Tour Itinerary:
Day 1: Arrive Lima. Upon arrival at Jorge Chavez International Airport, claim your baggage and proceed to Customs and Immigration. You will then be met by our local representative and transferred to your Lima hotel. Overnight accommodations at the new (opened June 2007) Hotel Costa del Sol Ramada Lima, with daily buffet breakfast included. Conveniently close to the airport, this four star hotel features 130 rooms, restaurant, bar, business center, wireless internet, spa, and beauty salon. Includes: (B). Day 2: Lima - Cuzco. Proceed on own to the Lima Airport (located across the street). Check in for your flight to Cuzco. Airport reception in Cuzco and transfer to your hotel, the Posada del Inca Hotel or similar. After settling in set off on a tour of Cuzco and the nearby Inca ruins. Cuzco, the oldest continuously inhabited city on the continent, was the capital of the Inca Empire and is considered by many Quechua peoples to be the spiritual center of the world. Much of colonial Cuzco was built on Inca foundations, and your guide will point out Inca stonework along the many streets. Visit the main square, the Cathedral, Santo Domingo Church, as well as a first introduction to Inca stonework at the ruins of Puka-Pukara, Qenqo, Tambo Machay, and the renowned fortress of Sacsayhuaman overlooking Cuzco and the surrounding valley. Includes: (B). Day 3: Pisac and Ollantaytambo. This morning depart with your guide for a full-day excursion to the village and ruins of Pisac located 20 miles from Cuzco. After exploring the ruins you will visit a colorful Indian market where you'll be able to trade with locals for a variety of handicrafts. Lunch will be served in Urubamba, followed by a tour of the town and fortress of Ollantaytambo located in the Sacred Valley of the Incas. Includes: (B), (L). Day 4: Cuzco - Machu Picchu. Set off on a scenic four-hour trip through the Urubamba Valley, followed by a 20-minute bus ride up to the breathtaking "Lost City of the Incas" - Machu Picchu. Set in the saddle of a mountain 1,000 feet above the Urubamba River, Machu Picchu escaped ransacking by the Spaniards. Explore the walls, stairways, temples and terraces with your guide. For the more energetic, a moderate 2-mile hike up to the Sun Gate offers fabulous views overlooking this ancient wonder. Overnight at Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel, or for an additional charge, upgrade to the Machu Picchu Sanctuary Lodge, located adjacent to the ruins. Includes: (B), (L). Day 5: Machu Picchu - Cuzco. Enjoy a full morning visit to the citadel. In the afternoon, return to Cuzco by train, where you'll be met and transferred back to your hotel, the Posada del Inca Hotel. Lost City of the Incas Day 6: Cuzco - Manu Wildlife Center. Early this morning our representative will pick you up from your hotel to transfer you to the Cuzco airport. A thirty-five minute flight in a radar-equipped twin engine plane takes you to Boca Manu. Here you take a motorized canoe for the 90 minute journey down the Madre de Dios River to Manu Wildlife Center to arrive for lunch. Manu Wildlife Center, located east of the Manu River on the north bank of the Madre de Dios River, and reached by a 35-minute light plane flight from Cusco, offers the Amazon's finest short, in-depth wildlife safari. The lodge contains 22 double-occupancy fully screened private bungalows with private baths and a large, fully screened dining room and bar. The afternoon will be spent exploring some of the 30 miles of clean forest trails that surround the lodge. On these trails you have an excellent chance to encounter some of the 12 species of monkeys, which include the Monk Saki and Emperor Tamarin, which inhabit the surrounding forest. After dinner we will leisurely hike for 60-75 minutes through the night to the Amazon's largest known Tapir clay lick. We climb up a 17 foot observation platform perched 17 feet above the lick itself where we wait for the lumbering Tapirs to arrive, then using powerful flashlights we observe and photograph them in action. Includes: (B), (L), (D). Day 7: Manu Wildlife Center. Rising before dawn, we take a 25 minute boat journey downstream to the only large parrot and macaw clay lick in the Manu area. From a floating catamaran blind we are afforded excellent views and photo opportunities as first hundreds of medium-sized and large parrots, and then the large Red-and-Green Macaws arrive to eat the clay. Please note that the clay lick is not as active in May, June and July. Returning for lunch, the afternoon is spent visiting one of the two oxbow lakes found in the area. These lakes have populations of a variety of water birds, including the prehistoric-looking Hoatzin, and also house Giant Otters. After dinner back at the Center there will be another opportunity to visit the Tapir clay lick. Includes: (B), (L), (D). Day 8: Manu Wildlife Center. Rising at dawn we will explore the forest trails with the emphasis on visiting the fruiting trees which our researchers and native guides have been monitoring. Here we will hope to encounter more monkey species as well as numerous species of birds. Or, we will have an early visit to one or both of the lakes before exploring the forest trails. After lunch at the Center there will be a further opportunity to explore more of the forest types which can be found in the vicinity of the lodge. Alternatively, some visitors may wish to spend time in special blinds to observe and perhaps to photograph the brilliantly colored dancing birds called manikins. After dinner, those particularly determined visitors can once again visit the tapir clay lick. Includes: (B), (L), (D). Day 9: Manu - Cuzco. After early breakfast, you leave near dawn by motor canoe for the two hour return trip to the Manu landing strip, taking advantage of valuable early morning wildlife activity along the river. From here you fly to Cuzco, where your jungle adventure ends. Arrival at Cuzco Airport, reception and transfer to your hotel. Overnight at the Posada del Inca Cuzco, breakfast included. Hotel pickup and transfer to the airport for your flight to Lima. Includes: (B). Day 10: Cuzco– Lima - Int'l Departure. Proceed to the international terminal. Check in for flight. Includes: (B). Note: All tours are privately guided and may be modified to suit personal travel dates, interests and budgets. Member discount: Notes: Price Includes:
Also see tour packages in: South America Peru History Whiz Archeology/History Rainforest Email it to a friend: Click here to email this vacation to a friend |
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