Essential Peru

Upon arrival in Lima, we will be met by our local representative and transferred to our hotel. The balance of the day is at leisure. Tonight we enjoy a “Welcome to Peru” dinner at our hotel.

We join our guide this morning for a fascinating city tour where we will see both the city of the conquistadors as well as the city of the 21st century. Not only is Lima the national capital, but it is also the financial and business hub of the country. Our tour will take us to both the colonial and modern sections of this “City of Kings.” Sights include the Plaza Mayor to see the Government Palace, the Cathedral, the Archbishop's Palace and the City Hall.  From here our tour continues to the modern residential suburb of San Isidro and to downtown Miraflores, with its Park of Love to enjoy a splendid view of the Pacific Ocean. Finally, we drive to the Larco Herrera Museum, to view the world's largest private collection of Peruvian pre-Columbian art which comprises approximately 45,000 pieces of gold, silver, ceramics, textiles, stone, and wood. Our afternoon is free to explore Lima on our own.

This morning we transfer to the airport for our flight up to historic Cusco. Upon arrival in Cusco, we will be met and transferred to our hotel to relax and allow time for our bodies to acclimatize to the high altitude. This afternoon, we join our guide for a walking tour of the town – the ancient capital of the Inca Empire and the oldest city in the western hemisphere! Cusco, located in southern Peru, is a city with perhaps the most beautiful views in the world. It is surrounded by six mountains, some more than 6,000 meters high. As we stroll along the ancient stone-walled streets, our guide will give us some insights into the daily lifestyle of the Inca people and how they adapted to this remote environment. We will see how massive Inca-built walls line steep, narrow cobblestone streets and form the foundations of modern buildings. The plazas are thronged with Quechua-speaking descendants of the Incas and ancient treasures are carefully guarded inside colonial mansions and churches. Our tour includes visits to the Cathedral, Santo Domingo Church and the Plaza de Armas.

This morning we transfer to Urubamba Valley, also known as the Sacred Valley of the Inca. En route to our accommodation, we will visit the Urubamba River for a sacred shaman ritual. This ceremony will take place by the Urubamba which is selected for its scenic beauty and its harmony with nature. The ceremony is divided into three stages – the Coca Lecture is a ritual about future love, health, etc. – the Ceremony of Offering to the Pachamama (Mother Earth) and Los Apus (Sacred Mountains) where these protected divinities are asked for health, protection, work, love, etc – and Cleaning and Healing is performed by the shaman with sacred Andina plants. At the end of the ceremony, your body will be full of energy. The ceremony is ended with an offering to the river.

About the Sacred Valley: The Urubamba Valley is also known as “El Valle Sagrado de Los Incas”, or the Sacred Valley of the Incas. It is a laid-back valley near Cusco with a very pleasant climate perfectly suited for farming. Ancient ruins, gentle mountain slopes and scattered farming towns define the valley. The same properties that make the valley attractive for today’s tourists were also the reason why the Inca chose this valley for their permanent settlements. The valley also served as a gateway to the jungle and was easily defendable by Ollantaytambo to the northwest and Rumicolca to the southeast.

Accommodation: Standard Hotel

Moray's ruins are located at 3,450 meters, where we can see pre-Inca and Inca ruins, such as circular platforms used as agricultural terraces with a complex system of irrigation that reach three sectors. These ruins were discovered in1930. The site that the Quechua named "muyus" is the deepest pit whose depth is 150 meters; the height of the platform is around 1.80 meters. These ruins belong to the Inca age; they used to be an agricultural experimentation center so the Incas re-created microclimates on every terrace.

After visiting Maras, we will start walking down to Salineras, a hydraulic engineering wonder and a must for photographers. The saltpans on overhanging cliffs command spectacular views of the Andean mountains and the Urubamba river valley below. The mine has been working since the Inca times. We will also visit the Inca town of Ollantaytambo, amazing because it is built on top of real Inka houses and the little streets and water channels are the original ones. The Ollantaytambo fortress embraces majestically its town, with its thousands of terraces, squares and temples. This site is absolutely unique because it is possible to view the different types of Inka architecture.

We are up early for our transfer to Ollantaytambo Station for a train ride (in the Vistadome carriage) through the Sacred Valley of Urubamba to the "Lost City of the Incas," Machu Picchu. Perched 8,200 feet above the valley, it was hidden by mountains and semi-tropical jungles for 400 years until discovered by Hiram Bingham of Yale University in 1911. Archaeologists believe that the Inca "Virgins of the Sun" took refuge from the Spanish Conquistadors here. On arrival in Aguas Calientes, we are met and transferred to our hotel. This afternoon we enjoy a guided tour of the ruins.

We are up early this morning for a tour of the Sanctuary of Machu Picchu. Later this afternoon we board the train in the Vista Dome Carriage for our transfer back to Cuzco and our hotel. 

Our tour starts at the impressive Colonial Cathedral in Cusco which contains over 400 paintings from the Cusquena School and several beautiful altars. Then you will visit the Temple of the Sun, the main religious center of the Incas dedicated to the Sun Cult according to the chronicles, the walls were entirely covered with gold. After this you will visit the nearby archeological sites: Sacsayhuaman, the Royal House of the Sun and one of the greatest stone monuments in Incan architecture; Qenqo Amphitheater, a well known Incan temple that dominates the whole area; Tomachay, located 8 km from Cuzco and 1 km from Puca Pucara, the name comes from two Quechua words - Tampu, meaning collective housing and Machay, which means a resting place; Puca Pucara, (Reddish Fortress) which takes its name from the color of the soil found in the area. Tonight we enjoy a “Farewell Dinner” at a local restaurant.

We transfer to the airport this morning for our short flight to Lima in time to connect with our international flights home.