arequipa (10 hours). Arrival in Arequipa in the
night, and transfer to the hotel. Overnight.
DAY 5. AREQUIPA: Breakfast
at the hotel. Free morning for rest or personal activities. In the afternoon,
the journey begins with the transfer from the hotel to the center of Arequipa
city, in the colonial district of San Lazaro, place where the city has been
founded.
Then, we will visit the Main Square, one of the most beautiful in
Peru, and neighbor of the imposing Arequipa cathedral built in the seventeenth
century and completely rebuilt after several earthquakes. We will see the
Cathedral and the Church Compañía de Jesús (1590), considered a classic example
of the local baroque architecture that keeps inside a sample exceptional
paintings and murals.
From there we will go to Santa Catalina Monastery, an
authentic medieval cloister built in 1579 and is still in use to this day.
Then, we will visit Yanahuara and Carmen Alto districts to have
a Panoramic view of the countryside, without a doubt a fantastic
image.
You will explore the district of Cayma visiting the Plaza Mayor and the Church San Miguel Arcángel de Cayma located in front of the square. Inside the church, you will find an anonymous collection of paintings that show the miracles of the Virgin. Return to the hotel and overnight.
DAY 6. AREQUIPA /
PUNO: Breakfast at the hotel. Transfer to the bus station to take the
touristic bus to Puno (6:30 hours). Arrival in Puno and transfer to the hotel.
Free afternoon, and overnight.
DAY 7. PUNO: After breakfast at your hotel, you will be transferred to the lake
port of Puno, where a regular boat will take you to the floating islands of
the Uros. The Uros are an
ancestral society that populate a series of artificial islands built on the
basis of the totora plant, which grows in the same lake.
The islands are
constructed by weaving the totora in the places where it grows thicker and
forming a natural layer. On top of it they built their houses, also of totora,
and cook outdoors to prevent possible fires.
After Uros visit and, an hour and
a half boat trip, you will continue your journey to the island of Taquile. This
is Quechua, unlike the other Aymara speaking islands on the lake. It was part
of the Inca empire and vestiges of this culture can still be seen in its
constructions. Once there you will be given a brief explanation of the island
and witness a cultural activity.
After lunch, you will return to the port of
Puno, where our transport will be waiting to take you to your hotel. Overnight.
DAY 8. PUNO / CUSCO:
Breakfast at the hotel. Transfer to the bus station to take the tourist bus to
Cusco (8 hours).
We will start the tour at the Museum of Pucará. This museum has an excellent collection of monoliths, stone sculptures and ceramics belonging to the culture of Pucara, a civilization developed in the highlands of Peru and Bolivia.
Then, we will arrive at the highest point of the road known as the Raya pass, located at 4,335 meters above sea level. This is the border of the cities of Cusco and Puno, and here, we are going to make a short stop to admire the snow-capped Chimboya and take pictures of beautiful landscapes.
The tour to Cusco by bus continues until we reach the city of Sicuani to enjoy a buffet lunch in a local restaurant, that offers local and regional dishes, vegetables, desserts and hot drinks like mate de coca.
The bus ride continues until reach the archaeological site of Raqchi, located at 3,450 meters above sea level. The temple of Wiracocha was built next to the Vilcanota River during the fifteenth century.
The last visit will be in Andahuaylillas, located at 3,093 meters above sea level. This lovely Andean town has an incredible jewel of the architecture dating back to the seventeenth century known as the Sistine Chapel, with an impressive work covered in gold leaf and paintings of the art school of Cusco.
We will arrive at the bus station in Cusco, and we will transfer you to the hotel. Overnight.
DAY 9. CUSCO / SACRED
VALLEY: Breakfast at the hotel. We will pick you up from the hotel in
Cusco, to start a 30 Km. journey until Pisac. This fantastic place has an
amazing market, and archaeological temples of stone buildings, with incredible
views to the valley and the magnificent Inca platforms.
Then, we will continue
until Urubamba to enjoy a delicious buffet lunch, and later we will reach
Ollantaytambo. Its temple was the headquarter of Inca’s army, as well as a
religious and agricultural place. It has stunning views, and more than a
hundred Inca platforms with an advanced irrigation canal for that period.
We
will visit Chinchero, and its typical and colorful Inca market, full of
traditional craft as ceramics and Andean looms.
After the visit, you will be transferred to the train station in Ollantaytambo, and board the Train Expedition to Aguas Calientes. Upon arrival you will be transferred to your hotel, and you will have a short briefing with the guide before the tour to Machu Picchu, scheduled for the next day. Overnight in hotel.
DAY 10. MACHU PICCHU /
CUSCO: Breakfast at the hotel. Transfer to Ollantaytambo’s train station to
board the Train Expedition to Machu Picchu. Arrival at Aguas Calientes, and we
will board the bus until the wonderful Machu Picchu Citadel, well-known as The
Lost City of the Inca. The guided tour along 2 hours, will let you explore this
awesome archeological site with incredible landscapes.
Machu Picchu, a World
Heritage Site, was the main place of Inca’s farming, and the most important
urban place from Incan Empire. Enjoy your free time in Machu Picchu, take
pictures or if you are brave you can climb Huayna Picchu (optional), and admire
the entire citadel around. Also, you have the option to go back to Aguas
Calientes and have lunch (optional).
At the agreed time, you will take the train back to Ollantaytambo to then take the tourist bus to Cusco and drop you off at your hotel located in the historical center of Cusco. Overnight at hotel.
DAY 11. CUSCO: Breakfast at the hotel.
In the afternoon, we will start the tour visiting the Temple of the Sun
well-known as Koricancha. This symbolic place has a clear example of the fusion
between Incan and Hispanic cultures, and its base was used to build Santo
Domingo’s Church and its famous convent.
Then, we’re going to visit the
Cathedral located in the Main Square, to appreciate a beautiful religious
paintings of the Cusco School. The Cusco City Tour continues in
Sacsayhuaman, an amazing archaeological complex with huge carved stones which
fit each other in a perfect way, and it is said that it was built by more than
20 thousand men, and took over 70 years to finish it.
Then we will visit Qenqo
religious temple, place where the Incas worshiped their Gods like the Sun, the
Moon and the Earth. You will have an incredible experience exploring through
its underground galleries, and admire a semicircular amphitheater.
We will
continue this entertaining excursion in the military compound of Puca Pucara,
which means “Red Fortress” for its reddish infrastructure. Then we will go the
water’s worship center of Tambomachay, with aqueducts and waterfalls provided
from nearby springs. At the end, we will drop you off at El Regocijo Square, located one block from Plaza de Armas. Overnight.
DAY 12. CUSCO / LIMA
/ OUT: Breakfast at the hotel. Transfer with only driver to the Cusco
airport to take your flight to Lima. Arrival in Lima, and international flight
connection.
**END OF SERVICES**