DAY 1: ARRIVAL - LIMA

Arrive at Lima Airport. A transportation service and a guide will pick you up from the airport at the scheduled time to transfer you to your hotel in Lima. The Peruvian capital is a modern metropolis full of history and currently undergoing an exciting process of cultural and economic changes.

Overnight at the selected hotel in Lima on a bed-and-breakfast basis.

DAY 2: LIMA - CITY TOUR

Begin your day with a delicious breakfast at the hotel. Explore Lima’s old town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, packed with fascinating historic buildings. Start with a scenic tour in the colonial downtown. See the Main Square, where you can appreciate the grandiose architecture of the Spanish Empire. Admire Lima’s Cathedral, built during the 16th century and then visit the Casa Aliaga, a colonial mansion granted by chief conquistador Francisco Pizarro to one of his captains, Jeronimo de Aliaga. This is the only house from that time, still belonging to the same family. Continue to the traditional Pueblo Libre district and visit the Larco Museum, located in a beautifully restored viceregal mansion built on a pre-Columbian pyramid from the seventh century. The museum boasts a complete pre-Hispanic collection of gold and silver objects, as well as pieces of erotic art.

Overnight at the selected hotel in Lima on a bed-and-breakfast basis.

DAY 3: LIMA - CUSCO: CITY TOUR AND NEARBY ARCHEOLOGICAL SITES (90 min flight)

Breakfast at the hotel. During the morning, you are picked up from your hotel in Cusco to visit the town of Chinchero, a traditional Cusco urban center located at an elevated point with a beautiful view of the valley. The inhabitants of this area preserve the artisan traditions and the inherited knowledge of the Incas and display them in their clothes and customs. In Chinchero there are also archeological remains and a beautiful seventeenth-century church, one of the first Catholic buildings in Peru. Then, you are transferred from Ollantaytambo to the Living Museum of Yucay, a center Andean traditions interpretations, where demonstrations of the elaboration of textile work, adobe, pottery and silverware are carried out in the same way in which they used to in antiquity; an original recreation of Inca traditions. Also, residents of the museum include llamas, sheep and alpacas, and they can be fed! Upon arriving in Ollantaytambo visit its town, inhabited uninterruptedly since Inca times, and climb the iconic fortress, built next to a mountain. Later, have lunch in Ollantaytambo and live a superior Andean gastronomy experience in a restaurant, where the true spirit of the Sacred Valley is transmitted in a cozy atmosphere. At the end of this activity, you are transferred back to your hotel.
*On Sundays, also visit the local market. After your visit, return to your hotel in Sacred Valley.
Overnight at the selected hotel in Sacred Valley on bed and breakfast basis. Lunch is included.

DAY 4: CUSCO - SACRED VALLEY: CHINCHERO, OLLANTAYTAMBO & LIVING MUSEUM OF YUCAY

After having breakfast at your hotel, you’ll be transported to the town of Chinchero*, a traditional village located on a lookout point above the Sacred Valley. The inhabitants of this area preserve artisan traditions they’ve inherited from their Incas ancestors. In Chinchero there are also archaeological ruins and a beautiful seventeenth-century church, which is one of the first Catholic buildings in Peru. You’ll then make a trip to to the Living Museum of Yucay, a center for Andean handicraft traditions, where local weavers will demonstrate how they create the area’s highest quality handmade textiles, pottery, and silverware. In addition, you may be able to feed the residents, including llamas, sheep and alpacas! Later, you’ll visit Ollantaytambo, a village that’s been continuously inhabited since the times of the Inca. Here you’ll have a traditional Andean lunch at Chuncho restaurant. You’ll also have the opportunity to climb an iconic multi-tiered fortress which the Inca built into the shape of a llama. At the end of the day, you’ll be brought back to get some rest at your hotel. *If you happen to be here on a Sunday, you’ll also be able to get a taste of traditional village life by visiting a local market. Overnight at the selected hotel in Sacred Valley on bed and breakfast basis. Lunch included.

Also, residents of the museum include llamas, sheep and alpacas, and they can be fed! Upon arriving in Ollantaytambo visit its town, inhabited uninterruptedly since Inca times, and climb the iconic fortress, built next to a mountain. Later, have lunch in Ollantaytambo and live a superior Andean gastronomy experience in a restaurant, where the true spirit of the Sacred Valley is transmitted in a cozy atmosphere. At the end of this activity, you are transferred back to your hotel. *On Sundays, also visit the local market.

Overnight at the selected hotel in Sacred Valley on a bed-and-breakfast basis. Lunch included.

DAY 5: SACRED VALLEY – MACHU PICCHU

Wake up and have breakfast at the hotel. A transportation service will pick you up and transfer you to the Ollanta Station. Your trip to Machu Picchu starts with a train ride to the town of Aguas Calientes. Aguas Calientes has a handicrafts market, restaurants, and accommodation of different categories for those who prefer to spend the night next to the mountain and then visit it early next morning. After a short trip, arrive at Machu Picchu, a masterpiece of engineering and architecture that served as a sanctuary and resting place for Inca Pachacuti. Machu Picchu means ‘Old Mountain’, and was named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. It is also one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. At the end of the tour, return by bus to Aguas Calientes, where you will enjoy a delicious lunch and have the afternoon at leisure.

Overnight at the selected hotel in Aguas Calientes on a bed-and-breakfast basis. Lunch included.

DAY 6: MACHU PICCHU - OLLANTA STATION - CUSCO

Enjoy a tasty breakfast at the hotel. You can optionally return to Machu Picchu and visit any of the attractions that the citadel keeps. Visit the Intipunku (‘Puerta del Sol’) a former control gate, climb the Huayna Picchu (subject to space availability), seeing the ‘Temple of the Moon’, an underground complex of constructions, along the way, and admire the Inca Bridge, an amazing stone construction that served as an entrance or exit to the citadel. In the afternoon, transfer to the Aguas Calientes train station and head back to the Ollanta station, from where you are transferred to your hotel in Cusco.

Overnight at the selected hotel in Cusco on a bed-and-breakfast basis.

DAY 7: CUSCO – PUNO (357km – 10 hours)

Indulge in a delicious breakfast at the hotel, before transferring to the bus station to begin our trip to Puno. First, we stop in Andahuaylillas, a town located 40 kilometers from Cusco. It’s main attraction is the Church of Andahuaylillas, nicknamed the ‘Sistine Chapel of America’, due to the impressive works of art found in it. We continue our route to Racchi, where the Wiracocha Temple is located, a surprising 30-meters wide by 20-meters high construction of rectangular shape. Have a tasty lunch in Sicuani, followed by a brief stop in La Raya, the highest point between Puno and Cusco, over 4,313 meters above sea level. Then, we arrive at the town of Pucara, where the Pucara Lithic Museum is located. Developed between the years 100 and 300 AC, this town was the first proper urban settlement of the lacustrine highlands. Finally, we undertake the last trip to the city of Puno, arriving at the selected hotel where a representative will assist you with the check-in.

Overnight at the selected hotel in Puno on a bed-and-breakfast basis. Lunch included.

DAY 8: PUNO - LAKE TITICACA: UROS AND TAQUILE ISLANDS PUNO

Start your day with breakfast at the hotel. Transfer to the lacustrine port of Puno, where a boat takes you to the floating island of the Uros. The Uros are an ancestral society that populates a series of artificial islands built with totora plant, a type of reed which grows in the Titikaka lake. There they build their houses, also from totora. This is why they cook outdoors, to prevent possible fires. After a journey of an hour and a half, continue your trip to the island of Taquile. This island was part of the Inca Empire and remains of the culture can still be seen when looking at its buildings. Once there, receive a briefing of the island and witness a cultural activity. Have a tasty lunch and start your return to Puno.

Overnight at the selected hotel in Puno on a bed-and-breakfast basis. Lunch included.

DAY 9: PUNO - DEPARTURE

Enjoy a delightful breakfast at the hotel. A transportation service will take you from the selected hotel to Puno airport, and a representative will assist you along the way. Breakfast included.