Day 1: Upon arrival in Lima you will be met at the airport and transferred to your hotel

In the afternoon you will be escorted on a private city tour of Lima. Founded in 1535, for centuries Lima was one of the most important cities in South America, and today it is one of the continent’s largest metropolises. We will visit the historic center, admiring the beauty of the main square, the cathedral, the Government Palace, San Francisco convent and other examples of colonial style architecture. Our tour will also include a drive through the residential and commercial districts of San Isidro and Miraflores. Please note that the Cathedral is open every day to tourists except Sundays. This tour also includes a visit to one of South America’s most fascinating and beautiful museums. The Larco Museum was founded in 1926 in an elegant 18th century viceroyalty mansion built over the foundations of a 7th century pre-Inca temple. After spending plenty of time viewing the museum’s unmatched collection of pre-Hispanic pottery and metalwork, we will relax in the museum’s delightful garden café and savor a complimentary cocktail.

Day 2: Lima – Arequipa

Early this morning you will be transferred to the airport for your flight to the southern Peruvian city of Arequipa. Upon arrival in Arequipa you will be met at the airport and transferred to your hotel. In the afternoon a private city tour of Arequipa’s main attractions will include Santa Catalina convent, the neocolonial architecture of the main square, the Cathedral, the Jesuit church and the picturesque colonial district of Yanahuara. Arequipa is known as one of Peru’s most beautiful cities. The neocolonial historic center is built entirely from a locally sourced white volcanic rock known as “sillar”.

Day 3: Arequipa – Colca Canyon – Lake Titicaca

This morning we will leave the elegant city of Arequipa early for the drive across high Andean plains to Colca Canyon. To reach one of the deepest and most spectacular canyons on the planet, we will cross the Aguada Blanca National Reserve, where it is possible to spot herds of vicuña. The highest point of this road trip is the viewpoint at Pampa Cañahuas, at 4800 meters above sea level (15,745 feet). Upon arrival at Colca Canyon we will drive along the edge of the canyon, seeing how it gradually depends, to the viewing point at Cruz del Condor, from where it is possible to enjoy panoramic views of this vast geological phenomenon and to admire the majestic flight of the Andean condor.

After the excursion to the canyon, you will be transferred to Puno, on the shores of Lake Titicaca. This is a scenic bus ride of around four hours, through typical high Andean scenery.

Day 6: Lake Titicaca

This morning you will be transferred to the port for a boat ride across beautiful Lake Titicaca. In the bay area we will visit the floating islands of Uros, which have been occupied since pre-Inca times. The islands are composed entirely of totora reeds, including the houses and the boats used by local people. As you explore these fascinating islands you will be able to interact with friendly islanders and enjoy the opportunity to purchase their handcrafts, ride in their boats and observe their daily lives.

Leaving the Uros, we will continue our boat ride beyond the bay area and out into the main body of the lake, as far as the island of Taquile. This island is known for its pre-Inca and Inca ruins, and for the living Andean culture of the islanders, who produce extraordinary textiles and continue to wear traditional clothing. On Taquile it is the men who knit, while the women produce yarn and weave. After wandering this peaceful island, we will board our boat once more for the return trip to the city of Puno, where you will be transferred to your hotel. Lunch (which is included) will be served during the program.

Please note: This tour of Lake Titicaca is available on either a shared or private basis. A private tour will allow you to visit the islands of Uros and Taquile at times when they experience fewer visitors. The private tour involves an additional cost of $75 per person, based on two people traveling together, or $175 for individual travelers.

Day 7: Puno – Cusco

Today you will be transferred to the airport for the flight to Cusco. Upon arrival in the archaeological capital of the Americas, you will be met at the airport and escorted to your hotel.

After settling in to your hotel you will have the afternoon free to relax and wander the narrow streets of the picturesque historic center of Cusco.

Please note: Check-in is normally around 2:00 pm. An early check-in can be arranged but will be subject to availability.

Please note: You may also choose to take the train from Puno to Cusco, which crosses the great highland Andean plain between the two cities on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

Day 8: Cusco City Tour

Today will be spent on a private walking tour of Cusco, during which we will visit the Inca Temple of the Sun, or Coricancha, the city’s cathedral and the art museum. As part of this private program, you will also have the opportunity to visit San Pedro market. This is a lively, bustling produce market where local people shop for goods. The market’s food stalls are popular with local working people. This market visit offers the chance to learn more about local life and to see and even purchase the types of produce normally consumed by the people of Cusco.

Day 9: Cusco – Machu Picchu

In the early morning you will be transferred to the local train station for the ride through the Sacred Valley of the Incas and down into the Urubamba Gorge, all the way to the small town of Aguas Calientes. From Aguas Calientes it is just a short bus ride up the mountain as far as the entrance to the ruins of Machu Picchu. You will be escorted around the ruins by an expert guide, who will explain the history of the site and the original functions of the many structures you will see. After touring the ruins, we will stop for lunch at the Sanctuary Lodge Hotel, at the entrance to the ruins, before returning to our hotel in the town, at your leisure. In the evening we will meet for a good dinner at the hotel or in a local restaurant in the town of Aguas Calientes.

Please note: Government regulations limit the number of daily visitors to Machu Picchu. Entrance is subject to availability. Please book well in advance so that we can confirm your entrance to the ruins. Machu Picchu entrance tickets are non-refundable and non-transferable.

Day 10: Machu Picchu – Aguas Calientes – Cusco

Today will be a free day, with the option to return to Machu Picchu, hike up Huayna Picchu or simply to relax in the small town of Aguas Calientes and bathe in the local natural hot springs. In the afternoon you will board the train for the return trip to Cusco, where upon arrival you will be met and transferred to your hotel.

Please note: Entrance tickets to Machu Picchu for an additional visit on the second day are not included. When you book your tour, please let us know if you think you would like to return to the ruins or hike up Huayna Picchu (places are subject to availability).

Day 11: Cusco – Lima

Today we will pick you up from your hotel in Cusco and escort you to the airport for your flight to Lima. Upon arrival in Lima you will be met and transferred to your hotel.

Day 12: Lima – Paracas

Early in the morning you will be transferred to the bus station for the bus ride to Paracas, via the Pan-American Highway, following the arid Pacific coastline of Peru. Upon arrival in Paracas you will be met at the bus station and escorted to your hotel, after which you will have the rest of the day free to enjoy the hotel’s facilities.

Day 13: Paracas – Nazca

In the morning you will be transferred to the airport in Pisco for the flight in a Grand Caravan light aircraft, with seating for 12 passengers, over the world famous Nazca Lines. This is a unique opportunity to view and to photograph this immense pre-Inca astronomical calendar, etched onto the desert surface more than a thousand years ago and only fully visible from the air. After this 1 hour and 40 minute flight you will be escorted once more to your hotel in Paracas.

In the afternoon we will visit the Paracas Natural Reserve, Peru’s only maritime and coastal protected natural area, with its fascinating fauna and intriguing remains of a pre-Inca coastal dwelling culture.

Day 14: Ballestas Islands – Lima

After a light breakfast in the hotel, you will be escorted to the port for a 2-hour cruise to the Ballestas Islands, where it is possible to observe at close quarters colonies of sea lions, Humboldt penguins and more than 60 species of seabirds. On the way out to the islands, it is also possible to see the so-called “Candelabra,” an enormous design etched into the surface of the desert coast, about which almost nothing is known.

After lunch (not included) at your hotel in Paracas, you will be escorted to the terminal for the return bus to the city of Lima. Upon arrival in the nation’s capital, you will be met at the terminal and escorted to the airport for your international flight.