PERU COMPLETE

FROM $ 2029.00

Lima – Ballestas Islands – Nazca Lines – Arequipa - Colca Canyon – Lake Titicaca – Cuzco - Machu Picchu – Tambopata Jungle

17 days / 16 nights Lima

Tour Brief

17day/16 night tour in group service with entrance tickets, guided tours, airport transfers, bus and train tickets and accommodation in US standard hotels (tourist class, 3 star superior & 4 star options).

Itinerary

Day 1: Lima

You are welcomed by our staff at the airport and transferred to your hotel. During the ride we will tell you about Lima and Peru and go through your itinerary day by day. We will also answer any question you may have.

Day 2: Lima (B)

After breakfast, a guided tour of colonial and modern Lima which includes the cathedral built in 1654 where the remains of Francisco Pizarro rest, the Main Square with a bronze fountain from 1650 and some unique tree balconies, the San Francisco monastery with the famous catacombs and the modern areas of Miraflores and San Isidro. We end the day with a visit to the famous Gold Museum, a unique private collection of amazing gold artifacts from the Inca Empire and other ancient Peruvian cultures such as Chavin, Mochica, Nazca, Paracas, etc.

Day 3: Lima-Paracas (B)

In the morning, after breakfast, you are transferred to the bus station for the bus to Paracas (5 hours). At arrival you are picked up and transferred to your hotel

Day 4: Ballestas Islands – Nazca (B)

After breakfast, you are transferred to the port for the Ballestas Islands tour. The Ballestas Islands are commonly referred to as “Little Galapagos” and here you will see an amazing collection of sea lions, pelicans, penguins, seals and different sea birds. After the tour you are transferred to the bus station for your bus to Nazca (3 hours) where you will be picked up and transferred to your hotel.

Day 5: Nazca – Nazca Lines – Arequipa (B)

Before breakfast, a flying tour over the Nazca Lines. These gigantic paintings and geometrical figures are painted in the driest desert in Peru and date back to 250 A.C. They occupy more than 1000 square meters and leave an unforgettable impression with the visitor. The paintings are of different animals such as a spider, a monkey and several birds. They are believed to be an astronomical calendar or maybe sacrifices of some kind. They were discovered in 1550 already but it was not until it was possible to see them from above in a plane that it was possible to understand the full meaning of them.
After the flight tour you have breakfast, and then you visit the ancient Cantalloc aqueducts and the ruins of a recently discovered Inca village. Then you are transferred to the bus station for the bus to Arequipa (8 hours). Transfer to your hotel.

Day 6: Arequipa (B)

Free morning to rest and get used to the altitude. In the afternoon the city tour of Arequipa starts where you will visit the Chilina valley and the old San Lorenzo district. You will get a nice view of the city and you will visit the Main Square and the Cathedral as well as the extraordinary Santa Catalina Monastery that is built of volcanic lava and dates back to the 16th century. You will end the day with a visit to Juanita, the best preserved mummy in the Americas, which was found in 1995 during an expedition high up in the mountains.

Day 7: Arequipa – Colca Valley (B)

After breakfast you are picked up at the hotel for your 2 day Colca Canyon tour. You will pass the hot springs in Yura and then ascend to the Pampa de Cañahuas National Reserve where you will see groups of Llamas and Alpacas. After a few more hours the descent to the Colca Valley begins and you arrive to Chivay, the most important village in the Valley. You are dropped off at your hotel and you can enjoy a free afternoon in the Colca Valley which can be used to visit the hot springs.

Day 8: Colca Canyon – Puno (B)

Early in the morning we go further into the Valley towards the deepest part of the Canyon called Cruz del Condor. The scenery from this point is spectacular and hopefully you will see the great condor flying by just above your heads. The condors are most likely to be seen April-October but they are also seen during other periods of the year. After a short walk along the Canyon it is time to go back to Chivay from where you take the bus to Puno (6 hours). You are picked up at the bus station and transferred to your hotel.

Day 9: Lake Titicaca (B, L)

After breakfast you are picked up for your guided tour of Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world. On the first stop you will visit the floating reed islands of Uros. The inhabitants will show you how the islands are built and you will go for a short trip in one of their reed boats. Then you go to Taquile, a truly beautiful island where the locals live as they have been doing for centuries with their small scale agriculture and animals. You walk around on the island with the guide and after lunch it is time to go back to Puno where you will arrive late afternoon and get transferred to your hotel.
(It is possible to stay overnight on the island in a family´s home. This is a very nice and special experience which we really recommend, keep in mind that the houses are very rustic though.)

Day 10: Puno – Cuzco (B, L)

Transfer to the bus station for the tour that will take you to Cuzco. The bus trip over the altiplano is very beautiful and you will do several stops on the way to visit museums, Inca ruins and small villages. You will also make a stop for lunch. You arrive in the afternoon to Cuzco, the capital of the Inca Empire. We pick you up and transfer you to the hotel.

Day 11: Cuzco (B)

Free morning. In the afternoon a guided tour of Cuzco and the four famous Inca ruins that are located in the outskirts of Cuzco; the water temple Tambo Machay, the fortress Puca Pucara, the Oracle place Qenqo and the impressive fortress and temple of Sacsayhuamán. Three enormous stones, each one weigh 120 tons, form three perfect zig-zag walls and the view over Cuzco is wonderful. Then you do a walking tour of central Cuzco with visits to the Cathedral, Main Square, and the Sun Temple of Korikancha.

Day 12: Sacred Valley (B, L)

Today you will do a full day excursion to Urubamba, the Sacred Valley of the Incas. You visit the village of Pisac that was founded during colonial times and is located at the foot of some impressive Inca ruins. Visit the Pisac market on the Main Square where the Indians sell their products and handicrafts. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays are the busiest days, but the market is always open. After lunch, visit Ollantaytambo, the only Inca village that the Spaniards never conquered, and explore the ruins located above the village. You will spend the night in Ollantaytambo since you are already half way to one of the great wonders of the world, Machu Picchu.

Day 13: Ollantaytambo –Machu Picchu – Cuzco (B)

It is time for the highlight of the tour, the forgotten city of the Incas and one of the New Seven Wonders of the World – Machu Picchu. You will catch an early train to Aguas Calientes where you are met by your guide. You then take the bus up to Machu Picchu for your guided tour (2 hours). After the tour you will have some free time to explore the ruins and take more photos. A popular alternative is to climb the mountain next to Machu Picchu; Huayna Picchu (2 hours). It is quite tough but if you reach the top you will have a spectacular view over Machu Picchu and the surroundings. In the afternoon you take the train back to Cuzco. You are picked up and transferred to your hotel.
(It is possible to stay the night in Aguas Calientes if you want to visit Machu Picchu on the following day also. Some people want to see the sunrise over Machu Picchu and visit the ruins early in the morning before other tourists arrive.)

Day 14: Cuzco – Puerto Maldonado – Posada Amazonas (B, L, D)

Transfer to the airport for the flight to Puerto Maldonado. You are picked up at the airport and transferred to the port where you will start the 2 hour boat trip to the Posada Amazonas jungle lodge. After a short introduction you will visit a canopy tower from where you can observe different birds and animals and also have a great view over the river and jungle. When you return to the jungle lodge it is time for dinner.

Day 15: Posada Amazonas (B, L, D)

Early in the morning you visit the lake Tres Chimbadas. To reach the lake you go by boat for 45 min and then you walk for 30 min. Once there you will paddle around and absorb the atmosphere and look for giant utters, turtles, and other animals. The giant utters are seen by 60% of the visitors. You return to the lodge for lunch. Then you do an etnobotanical tour in the jungle. You walk along a trail designed by Centro Ñape, which is a communal organization that produces medicine from the jungle plants. They have prepared a trail and they will show and explain some of the medical plants found in the jungle. You then return to the lodge for dinner and after that you will do a nightly walk to look for more animals.

Day 16: Posada Amazonas (B, L, D)

Today you wake up early to visit the Parrot Clay Lick which is a common meeting-point for different species of birds. Then you have breakfast before you leave on a 2 hour walk where the highlight is the biggest tree in the area, the huge Ceiba tree. After lunch you visit the largest farm in the community where you will get a great insight in the daily life of the people in the jungle.

Day 17: Posada Amazonas – Puerto Maldonado – Lima (B)

You are transferred back to Puerto Maldonado in time for your flight back to Lima.
End of our services

PRICES.

2 star hotels: Price per person (based on two people): US$ 2029.00