Best of Peru

General Info

Marvel at the extraordinary history and culture of Peru- home to some of South America’s most enduring attractions. Discover the archaeological wonders of the Northern Kingdoms, the lush tropical lowlands of the Amazon Basin, the beautiful Sacred Valley of the Incas & Machu Picchu, Lake Titicaca and the Colca Canyon on this fantastic tour.

Itinerary

Day 1 Lima

Arrive Lima Airport; you will be met by our English speaking local guide & transferred to your hotel, located in the seaside barrio of Miraflores.

Day 2 Lima

Depart this morning on a half day sightseeing tour of Lima, including a visit to the Larco Herrera Museum. Your tour includes the city’s most important monuments: The Plaza Mayor, Government Palace, the City Hall and the Cathedral. Torre Tagle, an exceptionally beautiful mansion built in 1735, today houses the offices of the Foreign Affairs Ministry. Nearby, the recently renovated Palacio de Osambela, built between 1803 and 1805, serves as a venue for art exhibitions and cultural events.

The Larco Museum has the most important archaeological collection of the north coast of Peru and is located in an old Vice Royal mansion that was constructed on a pre-Columbian pyramid from the 18th century. This fabulous museum has also an exquisite collection of gold and silver of ancient Peru and a room full of erotic art. The pieces in this museum are now world-famous after having been exhibited in the best museums around the world. (B)

Day 3 Lima/Chiclayo

Transfer to the airport for your flight to Chiclayo; on arrival you will be met by our local guide and transferred to your hotel.

In the afternoon we shall visit Huaca Rajada. In these adobe pyramids built by the Mochica during the splendour of their culture, in the fourth century AD, were found the remains of the Lord of Sipan in 1987 by archaeologist Walter Alva. The Lord of Sipan had a rich offering, consisting of two large gold imprinted breastplates and dozens of incredible spondylus necklaces, gold and silver banners, and a host of ornaments set with precious stones. Visit the onsite museum and then continue on to the 7th Century A.D. Moche site of Pampa Grande, also known as La Capilla and considered the largest standing adobe pyramid in South America. (B)

Day 4 Chiclayo

Depart this morning for a full day tour of Sipan and Tucume ruins, including a visit to the newly built Royal Tombs of Sipan Museum. The Lord of Sipan ruled around 200 AD over the Moche culture, and his gold-laden tomb is considered to be the richest in the Americas. We will travel to the town of Lambayeque to visit the Royal Tombs of Sipan Museum where many of these riches are displayed.

After lunch, we’ll visit the 26 pre-Colombian pyramids of Tucume. These pyramids were excavated by Thor Heyerdahl (of Kon-tiki fame), who discovered burial sites, textiles, Incan figurines and depictions of reed boats. This, together with goods from far-flung corners of the South America, allowed Heyerdahl to prove that the ancient people of Tucume were experienced voyagers and traders. Return to Chiclayo late this afternoon and overnight. (B/L)

Day 5 Chiclayo/Trujillo

After breakfast we depart overland for Trujillo. On the way we will visit the archeological complex of el Brujo, located in the district of Magdalena de Cao, on the right margin of the Chicama River, it has an antiquity of 4,500 years and has three major units: Huaca Prieta, one of the oldest structures in Peru, El Brujo, dating from the Mochica era and Cao Viejo, located next to an old Catholic church, built by the Dominicans, now in ruins. This archaeological site has allowed us to learn in depth the evolution of man on the north coast and has helped unravel much of the Moche worldviews, thanks to the shrine walls. Arrive Trujillo this afternoon & overnight. (B)

Day 6 Trujillo

This morning we visit the royal palace complex of Chan Chan, the largest mud brick citadel built in the Americas which was the capital of the Chimu kingdom. At its height the citadel had around 100,000 inhabitants; divided into nine separate citadels, the ruins show clear distinctions in social class and structure.

In the afternoon, we’ll visit the Temples of the Sun and Moon, built by the Moche Culture in around 500 AD. These 130-foot-tall pyramids are thought to be the largest adobe structures in the Americas. Return to Trujillo and overnight. (B)

Day 7 Trujillo/Puerto Maldonado

Transfer to the airport for your flight to the Amazon Basin, via Lima. Transfer to the port on arrival and board a longboat that will take you down the Madre de Dios River to Sandoval Lake Lodge. A short walk & canoe journey will bring you the rest of the way to the lodge, where you will enjoy lunch and a rest on arrival.

Later this afternoon you’ll begin your first jungle explorations with your bilingual naturalist guide. Board a catamaran & set off to explore the entire west end of the lake. Here, in the flooded palm forest we drift to the sounds of hundreds of Red-Bellied Macaws as they return to the palm forest for the night. We return to the lodge around nightfall for dinner.

After dinner we will return to the canoes to look for the large and extremely rare Black Caimans. If it is a clear starlit night, we will also be able to float in the middle of the lake and marvel at the brilliance of the sky. (B/L/D)

Day 8 Puerto Maldonado

A pre-dawn wake-up call will enable us to be on the lake for sunrise and a hopeful encounter with the family of Giant Otters which frequent the lake and are most active at this time of day. Most of the fish-eating water birds around the lake actively fish in the early morning as well, and this outing should provide excellent views, and photographs, of the prehistoric- looking Hoatzins.

After returning for a late breakfast we set off into the cool understory of the tall virgin forest near the lake to see some towering wild Brazil Nut trees and a demonstration of how our hosts collect, open and commercialize this important natural product.

After lunch and an hour or so to relax we once again board the catamaran to explore the eastern part of the lake, where we might see one or more of the five species of monkeys which live in the forest near the lake, such as the Brown Capuchin Monkey.

There is a final chance after dinner to try and spot some Black Caimans on the lake, or to go on a short night walk through the primary forest. (B/L/D)

Day 9 Puerto Maldonado/Sacred Valley

After a dawn breakfast we take a final, shorter paddle around the west end of the lake to try and glimpse the Giant Otters before returning to Puerto Maldonado to catch your onwards flight to Cuzco, capital of the Incan Empire.

On arrival you will be met and transferred to your hotel in the Sacred Valley of the Incas. Located at around 2,700m above sea level, the valley is a great place to spend your first few days acclimatising before moving up to the more challenging heights of Cuzco (3,400m). (B)

Day 10 Sacred Valley

Depart this morning on a full day tour traveling through the Sacred Valley of the Incas. Visit the famous Pisac Markets, where you have a chance to experience the vibrant and colourful atmosphere of a traditional marketplace. After lunch, we continue to Ollantaytambo, the oldest continuously occupied settlement in the Americas. Located on the Patakancka River and surrounded by agricultural terraces, Ollantaytambo is one of the prettiest towns in the Sacred Valley. Return to your hotel with the evening at leisure. (B/L)

Day 11 Sacred Valley /Huayllabamba

You’ll be met at your hotel this morning and travel through the Sacred Valley of the Incas to arrive at the trailhead at Km. 82 of the Machu Picchu railroad. After getting acquainted with our trail crew we set out, crossing a footbridge to hike a gentle two hours down the Urubamba canyon, and then visit imposing sculpted Inca farming terraces and the settlement of Llaqtapata on the banks of the Cusichaca side river. We then climb a short way up the Cusichaca valley to Huayllabamba, the last inhabited village on the trail, where we camp. (B/L/D)

Day 12 Huayllabamba/Pacamayo

We climb the steep-sided Llullucha valley past a rushing stream and through enchanted native polylepis woodland. Crossing the rim of a small plateau, we abruptly find ourselves in the puna, the treeless grasslands of the high Andes. The trail traverses an open slope opposite mighty mountain crags as we ascend to the first and highest pass, Warmiwañusca (4,200m/13,776ft). Here we encounter spectacular views of the trail ahead to the second pass, and look back to the sweeping snow peaks and valleys of the Huayanay massif.(B/L/D)

Day 13 Pacamayo/Winay Wayna

We pick up an Inca stairway and ascend again past the small Inca site of Runkuracay. As we reach the second pass, the landscape opens onto spectacular new views to the snow peaks of the Pumasillo range. We descend to the ruins of Sayacmarca (Inaccessible Town), an intricate labyrinth of houses, plazas and water channels, perched precariously on a rocky spur overlooking the Aobamba valley. The Inca trail, now a massive buttressed structure of granite paving stones, continues along the steep upper fringes of the cloud forest through a colourful riot of orchids, bromeliads, mosses & ferns. At the third pass pinnacles topped with Inca viewing platforms overlook the archaeological complex of Phuyupatamarca (Cloud-level Town). (B/L/D)

Day 14 Winay Wayna/Machu Picchu

An early morning hike takes us across a steep mountainside through lush, humid cloud-forest of giant ferns and broad-leaf vegetation. Suddenly we cross the stone threshold of Intipunku (Sun Gate) and encounter an unforgettable sweep of natural beauty and human artistry -a backdrop of twisting gorge and forested peaks framing the magical city of Machu Picchu.

We complete the final leg down the royal flagstone walkway, past outlying shrines and buildings and into the heart of Machu Picchu, where we spend the rest of the morning with a guided tour of the highlights and some individual exploring among Machu Picchu’s multitude of hidden nooks and corners. In the early afternoon a bus takes us to the small town of Aguas Calientes, where you will overnight in a local hotel. (B)

Day 15 Machu Picchu/Cuzco

Early this morning, board the mini bus for a second trip to the ruins with your entry included. As dawn breaks, watch the mist rise over the top of the mountain citadel, a truly unforgettable experience. Explore the ruins at your own pace before returning to Cuzco by train this afternoon. (B)

Day 16 Cuzco

Day at leisure to relax and explore. We recommend a stroll up to the artisan’s district of San Blas to visit the pretty adobe Iglesia San Blas and explore some of the handicraft workshops nearby. Despite its simple exterior San Blas Church contains one of the most impressive colonial jewels in the country- an intricately carved 17th-century cedar pulpit hewn from a single tree trunk and dominated by the triumphant figure of Christ. (B)

Day 17 Cuzco

Depart this afternoon on a half day sightseeing tour of Cuzco. Visit the Cathedral and Koricancha Temple, before continuing to the Pre-Colombian Art Museum with its impressive collection of archaeological pieces. Finally we head out of the city to the surrounding ruins of Sacsayhuaman, Kenko, Puca-Pucara and Tambomachay. The Cuzco Tourist Ticket, which gives you access to sixteen sites in and around Cuzco, is included in today’s tour. B()

Day 18 Cuzco/Puno

Depart by bus this morning on a full day tour across the altiplano to Puno, situated on the shores of Lake Titicaca. Entry fees to local sites along the way are included. This daily service from Cuzco to Puno steadily climbs up the Vilcanota Valley towards the head waters of the Urubamba River and the highest point of the trip, Abra La Raya at 4321 metres above sea level. From Abra La Raya, it is a gradual descent into the opening grassy plains towards Lake Titicaca and towards the Bolivian Altiplano and eventually to down to the lake’s edge where Puno is nestled. (B/L)

Day 19 Puno

Depart this morning on a full day tour on Lake Titicaca, beginning with a visit to the unique Floating Islands of the Uros Indians. These ancient inhabitants of the lake, known as the Water Tribe, have built their own “islands” by periodically adding new layers of a type of reed unique to the area called “totora”. Their homes and boats are also made from this material. After having experienced some of the ancient traditions of the Uros we will continue our motor boat trip to Taquile Island where life has remained unchanged for centuries and weavers still craft traditional textiles. Enjoy lunch and stunning views before returning to Puno this afternoon. (B/L)

Day 20 Puno/Arequipa

Transfer to the airport for your flight to Arequipa; on arrival you will be transferred to your hotel with the evening at leisure.(B)

Day 21 Arequipa

Depart this morning on a half day city tour which includes a visit to Santa Catalina Convent, a restored convent established in 1579 and now open to the public after being closed for 400 years. Visit the Plaza de Armas, the Jesuit church of La Compañia and its beautifully-painted chapel, as well as the typical districts of Cayma and Yanahuara for magnificent views of the Misti volcano. (B)

Day 22 Arequipa/Colca Canyon

Depart early this morning for a bus ride to the Colca Canyon and the town of Chivay. We drive through the Aguada Blanca National Reserve where you will see herds of llamas and alpacas grazing on the Catahuasi plains. After a stop in Patapampa for a refreshment break and drink the typical coca tea, the trip continues to Mollepunko, the beginning of the Colca Canyon with its green valleys and Andean terraces. A stop will be made at the picturesque town of Sibayo, for a box lunch and visit to a vicuña reservation. Your journey will end at the town of Chivay, where you will overnight. (B/L/D)

Day 23 Colca Canyon/Arequipa

After breakfast, drive to the “Condor Cross”, the best point for a breathtaking view of the Colca Canyon with the Colca river flowing 1,200 meters below and the majestic condors in flight above. On the way back to the lodge, you will visit the picturesque towns of Pinchollo, Achoma and Yanque. After lunch return to your hotel in Arequipa, arriving in the evening.(B/L)

Day 24 Arequipa/Lima

Transfer to the airport for your flight to Lima; on arrival you will be met and transferred to your hotel, located in the seaside barrio of Miraflores. (B)

Day 25 Depart Lima

Transfer to the airport for your onwards flight. (B)

Prices

Description	Price
Tourist Class	$5040
First Class	$5415
Deluxe Class	$7205

Price per person, twin share, low season

Please note that airfares are not included- contact Contours Travel for current specials

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