Highlights of Peru

Arrive to the Lima airport, you will be met by our representative and transferred to your hotel.

On day 2, after breakfast, you will be met by your guide for a private half-day tour of Lima. Our Lima city tour focuses on both the colonial and modern elements of the city, followed by a visit to the Larco Museum. The afternoon is at leisure to explore the vibrant Miraflores neighborhood on your own. We can recommend restaurants for dinner and advise reservations at Lima’s most popular venues.

After an early breakfast, transfer to the Lima airport for your domestic flight to Puerto Maldonado – the gateway to the Peruvian Amazon. On arrival a short road transfer will take you to the pier, where you will depart for a 45-minute boat transfer to your jungle lodge.

Inkaterra Reserva Amazonica is adjacent to the lush Tambopata National Reserve, where the Madre de Dios river meanders through the Southern Peru rainforest region, known as the Biodiversity Capital of Peru. A welcoming haven situated at the heart of a 17,000 hectare (42,008-acre) private ecological reserve. Enjoy two full days exploring the Southern Peruvian Amazon.

Explore the Southern Peruvian Amazon for two full days with a variety of jungle excursions. On guided tours you can explore the trail system and learn about the local flora, footprints, medicinal plants, ants, birds, frogs and pick up some jungle skills. Venture out on the water at dusk for beautiful photographic opportunities and stargazing at night. On half-day excursions venture further afield to Lake Sandoval, an oxbow lake or tour the canopy walk for a different view of the forest or spend a full day exploring the Tambopata region, canoeing, learning about native foods and skills, bird watching, searching for footprints from nocturnal creatures and photographing this spectacular setting.

After breakfast boat and road transfer to Puerto Maldonado airport for your flight to Cusco. Upon arrival in Cusco you will be met and transferred to your hotel in the Sacred Valley. The Urubamba Valley is lower than Cusco and we find it easier for a first night at this high altitude.

On day 7 you will have a choice of excursions.

Cultural Experience at Amaru:

After an early breakfast, meet your guide and depart for toward the village of Pisac. Beyond Pisac, you’ll find the community of Amaru, where your hosts, the locals from “Laraypas Indígenas de Amaru Association,” will welcome you and explain their daily life, traditions, and the work that the Association does on behalf of preserving the traditional culture. After a short briefing, visit the fields to learn the ancestral agricultural traditions and participate in their daily farming routine. After a delicious local lunch, participate in a “weaving workshop”, including a short hike through a native forest, where you will choose the plants that will dye the natural fibers. Discover the medicinal and culinary properties of some of these plants. The women of the community will show you their traditional weaving techniques that are still used today. In the afternoon return to your hotel in the Sacred Valley. B/L

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Full day mountain biking:

This morning your guide will meet you and transfer to Huaran for a day of mountain biking. Start biking through fields on a mixture of dirt road and single-track trails. Views of Andean crops, local farmers and Inca ruins surround you as you ride for about an hour and a half before reaching the Sacred Valley Mountains and Huayoccari, where you will stop for a picnic lunch. After lunch, continue cross the bridge over the Vilcanota River into Huayllabamba village, along Urquillo Creek and on to Huicho, where your vehicle will be waiting for you. This is a ride full of colors, nature and people. Relax and enjoy the views from your hotel this evening.

After an early breakfast, your guide will meet you and transfer you to the Vistadome train for the journey to Machu Picchu. Start down the Urubamba gorge as it changes from mountain vegetation to cloud forest, before arriving at the station of the village of Machu Picchu Pueblo. On arrival, check in to your hotel before taking the bus to the Machu Picchu ruins for guided visit and lunch at the restaurant at the on-site Sanctuary lodge.

On the morning of day 9 meet your guide to hike Huayna Picchu Mountain – the mountain that faces the citadel – and then return to the ruins of Machu Picchu. After your tour, have an early lunch in the village of Machu Picchu before returning on the Vistadome train to Ollanta. Upon arrival visit the scenic Ollantayambo ruins before continuing to your Cusco hotel for overnight.

Day 10 meet your guide this morning and explore Sacsayhuaman, a vast fortress built on three platforms, overlooking the city of Cusco. Continue to Kenko, a site of worship with a high rock carved into the shape of a Puma which dominates a series of canals. The road continues uphill to reach Puca Pucara and Tambomachay, a site with Inca baths. Return to Cusco, and visit the main sites around the Plaza de Armas – The Cathedral and the Sun Temple of Koricancha inside the Santo Domingo Temple. The evening is yours to further explore Cusco.

On day 11 it’s time to depart. Take a late morning transfer to the airport for your flight back to Lima. On arrival in Lima, our representative will be waiting for you to assist with your connecting flight home.