11 Days Living Peru from Lima

What's Included

Meeting and pickup

Itinerary

Day 1
ARRIVAL LIMA
1 stop
1
Centro Historico de Lima
A transportation service and a guide 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 is home to approximately 10 million inhabitants. The city is currently undergoing an exciting process of cultural and economic changes.
2 days • Admission ticket included
Day 2
LIMA
1 stop
2
Centro Historico de Lima
Breakfast at the hotel. Explore Lima´s old town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site packed with fascinating historic buildings. Start with the Larco Museum, located in the traditional Pueblo Libre district, which is housed in a beautifully restored vice regal mansion built on a pre-Columbian pyramid from the VII century. The museum boasts the most complete pre-Hispanic collection of gold and silver objects, as well as pieces of erotic art. Then visit Casa Aliaga, a colonial mansion granted in 1535 by chief conquistador Francisco Pizarro to Jerónimo de Aliaga, one of his captains. This is the only house from that time that is still owned by the same family through the centuries. Continue to a scenic tour in the colonial downtown, which originates and spreads out from the Main Square, where you can appreciate the grandiose architecture of the Spanish Empire. Be amazed by Lima´s Cathedral, built during the 16th century and took over 80 years to complete. Finally, you are transferred back to the hotel
4 minutes • Admission ticket included
Day 3
LIMA – AREQUIPA (90 mins by flight; not included)
1 stop
3
Breakfast at the hotel. You are transferred from the hotel to Lima airport. Once you arrive at the airport of Arequipa, a transportation service takes you to your hotel. A representative informs you about the attractions and services that the city has to offer. The route begins in Arequipa´s Main Square, one of the most beautiful of Peru. Front facing this square is the imposing Cathedral, built in the seventeenth century. From there, go to the Monastery of Santa Catalina, a cloister and small religious citadel built in 1579, still in use to date. Then, visit the Church of the Compañia de Jesus (1590), considered a classic example of local baroque architecture that houses an exceptional exhibition of paintings and murals. Finally, visit the districts of Yanahuara and Carmen Alto for a panoramic view of the Arequipa countryside. At the end, you are transferred to your hotel in Arequipa.
3 hours • Admission ticket included
Day 4
AREQUIPA – VALLEY AND COLCA CANYON (180 km – 3.5 hrs)
1 stop
4
Breakfast at the hotel. Leave the city via Yura, a district characterised by its rugged scenery, hills and cliffs. Then, enter Pampa Cañahuas Reserve, an extensive plain where vicuñas, Andean camelid and national symbol, can be spotted. Head to Vizcachani, Pampas de Toccra, up to the crater of the volcano Chucura and on to Mirador de los Andes at Patapampa (4800 m.a.s.l.) where the volcanoes surrounding Arequipa can be seen. Lunch is served in the town of Chivay and in the afternoon you can rest in the hotel.
4 hours • Admission ticket included
Day 5
VALLEY AND COLCA CANYON – PUNO (255 km – 4.5 hrs)
1 stop
5
Head to the Condor Cross, from where you may appreciate the Colca Valley (one of the world´s deepest canyons) to see the huge and majestic condor flying a few meters away. Back in Chivay, visit the Pinchollo, Maca, Achoma and Yanque towns, and the Antahuilque and Choquetico viewpoints. From there, go to Puno through the detour to Patahuasi. Along the way, observe stone forests and sky-blue lagoons populated by cranes above 4 masl. Arrive at Puno after this amazing journey. (Box lunch included)
8 hours • Admission ticket included
Day 6
PUNO – LAKE TITICACA: UROS AND TAQUILE ISLANDS (1 hr by boat)
1 stop
6
Lake Titicaca
Upon your arrival at Puno's lake port, a vessel takes you to the floating islands of the Uros. Uros are an ancestral society that inhabits a series of artificial islands built with totora, a reed that grows in the lake. The islands are built by weaving this reed in the places where they grow the thickest and form a natural layer. They build their totora houses over it and cook in the open air to prevent possible fires. After a one and a half-hour tour, continue your trip to the Taquile Island. Unlike other islands, inhabited by Aymara-speaking people in the lake, its residents speak Quechua. It was part of the Inca Empire and it is possible to note vestiges of said culture in their buildings. Upon your arrival, receive a brief explanation on the island and attend a cultural activity. Return to Puno after lunch.
7 hours • Admission ticket included
Day 7
PUNO – CUSCO (360 km – 7 hrs)
1 stop
7
Centro Historico De Cusco
Breakfast at the hotel. At the agreed time, a transportation service transfers you from your hotel to the bus station where you are assisted by a representative. The ride to Cuzco is set to have interesting stops on route. The first stop is made in the town of Pucara and the Pucara Lithic Museum. This was the first urban settlement on the highlands, a civilization that populated the area between 100 and 300 B.C. After a brief break at La Raya, the highest pass on our way to Cuzco (at 4313 m.a.s.l), the bus stops at Sicuani where lunch is served. We then head on to Racchi, where Wiracocha Temple, an Inca site built in honour of Wiracocha, a powerful Andean God, is located. The rectangular construction shows thatched rooftops 20 meters above the ground, which are thought to be the highest in the Inca Empire. Later, we visit the Church of Andahuaylillas, known as the "Sistine Chapel of the Americas" owing to the high-quality pieces of art it shelters. The church was built during the XVI century on top of Wari remains. Today it houses a beautifully restored Colonial organ. Finally, a short 40 kilometres drive gets us to Cuzco at the end of today's journey.
10 hours • Admission ticket included
Day 8
CUSCO – CHINCHERO – OLLANTAYTAMBO – SACRED VALLEY (75 km – 1.5 hrs)
1 stop
8
Ollantaytambo
Today breakfast at the hotel is followed by a visit to the town of Chinchero, a small high-altitude town offering beautiful views of the valley and the chance to witness traditional clothing, customs and local handicrafts. Visit archaeological remains and a beautiful seventeenth-century church, one of the first Catholic buildings in Peru. You will then be transferred to the Yucay Museum of Living Culture, where you can see textiles, adobe pottery and silverware being crafted using techniques dating back to the Incas. This centre not only gives you an insight into local Andean traditions, but you also have the opportunity to feed the llamas, sheep and alpacas! Feel the true spirit of the Sacred Valley as you sample a lunch of local cuisine in a cosy restaurant in Ollantaytambo. After eating, explore the streets of Ollantaytambo, inhabited uninterruptedly since Inca times, and climb the iconic fortress built into the mountainside. *On Sundays, you may also visit the local market.
6 hours • Admission ticket free
Day 9
SACRED VALLEY – MACHU PICCHU – CUSCO (115 km – 2 hrs)
1 stop
9
Machu Picchu
Wake up to breakfast at the hotel then transfer to the Ollanta station to begin your trip to Machu Picchu. Enjoy the approximately two-hour scenic train ride to Aguas Calientes, also known as ‘Machu Picchu Pueblo’, the last stop before entering the most important archaeological site in Peru. In Aguas Calientes, you’ll find a craft market, restaurants, and, for those who prefer to spend the night at the foot of the mountain and climb early in the morning, hotels for all budgets. Take a short bus ride up to Machu Picchu, the architectural and engineering masterpiece that once served as a sanctuary and refuge for the Inca ruler Pachacútec. Machu Picchu, which means "Old Mountain", is a UNESCO-listed World Heritage Site and one of the seven new wonders of the world. Return to Aguas Calientes for lunch and then board the train back to Cusco.
12 hours • Admission ticket free
Day 10
CUSCO
1 stop
10
Centro Historico De Cusco
Wake up to breakfast in the hotel, and then enjoy a guided tour of the former capital of the Inca Empire. The tour begins at the Santo Domingo Convent, a building constructed on the site of Coricancha, one of the most important Incan complexes dedicated to sun worship. According to historic records, the original temple walls depicted scenes of nature and were covered in gold leaf. After Coricancha, visit the imposing cathedral in the Plaza de Armas, then head to the Cusco hills, where you’ll find the fortress of Sacsayhuamán and panoramic views of Cusco. Continue on to Qenqo, an archaeological site where it is believed the Incas carried out religious rituals to improve harvests. Your tour ends in Puka Pukara, meaning ‘red fortress’ in Quechua. Puka Pukara is believed to be an ancient military site comprising numerous rooms, courtyards, baths, aqueducts and towers. At the end of the tour, you will be transferred back to your hotel.
4 hours • Admission ticket included
Day 11
DEPARTURE CUSCO
1 stop
11
Cusco
After finishing your breakfast at the hotel, you will be transferred to the airport. Although this is the last day of your journey, we hope that your memories of this remarkable region, bursting with both culture and history, will last a lifetime.
Admission ticket free

Additional info

• Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
• Suitable for all physical fitness levels
• Children must be accompanied by an adult.
• Rates do not apply for Peruvians or foreign passengers who stay in Peru for more than 60 days because sales taxes are not included in the above total and, if applicable, will be collected by the local operator.
• Please advise any specific dietary requirements at time of booking

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