Machu Picchu "the lost city of the Incas" discovered by Hiram Bingham in 1911, is reached by a fascinating train journey from Cusco. The ruins continue to enchant visitors with their exquisite stonework, perched on precipitous slopes overlooking the Urubamba Valley. The Nazca Lines are located in the Pampa region of Peru, the desolate plain of the Peruvian coast 400 km. South of Lima, covering an area of approximately nearly 400 square miles of desert.
Etched in the surface of the desert pampa sand about 300 hundred figures are made of straight lines and geometric shapes most clearly visible from the air. They were supposedly built by an ancient civilization called the Nazca. Visit Nasca, Arequipa and the Colca Canyon, Puno and Uros Island of Lake Titikaka, Cusco and Machu Picchu.
Tour Itinerary:
Day 1: Arrival Lima. Transfer in Lima to your hotel in Miraflores. Afternoon, city tour and museums: Entrance fee included to visit the Catedral, San Francisco, Santo Domingo, Larco Herrera Museum and Archaeological Museum. Overnight La Castellana Hotel.
Day 2: Lima–Paracas. Transfer to Paracas, on route visit Pachacamac Ruins. Entrance fee included to visit Pachacamac and the site museum. The Pachacamac deity, which originated along the central coast, survived the Inca and Spanish Conquests. Inca mythology relates that the ancient deity was the god of fire and the offspring of the sun deity, the fountain of youth whose strength was linked to the earthquakes. With the arrival of Christianity, it was later bound up with the Christ of Pachacamilla, the painting known as the Lord of Miracles.
The Pachacamac shrine is today an archaeological zone in the department of Lima doted with an on-site museum and natural protected areas, such as the carob forest and lake. A tour of the site is to go back in time through the history of the Lurín River Valley and the central coast, the burial sites and temples. Overnight Hostal El Mirador Paracas. Includes: (B).
Day 3: Paracas–Nazca. Morning, Ballestas Islands boat tour. Visit museums in Paracas and Ica, then transfer to Nazca. Entrance fee included to visit Paracas National Reserve, Julio C. Tello Museum and Regional Museum in Ica. The reserve’s 335.000 hectares is a refuge for fur seals, Humboldt penguins, flamingos (parihuanas), and many other birds. You can visit many different natural and archeological attractions in the reserve. Overnight Casa Andina Nazca. Includes: (B).
Day 4: Nazca. Morning, Nazca Lines over flight. Afternoon, visit Chauchilla cemetery and Cantalloc Canals. Entrance fee include to visit Chauchilla. Discovered by Paul Kosok in 1929, the lines were made by a pre-Inca culture between 300 B.C. - 700 A.D. Some believe there is a direct connection between the night sky constellations and these mysterious drawings. Fly over the mysterious Nasca Lines. Overnight Casa Andina Nazca. Includes: (B).
Day 5: Nazca–Arequipa. Transfer to Arequipa includes box lunch on route. Embark on an overland expedition passing through the timeless landscape of sacred peaks and the world's deepest canyon and home to the Condors. The Colca Valley offers unending mule roads connecting villages with fertile mountains terraced for farming. Visit Arequipa, known as the "White City" as most of the structures are built out of brilliant white volcanic stone. Overnight Casa de Mi Abuela. Includes: (B), (L).
Day 6: Arequipa-Colca Canyon. Transfer to the Colca Canyon visiting ruins near Chivay includes box lunch. Overnight Pozo del Cielo. Includes: (B), (L).
Day 7: Colca Canyon-Arequipa-Juliaca. Morning, activities includes box lunch. Return and transfer to the airport for flight to Juliaca. Transfer to Puno. Puno was the territory of the Tiahuanacos (800 A.D. – 1200 A.D.) who were the highest cultural expression of the Aymara people that established themselves in what is today Peru and Bolivia. The Incas took over these lands in the fifteenth century, and the Spanish, attracted by the mining industry developed there, left an important Colonial legacy throughout the entire area. Overnight Suites Don Carlos Juliaca. Includes: (B), (L).
Day 8: Juliaca-Lake Titicaca–Juliaca. Full day Uros and Taquile Islands includes lunch. Taquile Island is an organized farmer and skillful weavers village, possessing unique terraces and ceremonial centers for propitiatory rituals. Overnight Suites Don Carlos Juliaca. Includes: (B), (L).
Day 9: Juliaca–Cusco. Transfer to train station for train to Cusco. Transfer in Cusco to hotel. Overnight Midori Hotel. Includes: (B), (L).
Day 10: Cusco-Sacred Valley. Full day Pisac Market and Ruins includes box lunch. Pisac is a picturesque town located 19.8 miles (32 Km) northeast of Cusco. It is the entrance gate to the Valley of Urubamba and famous for its colonial Church where masses in Quechua are held every Sunday and for the Pisac Indian Market. Overnight Hanaqpaccha Retreat Center. Includes: (B), (L).
Day 11: Sacred Valley. Full day Willoc and Patacancha weaving villages includes box lunch. From the Sacred Valley of the Incas we travel the non-paved road 19 kilometers up along a narrow canyon lined with ancient agricultural terraces to the Village of Willoc, renown as home to the most skilled weavers of the region. Overnight Hanaqpaccha Retreat Center. Includes: (B), (L).
Day 12: Sacred Valley-Machu Picchu, Morning, Ollantaytambo Fortress. Afternoon Vistadome train service to Aguas Calientes. Overnight Hanaqpaccha Inn. Includes: (B).
Day13: Machu Picchu–Cusco. Morning, visit to Machu Picchu Ruins and hiking Huanya Picchu, lunch. Afternoon, return to Cusco and transfer to the hotel. Overnight Midori Hotel. Includes: (B), (L).
Day 14: Cusco. Morning, city tour and nearby ruins. Saqsayhuamán, which in Quechua means "Satisfied Hawk", is an imposing Inca structure which was built to protect the city of Cusco. Tambomachay is known as the Inca Baths. It is considered a place to worship the water because there is a group of aqueducts, channels and small cascades on the rocks that carry water from a nearby spring. Afternoon at leisure. Overnight Midori Hotel. Includes: (B).
Day 15: Cusco–Lima. Transfer out Cusco. Flight to Lima. Includes: (B).
Notes:
Airfare is not included in the tour price.
Price Includes:
- All land transportation
- All hotel and lodge accommodations
- Excursion to Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley
- Entrance fees to attractions
- English speaking guides
- Over-flight of the Nasca Lines
- 2-days at Colca Canyon
- Puno with private service to Uros Island
- Cusco's Pisac Market and the village of Willoq.
International and domestic airfare quoted upon request.
Also see tour packages in:
South America
Peru
Ecotourism
Archeology/History
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