Ultimate Peru

Day 1: Arrival at Lima
Today you will arrive at Lima International Airport. Upon arrival, you will be met by a representative who will welcome you and you start your journey to Lima, and proceed to Hotel Innside by Melia for overnight.

Day 2: Lima
After breakfast, you will be heading out for a city tour in Lima. You will begin your tour by driving through the modern residential districts of Miraflores and San Isidro. You will pass through the Financial Center, the Lima Golf Club, the Olive Groves and the Huaca Pucllana, a pre-Inca ceremonial pyramid-shaped temple that has survived Lima’s wild urban sprawl. You will also stop at Parque del Amor (Love Park) and enjoy a nice view of the Pacific Ocean, as we will drive down the Miraflores Malecon, a road along the cliffs overlooking the ocean. You will continue your journey into downtown Lima’s Historical Center, acknowledged as a Heritage of Humanity site in 1991 by UNESCO. This is where the Spanish colony was established and where the first buildings were erected in the 16th century. You will also visit the Convent of Santo Domingo, where the relics of the three Peruvian saints Santa Rosa de Lima, San Martin de Porres, and San Juan Macias are conserved. At the end of the tour, you will have a choice to either shop at the Indian Market, Larcomar Mall, or return to your hotel for leisure. Overnight at Hotel Innside by Melia.

Day 3: Lima - Paracas
After breakfast, you will be transferred to the bus station for your departure bus to Paracas. Upon arrival in Paracas, your guide will be waiting for you and transfer you to La Hacienda Bahia de Paracas for leisure and overnight.

Day 4: Ballestas Islands - Lima
After breakfast, you will be heading out to the Ballestas Islands. Ballestas is a group of Islands that constitute a habitat for a wide variety of birds and sea lions, which can be easily seen from a motorboat. On the route to the Islands, it is the Candelabro, a geoglyph over 120 meters long drawn on a dune, which can be best observed from the sea. The trip around the islands is one of the most popular from Paracas. Kindly note that services are subject to weather conditions and the boat is a shared activity. In the afternoon, you will be transferred to the bus station for your departure bus back to Lima. Upon arrival in Lima, your guide will be waiting for you and transfer you to Hotel Innside by Melia for leisure and overnight.

Day 5: Lima - Arequipa
After breakfast, you will be transferred to the airport for your departure flight to Arequipa. Upon arrival in Arequipa, your guide will be waiting for you and transfer you to Hotel Casa Andina Select Arequipa for leisure and overnight.

Day 6: Colca Valley
After breakfast, you will be picked from your hotel, and we will drive to Chivay. Your first stop is in the National Reserve of “Pampa Cañahuas". Continuing this journey takes a detour to the Colca Valley. The second stop is at a restaurant called the Chinitos to 4000 meters / 13,123 feet in height. Here you can watch the Misti and Pichu Pichu, Chachani from the rear and see the forest of rocks, rock formations shaped like trees. Continuing your trip, you will make a stop on the pampas of Toccra. Afterward, we will descend to Chivay, the most important town of the Colca Valley. Chivay is 3650 meters/ 11,975 feet high. Arriving at Chivay you can have lunch (not included). In the afternoon you will go to the baths of hot water, called La Calera. At night the guide will take you to a folk club (optional), where you can enjoy typical food and drinks and the folkloric show. Return to the hotel for rest and overnight stay. Overnight at Hotel El Refugio.

Day 7: Colca Valley - Puno
After breakfast, you will depart to Cross del Condor, where you can see the Colca Canyon and the flight of the Condors. Having enjoyed the Colca Canyon and the flight of the Condor you will head back to Chivay. On the way, you will visit the lookout HuayraPunko where you will have a magnificent view across to the valley of Colca. The third stop is the viewpoint Antahuilque where you can see the amphitheater-shaped terraces and ponds mysterious valley Colca. The last stop will be visiting the town of Maca, which is an optional stop. After lunch, you will depart towards Puno via some amazing landscapes and stops like Chinito, lagunillas where you can see beautiful landscapes with a lagoon and birds. In the evening you will arrive in Puno for leisure and rest at Hotel Jose Antionio.

Day 8: Puno
After breakfast, you will spend a full day exploring the Uros & Taquile Islands on Lake Titicaca. Indulge yourself in the splendor and spirit of the lake at Titicaca surrounded by stunning scenery and astounding Andean geography, You will visit the Uros Islands, a group of 40 big islands, located within the Titicaca National Reserve, where the Uros, continue living like their ancestors did, preserving their customs and idiosyncrasy but above all, their own system of communal life. Afterward, you will navigate towards Taquile Island, another spectacular island in the middle of the huge Lake Titicaca. Visiting Taquile you will have an idea of the customs and traditions of the indigenous inhabitants and how these people are able to maintain themselves, far away from the civilized world. In the afternoon, you will be transferred back to Hotel Jose Antionio in Puno.

Day 9: Puno - Cusco
After an early breakfast, you will depart from Puno at 06:40 am, by a tourist bus towards Cusco. Along the way you will make several stops including the Pucará Museum, Abra La Raya, Raqchi “Temple of Wiracocha”, Andahuaylillas “Sistine Chapel of America” and you will enjoy a Marangani buffet lunch. You will arrive in Cusco around 05:00 pm and you will be transferred to Costa del Sol Ramada Hotel for leisure and overnight.

Note: It is also possible to take the train instead of the bus, departing Puno at 07:30 am, arriving in Cusco at 05:50 pm. The PeruRail Titicaca Train features an open-air observatory car, allowing you to take in the majestic views while enjoying the typical music and dances of the Peruvian highlands. During your trip, you will have the chance to take panoramic pictures of some of the quintessential Andean landscapes.

Day 10: Cusco
After breakfast, you will be picked up for a culinary journey that takes you throughout the Peruvian coast, highlands, and jungle, the different and unequivocal flavors that you will try throughout our cooking class will spoil your tastebuds as you participate in the best culinary experience found in the city of Cusco.
In the afternoon you will be heading out for a city tour in Cusco. This beautiful city has an interesting history, both from Inca and colonial times. You start this half-day tour at Cusco’s main square, which was called Huacaypata (Warriors Square) by the Incas. Next, you continue to Koricancha and the Convent of Santo Domingo. The convent was built on top of the most important Inca temple dedicated to the worship of the sun, with walls covered with gold leaf. Wandering through the streets of what once was the capital of the Inca Empire, you feel like you are traveling through time. After exploring Cusco, you head to the nearby ruins, such as the Sacsayhuaman Fortress with its immense temple walls made out of huge stones constructed in a zigzag pattern; the red fort Puca Pucara; the Qenko Amphitheater, and Tambomachay, the Inca baths. Full of new knowledge about the history of the Incas, you return to Costa del Sol Ramada Hotel in Cusco for leisure and overnight.

Day 11: Sacred Valley 
After breakfast, your guide will be waiting for you for a full-day tour to the sacred valley including lunch. The Sacred Valley, located between Cusco and Machu Picchu, was unquestionably an important area for the Incas. During this full-day tour, you start the day by visiting the Pisac Andean market, where thousands of people from the region come to sell and/or buy agricultural products and handicrafts. It is an interesting experience offering you new insights into the culture of this region and, of course, you also have time to do some shopping! In the afternoon, you visit the Ollantaytambo Ruins. These famous ruins are named after Ollanta, a warrior who fell in love with an Inca princess but was not allowed to marry her. One of the best-preserved sites of this area is known as Hanan Huacaypata and is north of the main square. The tour ends with a stop at Chinchero, a village specialized in textile products that also has an interesting Inca history. In the evening you will be transferred back to Hotel Casa Andina Premium Valle Sagrado for leisure and overnight

Day 12: Machu Picchu 
After breakfast, you will walk to the train station to board the 360° Machu Picchu train from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes (1:30 hour). Experience a unique way to travel to Machu Picchu, exploring the Andean landscape like never before with wider and taller panoramic windows and an observation outdoor carriage including a bar. The only train in Peru with an entertainment app onboard which will allow you to learn more about the train journey and the Inca civilization. Enjoy our appetizing selection of cold and warm drinks, prepared using fruit juices and Andean herbs, and our delicious gourmet and organic delights made with products from the Sacred Valley. On your arrival in Aguas Calientes, you will have a guided tour of the archaeological site. From Aguas Calientes, you will board a bus to Machu Pichu. Machupicchu was only re-discovered in 1911 by the explorer Hiram Bingham, this citadel is considered to be one of the most extraordinary examples of landscape architecture in the world. Located in an enclave on the saddle of a mountain overlooking the deep canyon of the Urubamba River, in an area of lush tropical forest, it served as a place of worship, a site for star-gazing, and a private hacienda of the family of the Inca Pachacutec. The stairways and canals carved out of stone are recurrent throughout this remarkable archaeological site. Machu Picchu was declared a Peruvian Historical Sanctuary in 1981 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983. In 2007, Machu Picchu was chosen as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. In the evening you will head to your hotel for leisure and overnight. In the evening you will walk to the train station to board the 360° Machu Picchu train from Aguas Calientes to Ollantaytambo. Upon arrival in Ollantaytambo, you will be transferred to El Mapi for leisure and overnight.

Day 13: Cusco - Puerto Maldonado
After breakfast, you will be transferred to the airport for your departure flight to Puerto Maldonado. Upon arrival in Puerto Maldonado, your guide will be waiting for you and you will be heading out to Tambopata River Port, where you will catch a boat to Posada Amazonas. The forty-five-minute boat ride from the Tambopata Port to Posada Amazonas will take you into the Community ́s Primary Forest Private Reserve. Upon arrival, the lodge manager will welcome you and brief you with important navigation and security tips. A twenty-minute walk from Posada Amazonas leads to the 30-meter scaffolding canopy tower. From the top, you will enjoy spectacular views of the vast expanses of standing forest cut by the Tambopata River winding through the middle. Now and then toucans, parrots or macaws are seen, or mixed species canopy flocks land in the treetop next to you. In the evening return to Posada Amazonas for dinner and overnight.

Day 14: Puerto Maldonado
After breakfast, you will be heading out to Tres Chimbadas Oxbow Lake. Tres Chimbadas is thirty minutes by boat and forty-five minutes hiking from Posada Amazonas. Once there you will paddle around the lake in a catamaran, searching for the resident family of nine giant river otters and other lakeside wildlife such as caiman, hoatzin, and horned screamers. Otters are most active from dawn to eight or nine AM. Afterward, you will walk towards the Parrot Clay Lick, which is a twenty-minute walk. Species such as Mealy and Yellow-headed Amazon, Blue-headed Parrot, and Dusky-headed Parakeet descend at this clay lick. After lunch, you will be heading out for a twenty-minute boat drive downriver leading you to a trail designed by the staff of the Centro Ñape. The Centro Ñape is a communal organization that produces medicines out of forest plants. They have produced a trail that explains the different medicinal (and other) uses of selected plants. You will return to the lodge for dinner. After dinner, you will have an option to go for a hike at night, when most mammals are active. You can also find frogs with shapes and sounds as bizarre as their natural histories. Overnight at Posada Amazonas.

Day 15: Puerto Maldonado - Lima
After breakfast, you will be transferred by boat from Posada Amazonas to Tambopata River Port. From there you will be transferred to the airport for your departure flight to Lima from where you can catch your international flight out.