Peru, Cusco, Machu Picchu, Nazca Lines
10-Day Tour
Day 1: Lima
Welcome to the Jorge Chavez Airport. You will be met by your driver and driven to your hotel in Lima and get oriented. Here you will have time to relax, have dinner and discuss the itinerary, spending your first night Lima.
Day 2: Lima
After breakfast we will tour the city of Lima -- the Municipal Palace, the Government Palace, the Convent of San Francisco and its catacombs, the modern and financial districts of Miraflores and San Isidro. In the afternoon there will be some free time to explore the shops and neighborhoods of Lima. We will return to our hotel for one more night in Lima.
Day 3: Lima, Paracas, Ballestas Island, Nazca
An early start with a 4:00 a.m. pick up from the hotel will get us to the city of Paracas, arriving approximately at 8.00 am. We will meet the boat at the pier that will take us for a tour of the Ballestas Islands. The waters around these islands have one of the highest concentrations of marine life in the world, still in a natural state of preservation. On the way there we will see the enigmatic and indecipherable (?) a weird way to describe -- needs more explanantion -- candelabro, an important marine fauna. We will also see birds such as the Guanay, Piquero, Tendril and Humboldt penguins, as well as endangered colonies of sea lions.
Our next destination is the city of Nazca, taking about three hours of traveltime. From here we will board a plane and fly over the enigmatic Nazca lines. These mysterious strokes made on the desert sands cover an area of 350 km2. These lines make up figures of various animals and plants like the spider, monkey, dog, lizard, the hummingbird and the condor. These large figures reach 15 to 250 meters, each with a depth of 30 cm. According to Dr. Maria Reiche, the foremost scholar of these lines, it is the largest astronomical calendar of the world. We will have lunch at the Hotel Casa Andina Nazca. From here we will visit to Mirador Maria Reiche (describe what this is) and then return to Lima, arriving at approximately 11:00pm, where we will spend the night.
Day 4: Cusco
After breakfast we will be driven to Lima airport for our flight to Cusco. A new guide and driver will welcome us at Cusco airport and we will be driven to the hotel. In the afternoon, we will enjoy a city tour of Cusco, visiting the Koricancha, which is an Incan temple inside but looks like a Catholic church outside. The next site will be the fortress of Sacsayhuaman with its impressive giant stone walls built more than 15 meters high. Then we will travel to the ruins of Quenko, Puca Pucara and Tambomachay before returning to the hotel in Cusco.
Day 5: Sacred Valley
After breakfast we will have a full day excursion to the Sacred Valley of the Incas, visit the famous handicraft markets of Pisac and the Incan ruins located in the same town. We will enjoy a buffet lunch in the valley. We will spend the afternoon exploring the fortress of Ollantaytambo, famous for its platform and pre-Incan architecture. To end the day we will visit the Andean village of Chichero looms, famous for its ceramics, and return to the hotel in Cusco.
Day 6: Machi Picchu
Today will start with a train ride to Aguas Calientes. From here we will board a bus which will take us to the ruins of Machu Picchu. Here we will be taken on a privately guided tour where we will visit Machu Picchu every corner, both the urban and agricultural area. Then we will enjoy a buffet lunch at the Machu Picchu Sanctuary Lodge. We will finish the day with a second visit to the Citadel Machu Picchu to and take pictures, and admire the views until the park closes at (06:00 pm), and sleep in Aguas Calientes.
Day 7: Cusco
Breakfast at the Hotel (name of hotel?), after whcih we will take the train back to Cusco. The rest of the day will be spent exploring Cusco and returning the the hotel there.
Day 8: Salt Mines of Maras
In the morning we will take a half day tour to the salt mines of Maras and visit the circular terraces of Moray. We will take time to do some last minute shopping before leaving Cusco because we will get an early start from our hotel in the morning.
Day 9: Rafting at Urubamba River
After breakfast, we will go on a riverafting tour down the Urubamba river. These rapids are Class I and II. While rafting, the guide will explain the fascinating cultural history and natural phenomenon of this region.
Day 10: Back home.
After breakfast at the hotel we will drive to the airport for our flight back to Lima and home.
Tour Includes:
- Round trip ticket to LIMA
- Air ticket Lima / Cusco / Lima
- Transfers
- Airport / Hotel / Airport in Lima and Cusco
- 3 nights accommodation in Hotel in Lima.
- 5 nights accommodation in Hotel in Cusco
- 1 night accommodation in Hotel in Aguas Calientes
- 9 Breakfasts at hotels
- 7 Lunches
- 7 Dinners
- Airport taxes
- Bilingual Guide
- City tour of Lima
- Full Day Tour Paracas-Nazca
- Typical lunch in Nazca
- Tour the temple Korikancha and 4 ruins in Cuzco
- Full day excursion to the Sacred Valley of the Incas
- Buffet lunch in the Sacred Valley
- Guided tour through the ruins of Machu Picchu
- Buffet lunch at Machu Picchu
- Buses up and down to Machu Picchu
- Train ticket round tourist
- Expedition to Machu Picchu
- Expedition
- Tourist train ticket back to Cusco
- All park admition
- All accommodations Category 4 **** and 3***
Cost:
Please contact us for a price
for this tour.