Discover, Plan & Go!

"DAY 1 : LIMA Arrive in Lima, airport reception and transfer to the modern district of Miraflores to overnight at the Hotel Antara or similar. DAY 2 : CUSCO Airport transfer for early morning one hour flight to Cusco. Airport reception and transfer to your hotel. Afternoon half-day guided orientation of ancient Inca temples, Spanish churches and the surrounding ruins of Sacsayhuaman, Qenko, Puca Pucara and Tambo Machay. Your guide will also direct you to shops, museums and markets where you can explore on your own. Overnight at the Hotel Novotel or similar. [B] Note: Optional upgrade at extra cost to El Monasterio - a restored 400-year old former monastery, or Hotel Libertador, both of which are luxurious colonial-style hotels. Witness Quechua women weaving textiles in the Urubamba Valley DAY 3 : URUBAMBA VALLEY Full day private exploration with an expert guide through the Sacred Valley of the Incas including the village of Pisac and the Inca fortress of Ollantaytambo. Visit Quechua villages where highland Indians tend their fields and sell handcrafts in outdoor markets. Overnight in the serene Urubamba Valley at the Hotel Sol y Luna or similar. [BL] Note: We highly recommend adding another day in the Urubamba Valley. You can enjoy a beautiful, easy downhill day hike beyond the valley floor on local foot trails through the high Andes to the native Quechua Indian village of Patacancha (12,500 elevation) where crops are sown and textiles woven with simple hand tools and methods that have been in use for centuries. Or, you can combine the Patacancha village visit (with less hiking) with a day rafting on the Urubamba River. Ask about mountain bike day trips from Moray past Maras and into the Urubamba Valley. DAY 4 : MACHU PICCHU Early transfer to the train station and catch the morning train to Machu Picchu. After assisting with your hotel check in, your guide will accompany you through the ruins before returning to Cusco, leaving you free to photograph and explore on your own time. Includes first class reserved train tickets, bus tickets up and down the mountain, lunch and one-time entrance fee. Overnight near the ruins of Machu Picchu in the Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel or similar. [BL] DAY 5 : CUSCO Take the early shuttle bus to be among the first to enter Machu Picchu this day (entrance fee not included). Contemplate and enjoy exploring the most impressive archaeological monument in the Andes. On your own, you'll have the morning to wander through and photograph the mysterious maze of streets and stone buildings of the magnificent citadel. Hike up towering Wayna Picchu mountain, or back up the Inca Trail to the Intipunku (Gate of the Sun). Leisurely mid-afternoon return on the Pullman train back to Cusco arriving by evening, and transfer to hotel. Overnight at the Hotel Novotel or similar. [BL] Search for river otters in the oxbow lakes of the Peruvian Amazon DAYS 6-10 : AMAZON RAINFOREST Morning transfer for flight to the jungle town of Puerto Maldonado. Transfer by vehicle and motorized canoe on the Tambopata or the Madre de Dios River to the first of your Amazon lodges, Sandoval Lake or Posada Amazonas. These rustic but comfortable lodges will be your introduction to life in the rainforest, with a broad array of activities ranging from nocturnal hikes to canoe explorations seeking giant river otters. Each lodge offers large rooms, private baths with hot water, and the services of naturalist guides. Continuing deeper into the jungle on Days 7, 8, and 9, you will experience the Amazon of your imaginationflocks of hundreds of brilliant parrots, parakeets, and macaws gathered in noisy chaos on clay licks, caimans silently gliding through dark water, monkeys swinging through the forest canopy, perhaps a glimpse of an elusive cat disappearing into shadows. Your home will be either the spartan but comfortable Tambopata Research Center, or the new Heath River Wildlife Center, where expert naturalist guides interpret the wonders surrounding you. Your final day in the jungle is a return to Posada Amazonas or Sandoval Lake Lodge, where you will have your last chance to spot exotic birds and mammals from an observation tower or via catamaran on one of Peru's most beautiful lakes. [BLD] DAY 11 : LIMA Airport reception and transfer in to Hotel Antara or similar for use of a day room until your transfer to the airport for your international departures this evening. Or overnight for next morning departures or begin your post-trip extension. [B]"