12-Day Peru Ideal

DAY 1. LIMA: Arrival in Lima and private transfer, with only driver, to the hotel. Overnight.

DAY 2. LIMA / PARACAS: Breakfast at the hotel. We will begin the tour in the wonderful Larco Museum, located in Pueblo Libre district, where you can see a complete collection of more than 5000 pieces of ceramic, as well as gold and silver, and pre-Columbian erotic art. Then, we will go to the historic center to visit Casa Aliaga, a colonial mansion with beautiful rooms full of invaluable art and history. We continue to the Plaza de Armas, where we find the Government Palace, the Archbishop’s Palace, the Municipal Palace, and other important buildings of the colonial era, where we will visit the Cathedral built in the sixteenth century. After the visit, you will be transferred to the bus station to take the touristic bus to Paracas. Arrival in Paracas and transfer to the hotel. Overnight.

DAY 3. PARACAS / NASCA: In the morning, after breakfast, the transportation service will pick you up at your hotel to transfer you to the Paracas pier, more precisely to the Chaco station: boarding point for the boat trip to the Ballestas Islands. It is a natural reserve of beautiful geological formations, impressive fauna and lags of a pre-Incan culture, that dominated the desert to install a successful society in adverse conditions. The Ballestas Islands are inhabited by bobo birds, pelicans, sea lions and Humboldt penguins, among other species found in the archipelago. On the way you can see the still inexplicable lines drawn in the sand forming a candelabrum. At the end of the tour, you will be transferred to the bus station to take the tourist bus to Nazca. Arrival in Nazca and transfer to the hotel. Overnight.

DAY 4. NASCA / AREQUIPA: Breakfast at the hotel. Transfer to the airport to take the Nazca Lines overflight. Upon arrival, we will first go through the corresponding procedure that takes about 45 minutes, and prepare to fly over these fantastic figures. You will see 13 figures such as the whale, trapeze, the dog, the astronaut, the monkey, the condor, the compass, the spider, the hummingbird, the parrot, the tree, the hands and alcatraz. At the end, you will be transferred to the bus station to take the bus to Arequipa (10 hours). Arrival in Arequipa in the night, and transfer to the hotel. Overnight.

DAY 5. AREQUIPA: Breakfast at the hotel. Free morning for rest or personal activities. In the afternoon, the journey begins with the transfer from the hotel to the center of Arequipa city, in the colonial district of San Lazaro, place where the city has been founded. Then, we will visit the Main Square, one of the most beautiful in Peru, and neighbor of the imposing Arequipa cathedral built in the seventeenth century and completely rebuilt after several earthquakes. We will see the Cathedral and the Church Compañía de Jesús (1590), considered a classic example of the local baroque architecture that keeps inside a sample exceptional paintings and murals. From there we will go to Santa Catalina Monastery, an authentic medieval cloister built in 1579 and is still in use to this day. Then, we will visit Yanahuara and Carmen Alto districts to have a Panoramic view of the countryside, without a doubt a fantastic image. Return to the hotel and overnight.

DAY 6. AREQUIPA / PUNO: Breakfast at the hotel. Transfer to the bus station to take the touristic bus to Puno (6:30 hours). Arrival in Puno and transfer to the hotel. Free afternoon, and overnight.

DAY 7. PUNO: After breakfast at your hotel, you will be transferred to the lake port of Puno, where a regular boat will take you to the floating islands of the Uros. The Uros are an ancestral society that populate a series of artificial islands built on the basis of the totora plant, which grows in the same lake. The islands are constructed by weaving the totora in the places where it grows thicker and forming a natural layer. On top of it they built their houses, also of totora, and cook outdoors to prevent possible fires. After Uros visit and, an hour and a half boat trip, you will continue your journey to the island of Taquile. This is Quechua, unlike the other Aymara speaking islands on the lake. It was part of the Inca empire and vestiges of this culture can still be seen in its constructions. Once there you will be given a brief explanation of the island and witness a cultural activity. After lunch, you will return to the port of Puno, where our transport will be waiting to take you to your hotel. Overnight.

DAY 8. PUNO / CUSCO: Breakfast at the hotel. Transfer to the bus station to take the tourist bus to Cusco (8 hours). During the way, you will do 3 visits to Raqchi, Andahuaylillas and Puca Pucará. A buffet lunch is included at local restaurant. Arrival in Cusco, and transfer with only driver to the hotel. Overnight.

DAY 9. CUSCO / SACRED VALLEY: Breakfast at the hotel. We will pick you up from the hotel in Cusco, to start a 30 Km. journey until Pisac. This fantastic place has an amazing market, and archaeological temples of stone buildings, with incredible views to the valley and the magnificent Inca platforms. Then, we will continue until Urubamba to enjoy a delicious buffet lunch, and later we will reach Ollantaytambo. Its temple was the headquarter of Inca’s army, as well as a religious and agricultural place. It has stunning views, and more than a hundred Inca platforms with an advanced irrigation canal for that period. We will visit Chinchero, and its typical and colorful Inca market, full of traditional craft as ceramics and Andean looms. After the visit, you will be transferred to the train station in Ollantaytambo, and board the Train Expedition to Aguas Calientes. Upon arrival you will be transferred to your hotel, and you will have a short briefing with the guide before the tour to Machu Picchu, scheduled for the next day. Overnight in hotel.

DAY 10. SACRED VALLEY / MACHU PICCHU / CUSCO: Breakfast at the hotel. Transfer to Ollantaytambo’s train station to board the Train Expedition to Machu Picchu. Arrival at Aguas Calientes, and we will board the bus until the wonderful Machu Picchu Citadel, well-known as The Lost City of the Inca. The guided tour along 2 hours, will let you explore this awesome archeological site with incredible landscapes. Machu Picchu, a World Heritage Site, was the main place of Inca’s farming, and the most important urban place from Incan Empire. Enjoy your free time in Machu Picchu, take pictures or if you are brave you can climb Huayna Picchu (optional), and admire the entire citadel around. Also, you have the option to go back to Aguas Calientes and have lunch (optional). At the arrange time, you will return by train to Ollantaytambo and will be transferred by tourist bus to your hotel in Cusco city. Overnight at hotel.

DAY 11. CUSCO: Breakfast at the hotel. In the afternoon, we will start the tour visiting the Temple of the Sun well-known as Koricancha. This symbolic place has a clear example of the fusion between Incan and Hispanic cultures, and its base was used to build Santo Domingo’s Church and its famous convent. Then, we’re going to visit the Cathedral located in the Main Square, to appreciate a beautiful religious paintings of the Cusco School. The Cusco City Tour continues in Sacsayhuaman, an amazing archaeological complex with huge carved stones which fit each other in a perfect way, and it is said that it was built by more than 20 thousand men, and took over 70 years to finish it. Then we will visit Qenqo religious temple, place where the Incas worshiped their Gods like the Sun, the Moon and the Earth. You will have an incredible experience exploring through its underground galleries, and admire a semicircular amphitheater. We will continue this entertaining excursion in the military compound of Puca Pucara, which means “Red Fortress” for its reddish infrastructure. Then we will go the water’s worship center of Tambomachay, with aqueducts and waterfalls provided from nearby springs. At the end of the tour, we will drop you off at El Regocijo Square in the city of Cusco. Overnight.

DAY 12. CUSCO / LIMA / OUT: Breakfast at the hotel. Transfer with only driver to the Cusco airport to take your flight to Lima. Arrival in Lima, and international flight connection.

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