Peru Highlights 13D

Day 1: Welcome to Cusco! City Tour

Upon you arrival in Cusco airport (3,300 masl) you will be met by our local representative and then transferred to the hotel.
13:20pm guided visit to the city of Cuzco; the Main Square, the Cathedral and the Koricancha or Temple of the Sun, continue to the four ruins nearby; the Sacsayhuaman Fortress overlooking the city of Cusco, an Inca architectural masterpiece; Qenqo, a rock sanctuary whose main attraction is the monolithic altar representing a puma, the red  Fortress of Puca-Pucara and Tambomachay, a beautiful fountain fed by a spring forming a series of basins. Return to your hotel. Evening at leisure.

Meals: None

Accommodation in Cusco

Day 2: Awanacancha – Pisaq – Ollantaytambo – Urubamba

8:00am This morning we continue our drive to Awanacancha this is a weaving center with the goal to keep alive the traditional textile arts.
Here you can see four members of the cameloid family – llama, alpacas, vicunas and guanacos.  Alpacas have thick wool and is the most commonly used while the vicunas are small and delicate with fur considered the finest. You can meet these four cameloids, learn about the the harvesting of the different wools and the natural dying techniques and have a chance to see native weavers from different areas showing their different weaving styles and dress.
We continue our tour to the top of a switchback road leading to the ancient upper city of Pisac, the mythic ruins of which are situated in a spectacular location atop a buttress ridge, with agricultural terraces—constructed by the ancient Inca people—curling around the hill in graceful curves, and gorges on either side.
We take a short trek into the ancient city, where we explore its well-built stone dwellings and temples, and enjoy sweeping vistas both up- and downstream in the Urubamba Valley. Pisac’s highly defensible site guarded both the Valley and a high jungle pass to the northeast.
We continue to the splendid Inca ruins of Ollantaytambo. We’ll walk amid the remains of this ancient fortress of gray and rose-colored granite, discover its ancient baths, and climb up the huge terraces guarding its hilltop temples. Then, we’ll enjoy a chance to meet some of the local people who dwell in the traditional town nearby.
From Ollantaytambo, we depart for our hotel in the Sacred Valley – Urubamba 

Meals: Breakfast and lunch

Accommodation in Urubamba

Day 3: Chinchero – Maras – Moray – Aguas Calientes

9:00am Chinchero is home to the famous Peruvian weaving and also has a colouful market. It is a lot smaller than the one in Pisac we does offer some beautiful crafts. There is a great display of Inca architecture, ruins and megalithic carved rocks. A beautiful adobe church sits on the plaza, that can be visited daily. Chinchero is also believed to be the birthplace of the rainbow.
The salineras of Maras known by some as “salt mines” are constituted by some 3000 small wells with an average area of about 5 m², built on one side of the slope of the mountain of “Qaqawiñay”, which during the dry season they are filled or “watered” every 3 days with salt water that emanates from a natural source located in the upper part of the wells so that when the water evaporates, the salt contained in it gradually solidifies.
We continue with the deep bowl shaped hollows of Moray look like a Roman amphitheater. They are circular in shape and have stair like terraces climbing up to the valley floor above. The full purpose behind these concentric terraces isn’t fully known. However, it is widely believed that the ruins were once an agricultural laboratory used by the Incas. The circular terraces that lie here are thought to have been used as an agricultural research station.
Their depth, design, and their orientation with regard to the sun and wind are all telltale signs that they have a specific purpose. Because of the different conditions at each level of the terraces there is a difference in temperature from the top to the bottom.
Late this afternoon we´ll take a train ride through the Sacred Valley, we arrive in the village of Aguas Calientes and spend one night here.

Meals: Breakfast and lunch

Accommodation in Aguas Calientes

Day 4: Machupicchu – Cusco

Excellent opportunity to wake up early and enjoy a beautiful sunrise in Machupicchu, you’ll take a 30 minute bus drive, climbing 6km of winding road to the incredible Machu Picchu. Upon arrival, we’ll participate in a guided tour of the Citadel, visiting the Main Plaza, the Circular Tower, the Sacred Sun Dial, the Royal Quarters, the Temple of the Three Windows and various burial grounds. After the tour you will have time to stroll around the archeological site at your leisure.
For the most adventurous people, if it’s not raining we suggest going up Huayna Picchu, this ticket you need to book in advance (not included in the overall tour price) from where you can appreciate the immensity of MachuPicchu, even more amazing being high and distant. An exciting adventure for the travelers who want to see, from the top, the nature and the carved stone emerging from the ground as a geological miracle. Return train leaves Aguas Calientes in the afternoon, arrival in Cusco and transfer to hotel.

Meals: Breakfast and lunch

Accommodation in Cusco

Day 5: Tourist Bus Cusco – Puno

6:30am. Transfer to the bus station to take the bus to the City of Puno, instead of taking the local bus and travel for 7 hours, without a chance of stretching your legs and enjoy this part of Peru, We offer our customers a especial bus service with stops along the way, showing you the highlights of this road with a bilingual speaking guide on board. We will stop first at the town of “Andahuaylillas”, where we will visit an impressive Cathedral built on the colonial era. We will continue our tour at the famous “Inca Temple of Racchi”. It’s the only Inca place where visitors can see circular constructions and walls of mud bricks, something you won’t see anywhere else on your trip. Afterwards we will drive towards the picturesque “village of Sicuani”, where we will enjoy a nice buffet. We continue our journey throughout the Andean plateau till we reach the highest point on this route, a freezing place called “La Raya”, surrounded by huge snow-capped mountains at 4335 meters high. Later on we visit the Community of Pukara, where you will visit the Pukara Museum, an interesting place that houses ancient monoliths and human remains from the Pukara culture. Upon arrival in Puno, transfer to hotel by a representative. Evening at leisure.

Meals: Breakfast and lunch

Accommodation in Puno

Day 6: Uros and Amantani Island

This excursion begins at 7:30am with a transfer from your hotel to the port. We then travel by motorboat to visit the Uros floating Islands. The boat is 35 feet long with a covered section in case of rain or cold weather. Stepping on the floating islands feels a lot like being on a waterbed but it is quite safe to walk on them. We see inside the houses, check out 2 of the 60 islands and rides on traditional reed boats can also be arranged. We then continue and after a 3-hour motorboat journey we arrive at Amantani Island. You will probably see local families running down the hill to welcome you. At the port our group breaks into smaller groups for home stays. Your designated host family will serve a typical lunch made from natural products. Then there is an optional football match with the locals, and a hike to the high point of the island to watch the sunset. After dinner your host family will dress you up in traditional local costumes and take you to the community hall for a small celebration, it is a lot of fun!. 

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner

Accommodation: Homestay (basic facilities)

Day 7: Taquile Island

Have breakfast, then depart to Taquile Island. After an hour’s boat ride we arrive at this unique place. There, a long gradually ascending path will take us to the village. It takes approximately 50 minutes to walk up to the village to visit the communal cooperative and there are plenty of photo opportunities on the way. We’ll enjoy lunch at one of the local restaurants; the views are simply magnificent. Then we descend 500 steps down to the port. We return to Puno, a 3-hour return journey, at about 1 pm. Upon arrival at Puno, at approximately 4pm we transfer you to your hotel.

Meals: Breakfast and lunch

Accommodation in Puno

Day 8: Puno – Colca Canyon

6:10am Pick up from your hotel to take the special bus service that runs between wonderful landscapes from Puno to Chivay in Colca Valley. The service include stopped on the route with guided tours for observation of volcanoes, Pampa Cañahuas, National Reserve Salinas and Aguada Blanca and Patawasi. After lunch you will have 30 minutes free time in town, we visit the Calera Hot Springs, very hot and clean swimming pools, then we go to the hotel.

Meals: Breakfast and Lunch

Accommodation in Colca

Day 9: Colca Canyon – Arequipa

We have breakfast early in the morning, we take the way to the Cruz Del Condor with our transport; this will take us about 2 hours driving. During the way we stop to take pictures of the villages of the other side of the canyon, like Coporaque, Ichupampa and Lari, finally we arrive to Cruz del Condor view point. From here we can appreciate the Colca canyon and the impressive condors fly, after this we return to Chivay to have lunch, visiting interesting villages like Pinchollo, Maca and other places. After having lunch in Chivay, we return to Arequipa (La Ciudad Blanca) arriving at 17:00 hours aprox.

Meals: Breakfast and lunch

Accommodation in Arequipa

Day 10: City Tour in Arequipa – Nazca

City tour and Santa Catalina Monastery: You will visit the the Main Square, one of the most beatifull main square in Perú, the Convent of Santa Catalina, founded in 1580, is like a small colonial town, with houses for the nuns and their servants, cloisters, narrow streets, kitchens and a laundry, etc. The excursion continues with a visit to the church of the Society of Jesus, a masterpiece of local baroque art, which houses some beautiful paintings. The sacristy, decorated with beautiful murals representing the jungle and the cloisters of the old seminary should not be missed. Finally, for a mgnificent wiew of the volcanoes you will visit the residential districts of Yanahuara and Carmen Alto.
At 8:30pm Transfer from hotel or from our office in Arequipa to the bus station, in a First Class bus we will go towards Nazca.

Meals: Breakfast and Lunch

Accommodation: None (overnight bus)

Day 11: Overflight of Nazca Lines

In Nazca City you will be led up to Maria Reiche Airport, where we are boarding the plane to the Nazca Lines. The flight takes about 35 minutes, during which time you observe some perfect representations of huge animals such as birds, including a condor, a hummingbird, a pelican, and a parrot among others. As for the other species, you will see a big monkey, a spider, a whale, a lizard and famous design known as the astronaut. Apart from the designs you will also observe hundreds of lines that run throughout the desert and large geometric shapes which resemble huge runways. Afterwards, we will visit the Pre-Inca cemetery of Chauchilla where we will see many tombs containing ancient pottery and humans remains. You will also enjoy a beautiful desert landscape surrounded by colourful hills. After touring around Chauchilla, we will go back to Nasca to visit a ceramic studio, where a craftsman will give us a good explanation about the Nazca ceramics. Here we will be able to learn step by step all the process involve in the elaboration of Nazca vessels, as well as purchase some Nazca ceramics and others souvenirs.
To finish off our tour, we will also visit a local place where miners are working hard in order to extract gold. Here there will be a miner who kindly will explain the old method they use to get the gold out of the rocks.
Return to the bus station to take the bus to Paracas.

Meals: None

Accommodation in Paracas

Day 12: Ballestas Island – Paracas Reserve – Lima

08:00am – Tour Ballestas: During our boat excursion to the Islands you will see many attractions, among them, stands out a huge design etched on the slope of hill, known by the local people as The Candelabro. This is an enormous figure that can be seen clearly from the sea. Our local guide will explain the most important theories concerning this drawing. Afterwards, we will continue our excursion around the Ballestas Islands, where you will see hundreds of birds flying (Peruvian Bobbies, Inca terms, Pelicans, Cormorants and others) above the Islands, as well as dozens of sea lions on the shore of the beaches, and if you are lucky you also can see the famous Humboldt Penguins and dolphins swimming nearby. It is not allowed to land on the Islands, which means you will spend all the tour on the boat.
11:00a.m – Paracas reserve: This is a marine sanctuary located at the shore of the Pacific Ocean. We will drive across a yellowish desert, following a dirt road till the cliff where once stood the gorgeous natural rock formation known as the Cathedral. Paracas Peninsula offers the perfect scenery for photographers, especially for birdwatchers as there are various spots where one can find types of birds such as Inca terns, flamingoes, eagles, pelicans, cormorants, and many others. By exploring the Paracas National Park by land you will not only enjoy a gorgeous landscape, but also will learn about the ancient Paracas Culture that lived there between the desert and the sea about 2000 years ago. Paracas is also one of the best places to enjoy great Peruvian food. Return to the bus station to take the bus to Lima (First Calss bus) arriving at aprox 9:00pm aprox. Upon arrival transfer to hotel in Lima.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Accommodation in Lima

Day 13: Flight Out

Pick up from hotel and transfer to the airport.

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation: None

– End of service –

What is Included:

• Private tourist transportation in Cusco: airport – hotel – bus station
• City tour in Cusco with guide, entrance fee and tourist transportation
• Sacred Valley tour with guide, tourist transportation, entrance fee and buffet lunch.
• Machupicchu tour with transfers, train round trip in Expeditions class, bus tickets to MP, entrance fee, tour guide 2 hours.
• Tourist bus to Puno with guide, entrance fee and buffet lunch
• Tour Titicaca with guide, tourist transportation and entrance fee
• Colca Canyon tour with guide, tourist transportation and entrance fee
• City Tour in Arequipa with guide, tourist transportation and entrance fee
• Overflight 35 min in Nazca Lines, Tour Paracas and Ballestas with taxes and fees.
• First Class bus “Cruz Del Sur” Arequipa / Nazca / Paracas / Lima
• Private tourist transportation in Lima: bus station – hotel – airport
• Accommodation: 2 nights in Cusco, 1 night in Urubamba, 1 night in Aguas Calientes, 2 nights in Puno, 1 night in homestay, 1 night in Colca, 1 night in Arequipa, 1 night in Paracas, 1 night in Lima.
• Meals as per itinerary

What is not Included:

• International & domestic flights, airport taxes
• Hot springs in Aguas Calientes 10 soles, la Calera in Chivay 15 soles
• Meals not mentioned on the itinerary
• Personal items and gratuities.
• Travel Insurance

Creating unique, creative and personalized programs based on your goals, budget, expectations and schedule is our specialty. Discover the Peruvian wonders with us!

Type of Tours 

All of our tours are offered in both Group and Private services; however, as we like to maintain control of the quality of our tours, even our group tours include PRIVATE transfers.  This is important, as when you get picked up; you will go directly to your hotel without having to drive around the city to drop off other people in their hotels.  Transportation is just for you.

Accommodations 

We offer all level of accommodations.  When creating an itinerary it would be important to know which your preferred level of accommodation is.  Please be sure that at all levels our recommended hotels offer great service and nice comfortable rooms. Our team has personally tried all our recommended hotels.

We mostly work with accommodations that have availability for taking reservations in advance which include communities with home stays, B&B, guest houses, apartments to two and three star hotels as well as luxury all-inclusive facilities. We periodically inspect hotels we use for cleanliness, hygiene and safety to make sure that services are in line with pricing to guarantee customer satisfaction

STANDARD
A standard room is the cheapest in the hotel. The standard room has the basic amenities, usually a television, telephone, closet and private bathroom. Other offerings in the standard room depend on the hotel. For example, two-star hotels may offer little more than the basics. A five-star hotel’s standard room may have a Jacuzzi tub, flat-screen television, honor bar and designer interior decorating.

MODERATE
3-star Superior: These are 3-star that should really be considered has 4-star Hotels. Nice location, great rooms and charming decoration. Excellent service, with restaurant, room service, business centre, laundry, etc. Buffet breakfast. Best value. Perfect for someone looking for an inexpensive option and still have some superior services.
4-star Hotels: Good location, very nice rooms, great decoration and excellent service. This hotel includes more services such as room service, business center, laundry, spas, more room features, etc. Some have gourmet restaurants. Buffet breakfast. Perfect for someone looking for some luxury and special services and do not need a 5-star option.

LUXURY
4-star Suites: Some 4-star hotels have suites that offer the same room features of a 5-star option. Perfect for someone looking to upgrade from a 4-star standard room and get more space and features.
5-star Hotel: What you usually imagine a 5-star hotel is. Great location, luxury accommodations and excellent service. Gourmet restaurants, spas, room service, business center, etc. Perfect for someone looking for a 5-star service but do not need the 5-star Deluxe option.
5-star Deluxe: These 5-star deluxe hotels offer ultimate luxury with outstanding service, luxurious rooms with deluxe room features and “you ask-you will get” concierge service. Properties have privileged locations or particular history behind it. Gourmet restaurants and spas. Ideal for the luxurious traveler.

Trains 

Expedition: The least expensive tourist train, recently renovated offers nice seats and good train service.
Vistadome: A higher category of train service, with panoramic roof windows. It offers a snack and fashion show.
Hiram Bingham: Luxury train which offers lunch, tea-time and dinner service.
Andean Explorer: Train service from Cusco to Puno or Puno to Cusco. Departs only on certain days of the week, depending on the season.

Flights 

LOCAL AIRLINES
Peruvian Airlines: Peruvian owned airline that offer the least expensive prices but has few frequencies. Both Peruvian and Foreigners pay the same.
Star Peru: Peruvian owned airline. It flyes to many destinations and offers good value prices, but has few frequencies. Both Peruvian and Foreigners pay the same.

INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES
Avianca Airlines: Central American owned airline that offers great service but few frequencies to Cusco. It is moderately expensive. It offers sale prices for Peruvian Residents ONLY that cannot be purchased by tourists.
Latam Peru: Chilean owned airline.  It offers great service and many frequencies to Cusco (almost 13 flights per day).  Prices are the highest on the market. It offers sale prices for Peruvian Residents ONLY that cannot be purchased by tourists.

DOMESTIC TICKETS
Lima/Cusco/Lima: From US$350.00 per person. This is an example price, since prices depends on the airline, date and time of booking.