Peruvian Highlights

After breakfast (around 8:30am), you’ll head to the Larco Museum which was founded in 1926 by Rafael Larco Hoyle, one of the earliest Peruvian archeologists. Here, you’ll see examples of pottery and gold and silver artifacts of ancient Peruvians dating back to 3,000 B.C. After enjoying a traditional coastal lunch at Larco restaurant, we’ll continue on to Pachacamac, an archeological site about 1.5 hours from Lima. After exploring this pre-Inca and Inca site, we’ll head back to our hotel for dinner at your leisure in one of the many fantastic restaurants Lima has to offer.

After an early breakfast, we’ll head out on a three-hour coach ride to explore the deserts of Peru, south of Lima. We’ll set out on the ocean to witness spectacular marine wildlife at Paracas National Park, after which we’ll check into our hotel on the bay and head to lunch at a traditional restaurant in Paracas. In the afternoon, you’ll have time to take a walk before enjoying dinner at sunset, served at our hotel

After breakfast, we’ll head out by coach to a local winery in Ica for a welcome drink and tasting of traditional, local wines and pisco. After lunch on property, you’ll spend the afternoon on an adventure in the sand dunes near Huacachina for some gorgeous views of town. By late afternoon, we’ll continue by coach on to our hotel in Nazca. Later that evening, enjoy dinner at the hotel before calling it a night.

This morning, you’ll wake up to some of the most beautiful desert views in Peru. After breakfast, we’ll head to the airport to catch our 35-minute flight over Nazca and the famed Nazca Lines, carved into the desert by ancient Peruvians. You’ll have two hours of leisure time to walk along Nazca boulevard in search of lunch at a local restaurant before we head out on a six-hour coach ride to Lima. We’ll arrive in the evening around 6:00pm for dinner on your own in the city and an overnight stay in Miraflores.

After breakfast, we’ll transfer to the airport to catch our two-hour flight to the town of Juliaca, where you’ll take a thirty-minute coach transfer to your Puno hotel on Lake Titicaca. You’ll have the afternoon free to acclimate and relax in Puno, taking in the sunset over Lake Titicaca that evening.

Enjoy your morning coffee with sunrise views over Lake Titicaca. After breakfast, we’ll head to the marina and board a boat for a one-hour cruise to the island of Uros. Walk about the island and experience the culture and local community traditions. After lunch on the island, we’ll continue by boat to the island of Amantani, where we’ll be greeted by local families. The group will split up amongst the families and we’ll stay as guests in their homes and enjoying a homemade dinner that evening. Our afternoon activities will include hiking to the top of the island and relaxing in the afternoon sun.

After saying your goodbyes over breakfast with your local family, we’ll get the group together and head back out on the lake for a boat ride to Taquile Island, where we’ll witness traditional folkloric dances performed by the island community. We’ll enjoy a two-hour walking tour, followed by a traditional lunch and mid-afternoon boat ride back to Puno. In Puno, we’ll check-in for the night at the same hotel we stayed at on day six.

This morning, we´ll begin our journey to the city of Cusco. Along the way, you’ll be able to see outstanding panoramic views as the landscape changes from the highlands to the sierra. Stops along the way include the Pukara pre-Inca temple, Raqchi Inca temple, Andahuaylillas “Sistine Chapel of America”, and other colorful places to enjoy the local culture. We’ll arrive to Cusco by late afternoon and head to the hotel for our welcome dinner.

After breakfast, we´ll meet for our half-day city tour which includes all of the significant pre-Inca and Inca historic sites, as well as remarkable colonial art from the 17th century. We’ll visit the Qorikancha, Basilica Cathedral, Saqsayhuaman and Q’enqo, after which you’ll be free to have some lunch and spend the afternoon exploring Cusco.

This morning, we’ll board our coach and head to the highlands and the Sacred Valley of the Incas. We’ll have fantastic views of the valley and its towns, surrounded by glaciers and snow-capped peaks. We’ll make a few stops and check out some the colorful, local town of Pisac and its famous street market before we head on to our buffet-style lunch in the heart of the valley. After lunch, we’ll head on to Ollantaytambo, one of the most impressive towns and Inca sites in the valley, a place with rich history and traditions preserved over the centuries. After a tour of the town, we’ll take a short, thirty-minute coach ride back to our hotel for the evening.

Spend the morning after breakfast enjoying the views from our hotel and listening to the birds sing their songs. Afterwards, we’ll head across the valley, back to Ollantaytambo train station to board a late-morning Vistadome train headed to Machu Picchu, a two -hour ride complete with breathtaking views of the valley and the jungle. Upon arriving to Aguas Calientes (Machu Picchu town), we’ll check into our hotel and drop off our luggage before we grab our boxed lunches and head up the mountain by bus to the entrance of the famed Machu Picchu archeological site. Here, we’ll have a guided tour with a knowledgeable, professional guide. At late afternoon, we’ll head back to the hotel and dinner will be at your leisure.

In the morning, you’ll head back to Machu Picchu to explore what you missed out on the day before. There are optional hikes up to the Sun Gate, Inca Bridge, Huayna Picchu and Machu Picchu mountains (The last two depending on booking and travel requests). After a morning of exploration, we’ll take the bus back down to Machu Picchu town for a traditional, buffet-style lunch, then continue on to Ollantaytambo to catch our train back to Cusco. Choose to have dinner from a variety of restaurants recommended by your tour leader before heading back to the hotel in Cusco for the night.

Enjoy a relaxing morning at the hotel before we leave the town to head up to higher elevation to a ceremonial archeological site of Cusco. With our local quechua-speaking priest, we’ll watch an Inca ceremony and call upon the APUS mountain gods to show them our gratitude for such a great experience during our Peruvian journey from the coast to the highlands and the Andes. We’ll enjoy our last lunch as a group to share memories and say our goodbyes before we begin transfers to the Cusco airport for your flight back to Lima.