| Day 1 - Depart UK, arrive Lima |
Depart from the UK to Lima with Iberia airlines. Upon your evening arrival in Lima airport you will be met and transferred to your hotel located in the Miraflores district of the city.
Enjoy a goodnight's sleep so that you wake up fresh in the morning.
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| Day 2 - Lima |
Day in Lima to enjoy a city tour and see some of the city's fine museums. The Larco museum and the Gold museum are worth an extra special mention and after the city tour we can arrange for you to visit or you can make your own way there.
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| Day 3 - Cusco |
This morning you will have an early transfer to the airport for your short flight into the Andes to Cusco. Cusco is an exciting and picturesque place to spend a few days.
It is at quite a high altitude and so you will more than likely feel the small effects of being at 3,338m. The afternoon will be free once you have checked into your hotel, so that you can wander around and get your bearings and just take it easy.
We don't think you can spend enough time in Cusco. While there are museums, shops, churches, galleries, we think that just sitting with a cool drink on a balcony overlooking the main square takes a lot of beating!
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Day 4 - Cusco
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Today you will have a chance to visit the main sites of Cusco including Sacsayhuaman on the outskirts of Cusco.
Sacsayhuaman was an immense theatre entirely built of stones weighing 100 tons and perfectly assembled. This was the fortress of Sacsayhuamán, where the Incas performed sacred rites and held festivals. This fortress also served as a refuge in cases of emergency thanks to the imposing walls which protected it.
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| Day 5 - Pisac |
This morning you will be taken by car to the pretty Andean village of Pisac, located in the east end of the Sacred Valley. Pisac is famous for its market (the main market is on Sundays with smaller markets on Tuesdays and Thursdays). That said, it is definitely worthy of a visit on any day of the week and just an hour away from Cusco it is great to see a bit beyond Cusco.
Overnight in Cusco.
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Day 6 - The Sacred Valley
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Full day in the Sacred Valley of the Incas. Explore the amazing fortresses at Ollantaytambo and Chinchero.
The Sacred Valley was appreciated by the Incas due to its special geographical and climatic qualities. It was one of the empire's main points for the extraction of natural wealth, and the best place for maize production in Peru.
During the Inca Empire, Ollantaytambo was the royal estate of Emperor Pachacuti who conquered the region, built the town and a ceremonial centre. At the time of the Spanish conquest of Peru it served as a stronghold for Manco Inca Yupanqui, leader of the Inca resistance.
Chinchero was once the country estate of one of the last emperors, Tupa Inca. Palace walls were constructed of large stones put together like giant jigsaw puzzles. Inside, the palace would have been light and bright with windows to allow the sun's rays to shine on gold and silver objects and fine weavings.
Overnight in a small hotel in Urubamba. |
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| Day 7 - Machu Picchu |
Take the train from Urubamba to Machu Picchu, to explore the Inca citadel.Today is an early start, but you will arrive in Machu Picchu before many of those arriving on the train from Cusco.
Machu Picchu lives up to all expectations. Try as you might, you can never justify it in words, and as amazing as Machu Picchu looks in photographs, there is simply no match for seeing it in person.
Machu Picchu (like most of the Quechua names of towns and different sites in the region) is a compound word that comes from machu = old or ancient, and picchu = peak or mountain; therefore, Machu Picchu is translated as "Old Mountain". The famous mountain that is seen in front, and appears in most of the classical views of the site is called Wayna Picchu (Young Mountain).
Machu Picchu was probably built around the year 1450 AD, and it only thrived for approximately 100 years. Once abandoned, the site survived only within the knowledge of locals who knew about its existence. Machu Picchu would live in lore until its rediscovery in 1911. Hiram Bingham, a Yale archaeologist and academic, was exploring the area when he found the ruins with the help of a local farmer.
Overnight near Machu Picchu.
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| Day 8 - Cusco |
In the morning you may like to get up early and see Machu Picchu without many other people around.
In the afternoon take the train back down to Cusco where you will spend the night.
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| Day 9 - Train to Puno |
You will be transferred to the train station in Cusco for the early morning luxury train across the altiplano to Lake Titicaca and Puno.The train is a lovely relaxing way to cover the ground and lunch is taken on board.
Overnight in Puno, where you will be based for the next 3 nights. An upgrade option is possible here and you could choose to spend two nights on Suasi Island after your one night in Puno. Do call for more details.
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Day 10 - Lake Titicaca
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Full day exploring Lake Titicaca. You will visit the floating Uros Islands, as well as Taquille and Amantaní
Populated by some 800 Quechua-speaking families, Amantaní is a circular, 9 sq. km. island located 36km (22 miles) northeast of Puno. The island is dominated by two mountain peaks, called Pachatata (Father Earth) and Pachamama (Mother Earth). The island's main attraction, though, are the two lookouts atop the peaks, almost 300 metres over the lake. They offer beautiful sights of Lake Titicaca, particularly during sunsets.
Located 35 kilometres east of Puno, Taquile is a beautiful hilly island, narrow and long and parenthesis-shaped. It was used as a prison during the Spanish Colony and well into the beginning of the 20th century and only became property of the Taquile people in 1970. |
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Day 11 - Lake Titicaca
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Further full day on Lake Titicaca.
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| Day 12 - Arequipa |
Fly from Puno to Arequipa.
Arequipa lies in the Andes mountains, at an altitude of 2,380 meters (7,800 feet) above sea level; the snow-capped volcano El Misti overlooks the city. The city has many colonial-era Spanish buildings built of sillar, a pearly white volcanic rock, from which it gets the nickname La Ciudad Blanca ("The White City"). The historic centre of Arequipa was named a UNESCO world heritage site in 2000, in recognition of its architecture and historic integrity.
This afternoon you will have a chance to wander around the town and enjoy an evening in the town.
2 nights in Arequipa. |
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| Day 13 - Arequipa |
Enjoy a full day of sight-seeing in Arequipa visiting specifically the convent, Santa Catalina which was built in 1580 and enlarged in the 17th century.
The convent once housed approximately 450 people (about a third of them nuns and the rest servants) in a cloistered community. In the 1960s, it was struck twice by earthquakes, severely damaging the structures, and forcing the nuns to build new accommodation next door. It was then restored and opened to the public. It provides a fascinating insight into convent life. Not for everybody! |
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| Day 14 Lima |
You will be transferred back to the airport for your flight back to Lima to connect to your overnight flight to the UK.
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